Apple has an event scheduled for later on today which has an educational tone to it. The first interesting thing is that the event is scheduled to happen at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The museum is the world’s most renowned art gallery and it is located in the Mecca of the publishing industry. If I was in the book publishing industry I would keep a close eye on this event as the repercussions could have lasting effects.
When the late Steve Jobs was working with author Walter Isaacson on his biography, Jobs mentioned that the next industry that Apple wanted to disrupt, was textbooks. Education and technology is currently a hot topic and first mover advantage could provide Apple with hefty returns.
In the book, Jobs tells author Walter Isaacson that the he wanted to transform the textbook industry by hiring textbook writers and having them feature the textbooks on the iPad. Jobs then wanted to offer the iPad for free so that Apple could circumvent the state certification process, something that Jobs thought was “corrupt.”
I think the announcement will focus on providing teachers with the opportunity to create “lesson material” that looks like published content without the costs attached. The future of education provides all technology companies who are willing to make an investment, a huge chance to play a central role in the lives of their users. Imagine being able to study via a tablet and then gradually being more tempted to acquire other devices. All of the big technology companies (Google, facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple) are trying to cut out the middlemen whom interact with their users.
Being able to directly engage with a student will ensure that potentially long term relationships are created. Apple just wants to be the first port of call…
