And, then sell you to pay for it — you’re welcome. No, really, you’re welcome. While Facebook and Apple often work together well, the two companies are driven by wildly different worldviews.
For example, while Apple charges premium prices for its products, Tim Cook et al aren’t interested in collecting and then selling your personal data to third parties.
“When an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product,” Tim Cook now famously wrote back in September.
Obviously, Cook wasn’t the first to say that. However, that truism has gained increased currency when the Apple CEO said it.
To say the least, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg not only doesn’t agree with Tim Cook, he has a few choice words for Steve Jobs’ hand picked successor.
“A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customers,” said Zuckerberg in a recently published interview. “It’s the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you’re paying Apple that you’re somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they’d make their products a lot cheaper!”
Zuckerberg knows all about cheapening his products — you and me.
Facebook: ‘You’re Welcome’
“Our mission is to connect every person in the world,” says Zuckerberg. “You don’t do that by having a service people pay for… There are no steps that are clear steps to make this an awesome business or to have it fully rolled out across the world, but I’m pretty confident we can do it.”
Of course, whether you want to be connected or not, Zuckerberg and Facebook are gonna hook you up. Whether or not you participate on Facebook, Zuckerberg is working to sell you.
And, here’s the rub. While it’s easy to imagine Apple products selling for 10 or 20 percent less, Facebook doesn’t work without everyone online participating. Facebook doesn’t work when we aren’t for sale.
Again, Mark Zuckerberg says, ‘You’re welcome’…
What’s your take?
Image: Utah People Post, Via: DigitalTrends