Forget “don’t Be Evil.” The Real Opportunity Is “CAN’T Be Evil”
Apple’s self-serving privacy crusade against Facebook is pure genius. And it’s a playbook that could work in your industry too
Apple has very cleverly positioned this as a triumph for the individual over the faceless corporation: Facebook and other major app developers like Foursquare or Activision Blizzard will no longer have such unfettered access to your data. You, the individual, are back in control. Apple is fighting the good fight.
There’s another analysis of this situation we can make. One that is rooted in hard-headed competitive strategy. And an emerging technology, known as ‘Confidential Computing’, could hold the key to executing the same strategy against the incumbents in your industry.
The reality is that Apple has identified something profound: many of their competitors’ business models are utterly dependent on unfettered access to your data. And Apple’s is not.
So if Apple can restrict advertisers’ access to data, it fundamentally weakens key competitors… and it makes Apple look like the good guys. Win-win! If you’re Apple, that is.
