Corporate world is full of copy cats. People try to make an
exact copy of whatever is successful in recent times. Be it some product, a
movie, TV serial or a book. It’s alright when people do it on local level or in
the form of some stepping stone from where they actually plan to go somewhere.
Apple (read – Steve Jobs) is the best known example of
copying things successfully. But when it copied things, it changed them so much
for better that it looked like a totally different thing, which established
Apple as their owner. And as these things were now available in much better
form, original ideas became worthless. This was something more than copying.
This was stealing.
When you copy something, the original thing remains with the
original and rightful owner. What you can get is (at the most) as good returns
as the original owner gets. But when you steal, you become the owner. The
original rightful owner ceases to be in possession of that thing (or the fruits
of it). Apple (you know what to read) had mastered this art.
But what happens when another top level company tries to
copy Apple?
You must have seen the popular 1984 commercial by Apple
which was aired only once and gave the company promotion worth of millions of
dollars. The commercial was aimed at IBM, the then computing giant. It was
(hopefully) original idea which worked as a charm for apple.
But after two decades or so, BlackBerry tries to do the same
with the current tech giant – Apple. Though it gained somewhat popularity as a gimmick
amongst some Internet users, it never delivered what BlackBerry aimed for.
Because, they had just copied the idea. And the presentation was crude. Apple
didn’t have to strike back, but it sort of did.
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