Then make your way to Corus Hotel (Kuala Lumpur) this Saturday June 12th 2010. I’ll be presenting some of the best Automated Internet Marketing Systems ever created up till now, starting at 2.30pm, for about 2 1/2 hours.

You’ll discover what the 1st Generation Automated Internet Marketing System is, followed by the 2nd Generation, followed by the 3rd Generation and finally the 4th Generation Automated Internet Marketing Systems.

Along the way, you’ll discover some powerful business concepts never before seen anywhere else that made it FINALLY possible for you to have real, human EXPERTS doing your Internet Marketing FOR YOU, at a FRACTION of the cost of hiring them elsewhere. In fact, you don’t even hire them at all!

For example, watch how you can get a full-blown Search Engine Optimization (SEO) service to get your webpages ranked in the Top 10 of Google.com by paying less than 5% of the thousands of dollars per month some SEO companies charge you for the same service. You do NOTHING other than provide the keywords and URLs you want to rank for those keywords – and your URLs will rise up in Google’s rankings in just a few weeks, completely on auto-pilot!

There are many other “Teams” like the above for the other aspects of your Internet Business – and you’ll discover what else they can do FOR YOU and your Internet Business.

Not only that – some of these Teams don’t require you to pay them at all, because they’re doing YOUR TASKS to make money from somewhere/someone else!

It’s crazy and doesn’t make sense to you right now – but it’s absolutely true!

So yes, you can FINALLY have TEAMS OF PEOPLE and ADVANCED Internet Marketing Systems working for your Internet Business 24/7, with overheads totaling only a few hundred dollars a month, and sometimes less than a hundred dollars a month – without the commitments and restrictions as an employer (as provided by the law) – as you are not one!

In addition, these teams of people work within a structured system so that they produce work CONSISTENTLY and CONTINUOUSLY – 2 of the most important aspects of Internet Marketing that most Internet Entrepreneurs are weak in.

They can do this because of certain concepts and tools they’ve created that enable them to leverage their time and efforts EXPONENTIALLY. When they can do this, you get their best efforts CONTINUOUSLY, at costs so low you’ll think you’re in heaven!

I REPEAT (because it’s important that you get it):
4G Automated Internet Marketing Systems make it possible to produce many more successful Internet Entrepreneurs who can’t, or don’t want, or don’t have the skills, to get certain aspects of Internet Marketing done on their own, on a CONSISTENT basis, because they can now finally afford to use those systems that used to be only available to the big boys in Internet Marketing.

It’s a REAL BREAKTHROUGH in Internet Entrepreneurship and you’re among the first to hear about it!

Click on the graphic below and follow the instructions to register for it:

Seats are very limited and are reserved on a first-come-first-serve basis, so click on the banner above right NOW.

See you then!

Cheers
Sen Ze

This is because an Internet Business promises the things that we all want:

1. Leverage
There are close to 2 billion Internet users now with many millions more joining every single month. If we’re doing business on the Internet, the entire world is truly our oyster. We can reach out to many more people we never could otherwise.

2. Freedom
Anybody can now use the Internet to start their own business and make money doing so, in the comfort of their homes. We answer to nobody but ourselves and all we need is a computer, an Internet connection and the desire to do so.

Of course, we’ll also need some know how, which we can acquire along the way.

3. Cost-Effectiveness
It’s cheap. A domain name costs only $10/year, and hosting can be lower than $5/month. There aren’t many businesses we can start and maintain with that sort of investment. It’s truly easy to say goodbye to our bosses, although we want to be making our money first before doing so.

4. It’s A Part Of Life
That’s because the Internet links us to the latest information, and we all need to be updated all the time. It’s also a huge libary of knowledge and the vast majority of the information we want can be found for free. It’s also an entertainment outlet with millions of channels in the form of videos, created and uploaded for all to see by fellow Internet users. As such millions and millions of people use it every single day.

The Reality:
1. Many of us in fact have become successful Internet Entrepreneurs, in one way or another.
I have documented those ways in my classic Mini-Encyclopedia of Low-Cost, High-Profit Internet Business Models:

2. Many of us also failed to succeed as Internet Entrepreneurs
This can be due a number of factors. One of the main factors is the lack of knowledge or guidance. The other is the lack of proper IMPLEMENTATION of the things required to succeed.

In fact, I would rank the lack of implementation or improper implementation of best Internet Marketing practices as the main cause for failure, over and above a lack of knowledge since all the knowledge or guidance in the world is useless without the correct actions being taken.

The Success Factors For Freedom With An Internet Business
Note that we don’t just want to have a successful Internet Business – but one that gives us TOTAL FREEDOM from having to run, manage and maintain on our own.

Otherwise it’s no different from having a JOB – and that’s the very thing we’re trying to get away from.

There are many successful Internet Entrepreneurs who are tied to their Internet Business 24/7. They can’t take a vacation or even go to the movies during their waking hours for fear of missing a sale.

Or they’re overwhelmed with the multitude of roles they have to play that they get nothing done properly.

This isn’t how an Internet Business should be.

At the very least, not for me.

We should get leverage not only in how many people we can reach, but also in NOT having to do everything that is related to our Internet Business, on our own – and still make a handsome profit in the process.

With FREEDOM as the goal, let me now show you the essential elements of an Internet Business so that you know what’s involved to make money online, with the lowest amount of our money and with the least investment of our time.

To do this, I have to bring you back in time and see what are some of the most essential tools that we HAD to use to create a succesful Internet Business.

Then I’ll show you whether anything has changed along the way and if so, what we can do to adapt to the new Internet Business landscape – AND still maintain our freedom with our Internet Business working for us 24/7, instead of the other way around.

Let’s begin.

1st Generation Internet Marketing System
These are the components required:

Website + E-Mail

A website is basically our “permanent” online presence. We got a domain name and hosting account and we then uploaded whatever design and layout we wanted for our website on that domain’s host.

If we were selling products as a Merchant, we could also integrate an online payment system with our website so that we could accept payments directly from our customers via their credit cards, at the point when they decided to buy it after looking at our products.

If we were Affiliates for Merchants, we could set up a website providing useful information on topics related to the products sold by the Merchants, before recommending that they checked out the Merchants’ websites through our Affiliate Links or banners.

This would be our basic setup. We could get by with nothing else if we had lots of marketing money to spend on TV ads, newspaper ads and other places, to publicize our domain far and wide.

But we thought of using the Internet to market our websites too, since it was already being used by millions of people around the world.

The 2 Pillars
We knew Internet users then mainly used the Internet to check out:

1. Websites

2. E-mails

And because of that:

1. On Websites:
* Search Directories (like Yahoo.com, which started off as a Search Directory and later morphed into a Search Engine) and Search Engines (like AltaVista.com) were created to make the process of searching for information found on webpages much easier and quicker;

* Web Page Creators/Editors became an essential piece of software for Internet Entrepreneurs to create their own websites from scratch without needing to know HTML;

* Specialized FTP software to upload webpages to our host server became an essential tool for making our webpages seen on our domain;

* Web design and maintenance services were much sought after since most people didn’t have design skills even if they were willing and able to create the webpages themselves;

* Domain Names became hot assets to own since each one was unique and nobody else could register the same name once it was already registered by someone else

* The web hosting industry exploded and generated billions in recurring revenue.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization
Since search engines got millions of visitors per day looking for all sorts of information found on webpages throughout the world, and the engines didn’t want to create their own content but rather used software to find, index and show our webpages (without paying us a single cent to do this) to display to their visitors, who could see the results for free – we could tap into the Search Directories/Search Engines’ own traffic to get free prospects to our webpages.

And so SEO (Search Engine Optimization) became a popular topic ever since with the entire focus being on getting top rankings for our webpages for searches on keywords we wanted to target. The higher our webpages appeared on Search Engines’ results, the more free traffic we could get since Search Engine users checked out their search results starting from the top listing and moving down.

SEO companies started forming to offer SEO services to website owners who didn’t have the time or knowledge or desire to do SEO activities and tasks on their own.

Banner Ads
We could buy space on other webmasters’ websites too. We could put a banner that linked back to our webpages, and tap into the existing traffic those other websites were getting.

This marketing method required us to invest some money and while some of us did it, there were more of us who didn’t, preferring to rely on free Search Engine traffic and other free marketing methods instead.

2. On E-Mail:
Webmail services like Hotmail.com and Rocketmail.com were created to make the checking of e-mail possible through the same browser used for surfing websites instead of a separate e-mail software like Microsoft Outlook running on our computers.

This sort of simplified things for the Internet user and made things even easier for them to use, which in turn helped even more users to go online.

Mailing List Software
With e-mail being the first thing users checked when they were connected to the Internet, and being free to use, it became obvious to Internet Entrepreneurs that they needed to get their message into their visitors’ e-mail inboxes somehow.

We started asking for our website visitors to join our mailing list so that we could e-mail them offers to buy stuff, again and again. But of course, unless we were a big retailer of a range of products, nobody on our list would enjoy receiving offers from us in their e-mail boxes all the time.

And so we promised a free Special Report and tips on doing something better in our e-mail communication with them, so that they would continue to receive our e-mails. And we then interperse those e-mails with offers for our products from time to time.

This worked very well. Every time a promotional e-mail was sent out, there were bound to be sales made.

E-Mail Broadcast And Sequential Autoresponder Systems
Because of the need to constantly use e-mail, mailing list software became more and more sophisticated.

Rather than e-mailing our Prospects manually, we could use a special mailing list software called a Sequential Autoresponder System to AUTOMATICALLY e-mail our Prospects for us, with a series of pre-written e-mail messages uploaded to the Autoresponder System in advance.

So someone who just joined our mailing list would automatically receive an e-mail from our Sequential Autoresponder System, thanking him for being on our list and telling him what e-mails he could expect from us in the future.

We could also automatically send out a tip for helping him do something better (related to our topic) exactly 2 days later, and another tip on something else could be set to go out to him automatically exactly 5 days after this second automated e-mail had been sent to him.

We could also greet them by their first name in our e-mails (if we had their first name information in our database through their filling up the name field on our optin form), or have them remove themselves from our mailing lists via a single click on an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of our e-mails (which saved us from having to manually remove them).

We could also broadcast e-mail messages at any time to the same list, even as they were going to receive those pre-written e-mail messages from us as scheduled in the Sequential Autoresponder System. This would be useful where we had some new offer to make to our list or we wanted them to have information we didn’t have earlier.

Thus all Sequential Autoresponder Systems will usually come with a standalone Broadcast function as well – giving us the ability to both send out pre-written e-mails to everyone who joined our mailing list, and newly written e-mails on an ad hoc basis.

If we were Affiliates, we spent the time looking for new Merchants to represent so that we could refer the same Prospects we had on our lists to many Merchants selling complementary products – thus increasing our commission earnings even more.

The Affiliate Program

Then Amazon.com came onto the scene and brought with it the concept of the Affiliate Program.

Amazon wanted Internet users to be rewarded for referring customers to its online book store. So they programmed an Affiliate Program software that could create unique Affiliate Links for each Affiliate they had in their program.

Anybody could join Amazon.com as its Affiliate for free. And all the Affiliate had to do was to put up banners that linked to their unique Affiliate Links which in turn would redirect the visitor to Amazon’s bookstore, bringing information about the unique Affiliate Link with it. Thus Amazon would know who referred the customer and reward the right Affiliate accordingly. The reward would be a percentage of the selling price.

This masterstroke of an idea resulted in Amazon.com getting millions of Affiliates all working for it for free, until a sale occurred. By then the money was already in Amazon’s bank account and Amazon could pay its Affiliates their commissions from money it had already collected – thus making this arrangement an entirely risk-free one for Amazon itself.

Amazon’s Affiliates in turn set up their own webpages and relied on Search Engine traffic and other marketing methods to draw in the Prospects. With millions of Affiliates all over the world promoting Amazon’s products, Amazon ended up having a huge referral army it didn’t need to pay to maintain.

Smart Internet Entrepreneurs then started copying Amazon’s Affiliate Program system. Affiliate Program software then became all the rage among Merchants for the benefits it would bring them.

The Affiliate Program software became another important component for a Merchant selling products online and soon many of us had either installed a similar off-the-shelf system on our domain, or used a 3rd party Affiliate Program software provider where we run the Affiliate Program off their server.

To make things easier for Affiliates to market for us, we could create ready banner ads for them and as well as ready promotional e-mail messages that they could load up into their own Sequential Autoresponder System or simply to broadcast to their lists.

To get Affiliates to join us, we could also get our website visitors to sign up as our Affiliates right on our website itself. We would also register our Affiliate Program with all the Affiliate Program Directories we could find.

To serve our Affiliates with a minimum of effort, we would have an Affiliate login on a restricted area of our website where our Affiliates could go to get their marketing materials and check their statistics and sales.

The Affiliate Program could also be automated as we could use a Sequential Autoresponder System to train our Affiliates on what steps to take to properly market for us, including how to copy and paste the banners we had prepared for them to show up on their webpages, and how to link from those banners to our websites using their own unique Affiliate Link our Affiliate Program software had automatically generated for them.

This was in addition to putting up the steps within the Affiliate login area which could be seen all the time by Affiliates who were looking for some guidance.

From time to time, we could run contests for the best Affiliate to win something valuable, to create a spike in sales when we needed extra cash to come into our business quickly. We would broadcast an e-mail to our Affiliates (they would sign up to a separate mailing list for Affiliates) to let them know about the contest – and serious Affiliates would then do whatever they needed to do to get the sales for us.

So the 1st Generation Internet Marketing System for the Merchant looks like the following:

Website + E-Mail + Affiliate Program

With a website that didn’t require any updating, Search Engine traffic, banner traffic, an automatic e-mail system, an Affiliate Program and automated Affiliate recruiting and training systems in place, we had everything we needed to make lots of money with online – practically on auto-pilot.

And many of us did.

All we needed to do as Merchants was to focus on our product range, offers, Affiliate and Customer support.

All Affiliates needed to do was to look for more Merchants to represent. (Note they wouldn’t install an Affiliate Program on their domain as Affiliates wouldn’t be selling anything themselves.)

For years, life was good.

Until something else came along that sort of messed up the good life that we had.

Which led to something that I called the 2nd Generation Internet Marketing System.

More on that in my next post!

Cheers
Sen Ze
P.S. Click below to book a seat to my FREE talk on Automated Internet Marketing Systems. I’ll be revealing the 4th Generation Internet Marketing System and what its components are. You really don’t want to miss out on this, because nobody else talks about them the way I do!

Steve talks to Bill (opens in a new window)

But here’s what I overheard (yep, I was there too):

Cheers!

Sen Ze

Here’s the ad:

Why is it stupid?

Well, do you understand what Adobe is saying?

No?

Ok, this is Adobe feeling pissed off with Apple for not supporting Adobe’s Flash technology on Apple’s iPhones and the new iPad. Flash is a format for videos seen on websites.

And so Adobe tells the world they’re not happy with Apple with an ad that says they love Apple, and ending with them saying they don’t love something else, which is supposed to mean Apple again (if you get it).

Get it?

Well, now that you know what it is – do you care?

No?

Of course not.

Because how is Adobe hating Apple important to YOU?

You probably don’t even know what business Adobe is in (unless you’re aware that you’re using its products).

In any case, Apple does what Apple wants with its own products.

And Adobe doesn’t like it.

And you don’t care.

But all is not lost, because someone does care.

Who?

The Wall Street Journal, of course.

It shed quite a few tears here and there.

But those are tears of joy, not of sorrow.

As Adobe paid over $285,000 for that one single ad.

Follow the arrow below:

Now how many people can Adobe feed, in any country, with that kind of money?

Sen Ze

P.S. Here’s someone else’s view:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/13/adobe-ad-apple/

As you enjoy the extreme creativity of the people who shot the ads, you may share my view that Amazon has truly wasted its money on them:

The reason for the futile attempt? Here’s just ONE reason out of many:

See how rich and moving the experience really is with an iPad?

At $499 for the 16GB iPad which does a zillion things in full blazing color, which is just $10 more than the Kindle DX which only lets you read ebooks in black and white, would you bet on the Kindle being around much longer, in its current form?

With over 2.5 million users having bought the Kindle over the past 2 years it’s available just to read books on a black and white screen – what’s your guess that there will be millions more who’ll prefer the iPad over the Kindle for reading as well, from this point onward?

Amazon should save its money on ads and funnel all of it into developing an IMPROVED Kindle that is better than the iPad in terms of looks, feel and experience (not just MATCH the iPad – because what’s the point?).

But it’s an uphill battle because Apple has set the bar so high that it’s really difficult to see how much better ANY other tablet can be.

And even assuming that Amazon can create a “better iPad” – by the time it could come up with that alternative, it really wouldn’t matter much anymore.

So the EASIEST AND LEAST RISKY strategy for Amazon to ensure that the Kindle still has a role to play is to simply slash its price.

Even making a loss from each unit of Kindle sold (* gasp *) – so that it can earn from the increased sales of its ebooks (as more users will now own a Kindle due to its cheaper price).

Or Amazon can let it die a natural death and rely on its just-released Kindle for the iPad app that iPad users can use to purchase books from its ebookstore.

At least until Apple decides to only allow ebooks to be purchased from its iBookstore only – assuming this isn’t against any anti-competitive laws in existence…

Sen Ze

This isn’t to brag, it’s simply a lot of common sense coming together (and a lot of fun too), to guess the features of the IT gadget of the decade.

And so the Apple iPad will be available to the public on April 3rd – this Saturday.

Is it going to be a hit or miss?

Nobody on the Internet (at least, on many of the technical blogs that I’ve been to) dared to commit to the iPad being a success.

Well, here’s my prediction:

It’ll not only be a hit, it’ll be a MASSIVE HIT.

So who cares if it doesn’t come with USB ports, camera, or Flash support?

Only the geeks, and Apple haters would care.

And even then if the iPad came with those, they wouldn’t buy it anyway, since it’ll still be “inferior” to their notebooks or laptops in their minds.

My Mom couldn’t care less. Nor my Dad, nor my sons – nor many people who still don’t use a laptop everyday – and they’re the very people Apple is really targeting, with many BILLIONS more of them than the geeks in the first place.

I could picture my Mom and Dad, both computer dinosaurs, having a whale of a time with the iPad. They could FINALLY now surf the Internet without having to sit in front of a desk, or learning how to use a mouse.

They may need help to type in the URL for the very first site they want to visit – and I can do it for them – or they can select from a list of important websites that the Safari browser will surely come with. From then onward, they’ll get by with tapping on the screen all the way.

In fact, my Mom had so many problems with her desktop computer (she could never remember how to log into the net, or even which icon to click on to start the browser, or even control the mouse properly), she gave up on it after using it for a few weeks. I got extremely frustrated teaching her again and again some of the things she had to do to use her computer properly – like a “double click” here, a “single click” there, and to click on the “Start” button if she wants to look for some programs to start, and again to click on the “Start” button to shut the computer off.

“Hmmm…click on the ‘Start’ button to end my computer session? Makes a lot of sense to me.”

My Mom will be 75 this year – and she’ll be getting the iPad when it’s available, and she’ll be able to use it almost as soon as it’s out of the box.

To view photos with.

To read books with.

Even to send and receive e-mail (finally, with her fingers tapping directly on the screen) with.

And of course, my Dad, to read the newspapers with.

And magazines with.

And my sons.

To play games with.

To learn new things with.

And me, to create products with.

And do some business planning with.

And do some slide presentations with.

What’s there not to like about the iPad, for any of us?

The Business In Your Pajamas Lesson
=======================

Apple has redefined computing in the past, and it is now redefining it for the present and future.

It has created a massive hit in the iPhone and iTouch – and the iPad takes the same approach to computing, but into a much bigger space in our lives. Many of the things that we do everyday with paper or the usual laptop or the tube – are all now going to be in a 9.7″ screen that we can hold comfortably in our hands, or rest on a table, depending on our preference.

So Apple simply took a winning concept – the user interface in the iPhone and iTouch – to create the iPad.

It isn’t a sexy approach.

It isn’t a “ground breaking” concept – like the iPhone was.

And it IS a bigger iTouch.

But so what if it is?

If you liked the iTouch (and the iPhone), you’ll likely LOVE the iPad, because it’s essentially the same thing, only bigger, with even more possibilities for enjoyment that the iTouch and iPhone couldn’t provide due to their smaller screens.

And that’s all that matters – isn’t it?

Apple has smartly taken what is already working like gangbusters on a small screen, put it on a bigger screen, and lined up even more good stuff and applications to be shown and used on that screen, so that even more people can enjoy what millions of iTouch and iPhone users are already enjoying.

Think about it:

1. Current iTouch/iPhone users will likely buy the iPad if they’ve enjoyed their smaller experiences.

2. Non-iTouch/iPhone users will also likely buy the iPad if they like what the iPad can give them that they cannot already get from their existing notebooks (if any) – and there are already many applications available for it (apps ported from the Apple store which will work for both iPhones and iPads)

3. Existing notebook users who are sick of the weight and bulk of their current computers or their slow boot up time or the Windows OS will likely find the iPad a wonderful alternative.

4. Those thinking of buying a notebook but are put off by its price, or simply couldn’t figure out what features they need or don’t need from a notebook from among the many available.

5. Those who are never notebook Prospects (like my parents or my sons) are not necessarily never iPad Prospects. In fact, the iPad will attract new target markets all in one fell swoop – the ebook readers, the simple computer game players, and the occasional computer user.

This simple approach of taking what works, and then SCALING IT UP to work on a bigger scale, is what puts lots of money into Apple’s bank accounts.

It couldn’t care less if this product isn’t “ground breaking”, if it’s going to sell hundreds of millions of units of it nevertheless.

Would you?

All the naysayers want to see “ground breaking” stuff, because it gives them lots of materials to fill up their blogs with.

But you and me – we just want a good alternative to the notebook/laptop – and a way out of Microsoft’s incredibly badly-written OS (Operating System) and its definition of computing for the past 3 decades or so.

The future of computing is as exciting as ever – because it’s getting simpler than ever.

Simplicity is good.

Sen Ze

And the man responsible for this latest change is none other than the inimitable Steve Jobs.

Without a doubt, Steve Jobs is the “Alexander The Great” of the IT industry. He single-handedly changed 6 industries with his company’s products and services, and he will soon change another 2 industries, in just a week’s time (Jan 27th).

Invitation From Apple For Its Jan 27th Tablet Unveiling Event

But first, let’s take a look at the industries Jobs has changed:

1. The Computer Industry
Jobs’s company Apple created a great line of computers including powerful desktops and notebooks. They’re not only powerful, but they come with a great Operating System and bundled software, they’re solidly built AND they’re super-sexy to both look at and to own.

While the majority of users in the world still use PCs, Apple’s fortunes in this industry is changing, due to its other products in other industries (see below) that are connected to the computer industry. Those products are slowly but surely lifting the superior Apple computers out of the minority league using the “foot in the door” principle discussed here.

As a result, Apple is now selling more computers than it ever had before. What’s more, I’m even considering switching to Apple after using PCs all my life because the barriers to doing so are getting lowered by the day due to multiple factors.

2. The Software Industry
With the iPod Touch or iPhone, I can download small software applications into it from Apple’s watershed iTunes store that can make my life more productive, more fun and more profitable. I could create a mind map, check currency rates, check the rankings of my URLs in Google, create a To-Do list, and many more.

I used to be able to do this using the computer, but with the iPod or iPhone, I can do this WITHOUT having to boot up my computer, or even have a computer for this purpose. And the applications are cheaper too since the business model is to have lots of people paying a few dollars for an application, and most people wouldn’t think twice about doing so.

3. The Computer Games Industry
Computer games are dominated by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, each with their own games console. However you do need a games console to play them – and hard core gamers will gladly buy those consoles for their entertainment.

There are also portable game consoles that you can carry around, like the Sony PSP.

However, there are even more less hard-core gamers who play games while waiting for their turn at the doctors, or getting into their planes, or as they go through their routine in the toilet. These group can just pick up their iPod Touch and download games applications from Apple’s iTunes store and within a few minutes they’re playing their hearts out.

For games developers, this is a new outlet for their simpler games, with a new market of gamers.

4. The Movie Industry
Steve Jobs’ Pixar Animation company has created box office hit after hit after hit with 100% computer animated movies, starting with Toy Story in 1995.

EVERY single movie created by Pixar have been unqualified commercial successes, which is a truly remarkable record in an industry where it’s notoriously hard to predict box office hits.

And now with its iTunes store, any movie from participating movie studios can now be downloaded for a few dollars each, directly into your iPod or computer, to be watched at your leisure. You can even download TV episodes the same way.

You’re now no longer tied to the broadcasting times of those shows as you can be viewing your favorite movies or TV programs at your convenience.

5. The Music Industry
iTunes changed the music industry and banished music CDs to the realms of history. You can now buy songs for 99 cents each, and download them via the Internet into your computer and iPod/iPhone from wherever you may be.

In the movies, music, software and gaming industries, a lot had gone on behind the scenes to make the business model possible. Steve Jobs has to be credited for aligning music, movie, software and gaming companies to his vision.

And the end result is BILLIONS of downloads of movies, music, software and games in just a few years, which also means new sources of revenue for Apple itself outside its old core business of selling computers. As such, Apple is now known as “Apple, Inc” starting from 2007 instead of “Apple Computer, Inc” that it began life as in 1977.

6. The Mobile Phone Industry
Apple’s iPhone redefined the “mobile phone” category. Microsoft was the first to notice the importance of getting its OS into the handsets of users with its Windows CE OS about 10 years ago – but it couldn’t capitalize on it the way Apple had done with its iPhone.

Which goes to show you that Microsoft doesn’t have ideas, just a stranglehold on you for its products due to a most lucky break arising from some opportunistic circumstances that arose some 30 years ago that Bill Gates didn’t create on his own. He had no clue that he would become the richest person in the world and he almost never did. Read that Microsoft story here.

So that’s a lot of industries that Steve Jobs has changed.

And in just a week’s time, he will soon change the Publishing Industry ANDmore, with the release of its long-awaited Tablet Computer.

The current crop of Tablet Computers all have similar features. It’s nothing more than a computer notebook without the keyboard, and you carry it around like a clipboard. Its screen responds to your stylus which you’ll use as a way to enter data into your computer and to interact with its various applications – exactly like you would with your notebook, using its mouse and keyboard.

Here’s my prediction as to what Steve Jobs would consider in his creation of the Apple Tablet, by stepping into his mind somewhat.

1. USES
This is the most CRUCIAL issue. If the Tablet doesn’t invent a new array of categories that it can be used for, or do the same things a whole lot better, it’ll fail as a product.

It CANNOT be another tablet, which is simply a notebook without the keyboard. Tablets have existed for years already and I only know of one person who owns one – and it’s being used as laptop, propped up with some stand.

In fact, it shouldn’t be another notebook at all. Why? Because we already have notebooks that do their jobs very well. So why would you want to carry a tablet without a keyboard everywhere and then use it to do exactly the same things a notebook does?

Thus the form Apple’s Tablet takes will depend on what Steve Jobs thinks it’s best used for. He will look at what consumer’s needs have yet to be fulfilled (or fulfilled properly) by either notebooks, netbooks or existing tablets, AND iPods and iPhones, and then create the form (the body) for it.

He’ll be asking – why would anyone want to CARRY a tablet with him everywhere, like he would carry a notebook around with him?

The answer, is, of course, quite elementary. IF the tablet helps the consumer do things REGULARLY that the notebook doesn’t do for him conveniently, or at all – THEN it makes sense for him to CARRY a tablet instead of a notebook.

This is an important factor to consider, since if there’s no real reason for someone to carry a Tablet as opposed to a notebook, the Tablet isn’t a necessity or provide a great benefit, ALL THE TIME (not just occasionally).

This then begs the next question. WHAT can the Tablet do for the consumer on a regular basis, that the notebook AND the iPod/iPhone don’t do properly or at all?

If Steve Jobs can answer this question, and he has taken one big step to succeeding with it.

Related to this question is the following:

Even if the Apple Tablet does things that the notebook/iPod/iPod Touch/iPhone don’t do, WHY would anyone want to HOLD a big-sized screen to do his thing?

Because if the Apple Tablet does things for him in a way no other machine does, if it isn’t NATURAL for the user to have to hold a Tablet to do it – then it will fail once more.

Now Apple can look at existing uses for HOLDING a Tablet – which is to enter data directly using a stylus on the Tablet’s touch-sensitive screen. But you can do that already with a notebook’s keyboard, and some notebooks come with both a keyboard and a touch-sensitive screen (I own one).

Thus a Tablet is only useful when you don’t have a surface to put a notebook on, and you need to enter data into a computer.

It’s also only useful if your iPod/iPod Touch/iPhone cannot provide the same experience that a Tablet can provide.

The above has restricted existing Tablets to just specialized users like those in the logistics or medical industries who need to be mobile and at the same time enter lots of data into the computer.

So – what is hard to do on both notebook computers and iPods/iTouches/iPhones but a cinch to do on the Tablet?

Going in another direction; what is currently being done to iPods/iTouches/iPhones to fulfill a user need/want but the user wishes the experience can be a whole lot better?

If the new Apple Tablet can improve on this user experience SIGNIFICANTLY, then it has a chance.

Going in yet another direction; are there NEW uses for the Tablet that nobody else has thought of before, that is a NATURAL consequence of carrying it around all the time, that the iPods/iTouches/iPhones cannot fulfill adequately?

The iPods/iTouches/iPhones link is inevitable since the Tablet has to be very mobile. However the challenge is for the user to WANT to carry a much bigger screen EVERYWHERE he goes, and its usage must feel RIGHT.

It thus makes more sense to move up from iPods/iTouches/iPhones to the Tablet instead of to move down from notebooks or laptops to the Tablet, since the Tablet resembles the former more.

And when the Tablet can do similar things better than the iPods/iTouches/iPhones, and if it’s what the user would want to have, then the Tablet has got a good chance of succeeding.

So one way to position the new Apple Tablet is that it can do better at certain functions that the iPods/iTouches/iPhones don’t do very well.

Let’s see. The most obvious improvement in a Tablet is its screen size.

Movies would look better. However most users will not use it to view movies since it would be an ordeal to hold your Tablet for 90 minutes straight. A notebook would do a better job of that, unless the Tablet comes with an accessory WITHIN its body that can prop it up on a surface.

Photos can be displayed better, as they can appear bigger. However nobody will buy a Tablet just so that they can view bigger photos. A notebook computer is adequate for the job.

The iPod Touch/iPhone’s multi-touch screen navigation can now be used on a bigger area. However just because it can be done, doesn’t mean there’s any good use for it on a bigger screen – unless that bigger surface navigation significantly adds to the user experience.

As you can now see, the Tablet must not only do things BETTER, it must also do things that the user WANTS to do in that better way.

If Steve Jobs can answer that question, or CREATE those uses for the user, the Apple Tablet will be a winner.

Now one rather obvious use for the Tablet is to use it as an ebook reader, like Amazon’s Kindle, or Barnes & Noble’s Nook. However, it must go beyond what those 2 provide, else there really isn’t a good reason to go with the Tablet at all.

Thus at the end of the day, it isn’t so much WHAT the Tablet can do, it’s also what it can do that also makes sense for it to be done in Tablet format.

Tie-ups with Publishers providing good reading materials on the Apple Tablet is a step in that direction, and this is exactly what Apple has done (again, my guess). Right now reading ebooks on the iTouch/iPhone doesn’t exactly provide the best user experience.

And it’s almost certain that both the Kindle and Nook will be a laughing stock when Apple unveils its Tablet for reading ebooks.

With the multi-touch screen, sections of the page can be expanded (like photos or illustrations), for a better view. Publishers can now publish their ebooks and combine various multimedia elements within the book like videos and sound clips or music, like some publications on CD-ROMs of the past. A simple click on the multimedia links opens up the video or plays the music file without the user ever leaving the page.

This same setup can be created for newspapers. Newspapers can offer subscriptions and their news will now be richer in multimedia formats that are mixed with plain text for a richer user experience.

Most importantly, the FORMATTING OR LAYOUT of the books/newspapers will be as the publisher intended it to be. Current ebook readers do maintain the formatting of the publication, but this will be taken to another level with multi-media embedding of various other elements essential to it with Apple’s Tablet.

And Apple’s very intuitive multi-touchscreen that allows inputs from the user’s fingers would help enhance the user experience even more.

So the KEY success factor for Apple’s Tablet is in the CONTENT AND THE FORM THE CONTENT IS MEANT TO BE PRESENTED for consumption using the Tablet and consequently the EXPERIENCE the user will get from using the Tablet that he cannot get by using the iTouch/iPhone or notebooks.

For this reason alone Apple will likely create its own special ebook reader software that not only provides the same functions as all other ebook software, but adds even more on its own, like the multimedia embedding and the intended-formatting function.

And of course the Tablet is wi-fi ready so that the required reading materials can be downloaded from anywhere with an Internet connection.

So the ebook reading market is all wrapped up, and print books will soon go the way of music CDs. Amazon sells hundreds of millions of dollars of books every year – so this is a huge market.

Print newspapers have been dying a rapid death the past few years, so Apple’s Tablets will resuscitate this industry with its Tablet.

Magazines will get a new lease of life in electronic format since it’ll be cheaper to subscribe to the digital versions from anywhere in the world, as there is no postage to worry about.

All 3 major publication types have been covered by Apple’s Tablet – and there is hope yet for all of them despite the Internet onslaught, with ironically the Internet itself fueling Apple’s Tablet.

So what else is a HUGE market for the Tablet?

The Gaming industry, of course. If Apple can create or get game developers to develop games specifically for the Tablet and make it multi-player (so that another gamer would require another Apple Tablet to play with the others), it’ll have another huge market on its hands.

What else is there?

Well, what about the Education and Training markets? Education and Training are both HUGE markets, with billions of dollars spent every year on them. Apple will position the Tablet as a an indispensable education and training tool that is not only easier to carry around and use, but much more useful as well.

Universities and even schools will soon create education materials for the Tablet and students need only carry their one Tablet around. It is both a note-taking tool, a reference tool AND interaction tool at the same time (anonymous votes on any topic can be carried out and also instantly tallied). Assessments of students’ progress can also be done entirely online with the submission happening directly from the Tablet itself.

What about the Social Networking market? I’m talking about physical networking, not Facebook. We could all carry our Apple Tablets to social events – and instead of exchanging cards, we could simply “push” our contact details or photos or video clips or whatever digital files that we’re legally allowed to share, over to another Apple Tablet device. We could now do this with the iPhone using an application called “Bump” but the iPhone’s small screen is a handicap.

What about Sales Personnel? A tablet is much easier to carry around than a notebook and the multi-touchscreen allows for impressive presentations and highlights of certain points.

What about Presenters at seminars? They can now show their PowerPoint presentation using their Apple Tablets instead of a notebook. Why would they want to do this? Because their audience members will likely have Apple Tablets too (to take notes with) and there will be applications to enable the presenter to share his presentation directly with his audience’s Apple Tablets.

Of crucial importance is that there are enough common uses for the Apple Tablet that will enable it to stand on its own.

Some of those uses will need to be invented, others will provide much better experiences for the users when done on the Tablet.

2. FORM
In view of the above uses, here’s what the Apple Tablet needs to be or have:

1) Extremely Light
You’re going to be holding it for as long as you can, so lightness is crucial.

The existing crop of tablets are heavy and you really wish to be rid of it as soon as you can. When you feel this way about them, they’ll fail miserably.

Fortunately Apple has extensive experience in this area, with the MacBook Air and of course the iPhone. As long as Steve Jobs can make the Tablet into the lightest possible device, perhaps even lighter than the MacBook Air (my guess is that it’s very likely to be), it’s another step in the right direction.

2) Extremely Thin
It should be slightly thicker than the screen’s thickness itself, if this is at all possible.

Remember that one of the main uses of the Tablet is to read newspapers, magazines and eboooks – so the thinner it is, the more comfortable it is to hold.

3) A Protective Cover
The Tablet will be placed in my bag that will likely also carry keys and other things that can scratch its surface. So some form of cover will be required to protect it from harm.

This cover will be extremely thin and light and I think it’ll “fold” back to itself as the “back cover” of the Tablet when the Tablet is in use. Since it’s Apple designing, this cover will be INSERTED into the back of the Tablet, which has a slot for it.

It’s hard to describe what I mean, but the action is similar to opening the cover until it’s aligned 180 degrees in relation to the screen (so it looks like a fully opened, flat book), and then the cover is easily pushed into a slot at the back of the Tablet, all in one seamless move. The cover does not detach from the Tablet at all.

4) Onscreen Keyboard
This is similar to the iPhone keyboard. It shows up when you need it and disappears when you don’t.

There are a lot of screen real estate so this is a much better experience than using the iPhone to type.

5) Multi-touch screen
This goes without saying. Squeezing and expanding images and pages on a much bigger screen creates a whole new user experience that is very similar to manipulating physical objects.

6) No Heat
Apple needs to stop the battery from heating up the Tablet, since it’ll be held in the hands and a hot Tablet makes it really uncomfortable to hold on to for long.

I’ve got some experience using Tablets, albeit for only minutes at a time since they’re heavy, slow and really not built for my comfort in mind.

7) Instant Boot Up
It must not be like another computer even though it can do similar things. Quick boot ups will differentiate it significantly from computers and gives it a category of its own. The OS (Operating System) will likely be an enhanced version of the one that powers the iPhone.

Fast Responses
A fast CPU is crucial for the user to get the most out of his Tablet. This also means that no Windows OS should ever be allowed to power an Apple Tablet – or any Tablet, for that matter.

3. NAME
I think it’ll be called the iPad, since it sounds better than “iSlate” or “iGuide” or some of the other names that I’ve heard.

So those are my predictions. I could be right on all counts, or only on some, or I could be totally wrong.

Regardless, if I’m wrong, the above is my feedback to Steve Jobs on what makes me want to get a Tablet. Hopefully he’s listening…

Let’s see what happens on the 27th!

Sen Ze
P.S. Incidentally, this post contains valuable lessons on how you should always step into your Prospects’ heads when you’re designing products for them. The best way to do this is to become your own Prospect and then ask yourself – what benefit would you want your product or service to have that would really enhance your enjoyment of it?

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