In the 1990’s, Apple almost died because it tried to build a higher-priced computer, with an operating system that ran only on its own computer. Apple struggled to compete against Windows, which ran on many brands of computers, and eventually controlled the market.

Is that happening again between the Apple iPhone and the Google Android operating systems? Henry Blodget of The Business Insider thought so.

He points out that Apple’s iPhone is enormously popular, with one reason being it has so many applications available for it. But Apple has closed down the iPhone by controlling the apps system,  and the purchasing of apps.  Developers create software that only can be used on the iPhone. Google is not. Sound familiar?

Gene Munster, Senior Research  Analyst for  Piper Jeffray, believes Apple is following the right strategy. He says in an interview by Blodget:

• Apple’s iPhone is easy to use, and that is a huge plus for it
• The apps have been locked down for iPhone use only, but it has 110,000 apps
• App builders want to build for a widely distributed phone, which the iPhone is
• Apple has 110,000 apps compared to 20,000 apps on the Android
• Apple will be the leader in 5 years with 30-40% global market share, with Android following, and Nokia will struggle behind

So the popularity of the iPhone seems to be the strong point in Apple’s corner.

Are you an iPhone or an Android?

1. Does your company tightly control its products or services (like Apple)?

or

2. Does your company attempt to share its products or services with other companies to get a part of their market (Google)?

Ladies and gentlemen, beware the co-worker or friend who points their iPhone at you and begins laughing (or drooling).

Apple approved an iPhone app yesterday called Nude It, which allows you to point your iPhone at a victim and see them sans clothing. (Apparently ladies underwear doesn’t count as clothing, as it is reported that the app doesn’t see through them. How a piece of software knows the difference between a blouse and a bra is beyond me. And does it know the difference between men’s underwear and ladies underwear, so we girls can see all but the boys can’t? Questions that I’d like to have answered, so comment back if you get this app. )

Imagine the fun! Weekly staff meetings suddenly become much more interesting. Baseball takes on a whole new meaning. Nightclubs become reminiscent of Greek orgies. You get to check out the goods first when dating.

But then I worry about what happens when the sickos get a hold of this app. What about the child molesters and sex offenders?  Let’s hope they don’t own iPhones.

The YouTube video about this app already has over 725,000 views, and the US has been anxiously waiting the approval of this app by Apple. If there’s one thing the marketing industry can take from this app release, it’s something we already know: Sex sells. We’ll see how well this app sells, but I bet it will do just fine. And that’s the naked truth.

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Many of our most avid readers will recall a blog posting we had several months ago called “Why Steve Jobs is Both a Genius and a Knucklehead.” In it, we pointed out that any brand that has its entire success wrapped up in one person (i.e. Steve Jobs) is setting itself up for failure.

What happens if the that person gets hit by a bus? Or takes an extended leave of absence? Or decides to become a monk? If anything like that were to happen, the entire company (in this case Apple) would tank.

Well, it’s pretty clear that Steve Jobs not only read our blog post, but he had it framed for his office wall and circulated it to his staff. How do we know this? Because the cover of this week’s edition of Fortune magazine states that Steve Jobs is doing exactly what we suggested to him — that is, to start sharing the spotlight with other people at Apple. We said sharing the spotlight would be good for the company, good for the shareholders and good for America.

Do we really believe Steve Jobs read our blog post, had it framed and circulated it to his staff? Well, no, not really. But we do believe that he’s finally realized that he needed to put his ego aside and start promoting the other geniuses at Apple, too.

It hurts us to say this, but Microsoft has done a fabulous job transferring the image of its brand from Gates to Balmer. Sure, Gates is still seen as the brand icon, but we all know that Balmer has been running the company for years. Hats off to Microsoft for knocking it out of the park on that initiative.

With that in mind, we’re happy to report that Steve Jobs and Apple have started to promote other people within the company. That’s good for Apple and good for America since it means we’ll have more fun, innovative, new products to look forward to in the future.

There’s an aesthetic in web design that all marketers should know about. Dell, Glaceau, Apple and other brands are already putting this aesthetic to work, and you should, too.

It’s pretty simple, really. In fact it is simple — simple, clean, sparse, uncluttered design, that is.

As with a lot of industrial design these days, Apple led the way by incorporating their clean, crisp industrial design aesthetic into their website. Steve and Company were inspired by the minimalist stuff that’s been part of Asian design for years. You can see it in their stores, their products and their websites.

Dell Computers was quick to follow suit and designed a very clean, very easy-to-use website of their own. (Check it out — the Dell and Apple websites are amazingly similar.)

Now, what about Glaceau? As mentioned in previous blog posts, those guys really have their act together. They have an incredibly likable brand personality that comes across in everything from their website to their packaging. Keep an eye on these guys ’cause they really know what they’re doing.

When you get the chance, take a spin through all of the websites we’ve mentioned here. Then check out some of your favorites and send them our way. We’d love to compare notes on who’s doing the best web design work out there.

Over the weekend, the new Microsoft campaign featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld finally got its footing. Last week, the ads generated a lot of buzz, much of it negative, about whether Microsoft was throwing away money on a campaign that seemed to have little to do with their products.

But when you’re Microsoft, and when you have Microsoftian budgets, you can afford to do a mutli-phase campaign that generates buzz first, then talks about product-specific differentiators.

Here are four reasons why this campaign is actually a good thing for Microsoft:

1) It humanizes the company: Steve Jobs has done a great job (no pun) making Apple the apple of consumers’ eyes (stop it already!). Microsoft, until this campaign, has always been seen as a highly-successful company run by Borgs, Driods and other non-human entities. This campaign helps bring out the human side of Microsoft.

2) It’s gotten people talking about Microsoft again: There are many campaigns that generate buzz, but very little brand awareness. In this case, the campaign is doing both — it’s generating buzz and that buzz is linked directly to the Microsoft brand.

3) It takes the conversation away from Apple’s ad campaign: Make no mistake, Apple’s campaign is brilliant and that must have been driving Microsoft crazy. But this campaign gets us talking about Microsoft again. It also comes at a time when Apple’s wonderful campaign is rounding third base and is probably on its way out the door.

4) It sets up future ads which are going to be product-specific: As mentioned, when you’re Microsoft and you have very, very deep pockets, you can afford to do a two-phase campaign. Phase I is to get people’s attention (Grade: 93 on a 100-point scale). Phase II is to talk about what makes your product better.

We’ll see how Microsoft does in Phase II. But Phase I was an “A” job, which ain’t so bad.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ve pieced together that I’m both an admirer of and a critic of Steve Jobs who, arguably, is the greatest business person of all time.

Well, once again, the topic of Steve Jobs and his health has come up.

Despite all the speculation, you can rest assured that Steve Jobs is okay. The 60 Second Marketer did a dive into this subject about a month ago and here’s what we wrote:

Has Steve Jobs cancer flared up again? The short answer is “no,” it looks as though he has not had a recurrence.

In an article posted on The New York Times, writer Joe Nocera reports on a phone call he received from Mr. Jobs that reportedly started with “This is Steve Jobs. You think I’m an arrogant (expletive) who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”

After that rather Jobsonian opening, Mr Nocera received some details on Mr. Jobs’ recent health problems.

While the conversation was off-the-record, the article goes on to say that Mr. Jobs does not have a recurrence of cancer. That’s great news on several fronts — most importantly because Mr. Jobs is a family-man and would be missed by both his family and his massive fan base around the globe. But it’s also good news because it gives Mr. Jobs time to begin sharing the spotlight with some of the other geniuses at Apple. That’s something I suspect employees and shareholders alike would welcome.

I outlined this concern in a blog entry several months ago called “Why Steve Jobs is Both a Genius and a Knucklehead.” The blog discusses the risk Mr. Jobs puts Apple in while he continues to promote himself as the exclusive face of Apple.

The danger of having Apple’s health linked so closely to Steve Jobs’ health is a scenario both Apple and Mr. Jobs should avoid.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Apple has scheduled an event for next Tuesday that might be the launching pad for a new line of iPods. Word on the street is that Apple is working with music-industry partners to develop “interactive albums” for Apple devices such as the iPhone and the iPod touch that will provide liner notes, lyrics, photographs and other extra materials to supplement music available on the iTunes store.

Why is Apple so successful at just about everything they’ve done in the last decade? Three reasons — first, because they’re one of the most innovative companies on the planet. Second, because they understand a fundamental reality about consumers, that is that we don’t want more buttons and complexity, we actually want fewer buttons and less complexity. And third, because they’ve built one of the most powerful brands on the planet.

You don’t get a powerful brand through luck. You get it from hard work. And Apple is proof of that.

If you’re not using Twitter as a marketing tool, you may be missing out on one of America’s fastest-growing marketing vehicles. According to a recent survey, 5% of all Americans are using Twitter to stay in touch with their friends and family.

Since you’re a marketing guru, you already know that Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows you to effectively instant message people from a variety of devices. The 60 Second Marketer Twitters at www.Twitter.com/60SecondTwitter. Other companies that use it include Amazon, Apple, Dell and Southwest Airlines

Will it be around for good? Probably.

Is it the “next big thing?” Maybe.

Is it peach pie? Nope.

Apple has knocked it out of the park again. According to the consumer electronics company, users have downloaded more than 60 million programs for the iPhone in recent weeks. 60 million downloads!

If sales continue at this pace, they could reach $350 to $500 million per year in the very near future. According to The Wall Street Journal, even Steve Jobs was impressed. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my career in software,” he said.

Which brings up a good point — Apple isn’t just about the Mac, the iPod or the iPhone. It’s about a phenomenal user-interface and a software development process that’s unmatched by Microsoft, Google or any other developer.

Congratulations, Apple. You’ve hit a grand slam.

Again.