You might remember the excitement of the MP3 and the magical MP3 players that made music something we literally could carry in our pockets. Napster led the way in providing music content along with a host of other music sources, none of which were quite ready to deliver the ideal music experience. But nonetheless, insiders and early adopters were excited about this new technology and the MP3 phenomenon took off. Version 1.0.
At Barton Logistics, we believe every innovation in every industry has its version 1.0. So today in Talking Tech, let’s talk about our own industry. What is the version 1.0 for the future of trucking and how will it affect you? We might be surprised. (READ MORE)
You might remember when the iPod first exploded on the market, iTunes, the easy music library software interface came along with it. That was revolutionary because prior to the iPOD—which was not the first MP3 player, not even close to the first—you got the device and were on your own for the music. It was a dicey, often illegal proposition at best. You’d download music and find it was of poor quality, not the original song, bootlegged from a concert or worse. Even music libraries you paid for could be rendered unplayable when big companies (Microsoft) got into the music business and then out of it. The embedded licenses went with it.
So many people have sung the praises of Apple and its innovative iPod/iTunes paring, which still is strong today through iPhones and wearable tech. What made their innovation shine and the others fade away? The answer is Apple introduced what’s known as The Complete Product. Apple’s iPod was version 2.0 of MP3 players. It was a better product because it solved the entire customer need. People didn’t just want a device to play music. They wanted an easy way to get the music to play on the device. This version 2.0 was a better product, with a broader customer base. Version 1’s customer base was a much smaller group of people who were true techies who loved surfing the web finding hidden music sites. That’s not everyone.
Version 2.0 customers wanted something that worked when they opened the box. Something that was intuitive and easy to understand, use and talk about. And of course, they were and still are willing to pay top dollar for that expected luxury.
We’re talking about this today, because there’s a lot of hype out there around what is happening in the technology of trucking. Over at Barton, we get excited about the possibilities, but to us, what’s more exciting is seeing and hearing about the possibilities that stand a real chance of adoption. As veterans in the industry, it’s easy to spot the version 1.0’s amidst that hype. Don’t get us wrong, they have their place in innovation history. The first draft of change prepares the world for something new and even gets us excited about it. Then, despite some knee scrapes, usually someone emerges successfully with The Complete Product and version 2.0, a version usable for the masses, is born.
In the upcoming weeks, we’ll share with you the instances we see of hype vs. the real adoptable tech innovations. You’ll learn to see the differences yourself and more than ever, we want to hear from you! You can be our word on the street, and your opinion on the matter is important to us. What are your thoughts on the latest in technology innovation in our trucking and transportation world? Let’s make this an exciting and open conversation. To us, there’s wisdom in tapping into the pool of many perspectives. So tell us! What’s hype, what’s innovation and just for fun… what is just plain crazy? And all of that is part of how life gets better with Barton.
