This book primarily focuses on the The Five Attitudes and Approaches to strategy; Upper, Middle, Lower, Right Side and Left Side. This is no different than focus groups in advertising or public relations, market research studies prior to product marketing, or competitive research in all fields. Apple masters this approach better than any company or nonprofit in the marketplace. Consider how Apple successfully uses blogs to leak information, media to report on blogs and vice versa. 1) Read the Tea Leaves. Image by Steve Depolo. Musashi. Image by Stewart Dawson. MORE >>

Google reportedly breached the privacy of millions of Apple Safari users by fooling the Web browser into accepting tracking cookies it normally wouldn’t take. Google’s violation not only breaks the “contract” between Apple and its Safari users; it blows to pieces the promises Google made to the United States’ Federal Trade Commission that “bars the company from future privacy misrepresentations.” You may recall that Steve Jobs famously dissed focus groups, claiming that consumers are not savvy enough to know what they want or need. MORE >>

According to a Google source, the cost breakdown for market research is as follows (all figures shown are minimums): Eight person focus group = $6,000 ($750/participant). That would be the equivalent of 230 interviews or roughly 78 focus groups. That doesn’t make it invalid, just not a direct apples-to-apple comparison. Co-written with Kyle Mensing , an economics grad with a creative bent who is trying to merge business and social. Our intrinsic understanding of opportunity cost is what defines us as people. Equivalent Research Value. MORE >>

Gartner pointed out that Apple made $250 million in gross commission from apps in the second half of 2010, but Apple’s total revenue was almost twenty times that. So we know Apple isn’t bent on getting rich from apps. HOW I SEE IT: The questions raised during this private briefing focused sharply on the winners and losers in the app space. The Boy Genius ,  known for sneak peeks and scoops, tells us that a focus group was held recently to discuss features of a Facebook phone. Julie gave us the inside track on Forrester’s 2011 mobile trends. MORE >>

Be it content or products, the carriers have acted as gatekeepers with a singular focus: look out for their interests first. Then there’s Apple, which famously bypasses all operators and flaunts a closed Apple system. Content is only accessible using Apple devices that, in turn, only use the Apple iOS platform. Mobile apps are approved by Apple and sold via the Apple App Store. And advertising is served via the Apple platform — period. Did focus groups tell Samsung the 7-incher was too small and 8-incher was a wee-bit too big? MORE >>