How Android Takes Over The World

ChromecastWe all know that there were more Android phones shipped this past year than iPhones and now we’re going to see Android start to take over your television.  The Google Developer Blog posted that they’re opening up the Chromecast and giving developers access to the Google Cast SDK.  This means developers can build apps that stream content to any Chromecast.  And if you already have an app, you can add support for the Chromecast and they also have support for iOS as well as Android.  This is in stark contrast to the Apple TV which is basically a closed box that can only run apps that Apple builds and wants you to run (and the Apple TV is over twice as expensive as a Chromecast).  So Google is obviously making some big moves to take over the TV.  As search on the desktop moves to mobile and be less lucrative and people spending more time in apps like Facebook and Twitter, changing how people use their TV’s and giving start-ups a new channel to innovate is a great way for Google to diversify their portfolio.  And if anyone can displace traditional TV commercials and instead provide targeted advertisement to TV viewers, Google would be the company to do it.  Instead of random ads based on whatever show you’re watching, imagine an ad for items that you were looking at earlier in the day… and how would Google know this, well, they could be tracking what sites you visit or they could tell from the Google Glass you’re wearing or they could tell because your phone placed your location inside a retail store.  And just think if you actually see an ad you’re interested in, all you need to do is pull out your Android phone and use Google Wallet to buy whatever you see on the screen.  This could be the future of a truly connected, always-on world where everything you do generates digital data that companies use to target you.  It sounds scary, but in some ways, we’re already moving in this direction, so instead of fighting it, we should figure out how to put consumers first and only provide data that we’re comfortable sharing.  Anyways, this was originally about new SDKs available and somehow morphed into a Minority Report like future.  I’m excited to see what people build with the SDKs… and who knows, this might be enough of a reason for me to actually get a Chromecast… wonder if a v2 is coming anytime soon?