In 2010, we got the iPad, the Nexus One and Nexus S, the Facebook Open Graph, Gmail Priority Inbox, the fall of Digg(), the iPhone 4 (and Gizmodo controversy), Google’s acquisition of ITA, the WikiLeaks() phenomenon and the ascension of Mark Zuckerberg.
How’s that for an eventful year in tech? And this list only scratches the surface of tech’s biggest stories. But while many companies rocked the tech world in 2010 (in both good ways and bad), only a few companies can lay claim to creating tech’s biggest win, its biggest flop and its biggest surprise.
So which products and companies top the list? After browsing the Mashable() archives and pondering the question over many cups of tea, I have come up with my list for tech’s biggest win, flop and surprise, along with runners-up in each category.
As I am not the end-all for what’s hot in tech, I expect many people to disagree with my picks, so I encourage you to challenge my choices in the comments with what topped your own list.
Tech’s Biggest Win of 2010: Apple iPad()
The past year was the year of Facebook() and Apple. Both companies grew by leaps and bounds, increased their valuations by billions of dollars and made a significant impact on the world.
Only one, however, established an entirely new market that it now dominates with an iron fist. It’s hard to believe that it hasn’t even been a year since Apple launched the iPad, a device that has turned the tablet form factor into a must-have. Apple is expected to sell 13.3 million iPads this year, up from… well, up from zero iPads in 2009.
It’s not just the fact that Apple single handedly created a new multi-billion-dollar revenue stream, but that it’s redefining all of computing. Notebook sales have dropped since the iPad’s introduction. Apple accelerated the rise of HTML5 with its tablet device at the expense of Flash. Its influence is already affecting countless web apps. Oh, and it’s redefining the meaning of “mobile.”
Apple isn’t done, though. The iPad 2 will arrive in the next few months, and its difficult to find any circumstance where it wouldn’t extend Apple’s supremacy over the market it created.
Runner-up: The Facebook “Like” Button
It took Facebook just one week to get the “Like” button on 50,000 websites. Now 10,000 new websites integrate with Facebook every day.
Few things have permeated the web as quickly as the Facebook Open Graph and its ubiquitous “Like” button. In 2010, Facebook gained reach and interest data at a scale that has Google running scared.
Tech’s Biggest Flop of 2010: Google Buzz()
Google Buzz doesn’t top my list of biggest tech flops because it had a spectacular crash-and-burn event, nor does it top my list because, along with Google Wave(), it exposed the search giant as a mortal company with many flaws.
No, Buzz’s failure tops my list because of the vast repercussions it will have on both Google() and the web.
With the exception of YouTube(), Google has failed at social. Blogger(), Orkut(), Dodgeball(), Picasa(), Jaiku(), Google Friend Connect(), Google Latitude, Google Wave, and Google Knowl have either been shut down or dominated by upstart competitors like Foursquare(), Facebook, WordPress() and Twitter().
With Google’s biggest attempt at social now a mere afterthought, nothing stands in Facebook’s way. The social network will eventually surpass its Silicon Valley rival both in terms of net worth and dominance of the web. Google will become the next Microsoft, profitable but unable to grow, and Facebook will become the next Google whose influence will be felt for years to come.
Runner-up: Microsoft Kin
Microsoft wrote off $240 million in costs due to the abysmal failure of the Kin phone, but it likely cost the company far more than that. Interesting in concept, a wave of bad decisions led to its quick destruction.
Now Microsoft will try to wipe that failure from its memory with Windows Phone 7(), the company’s challenger to the rise of Android() and iPhone. It’s off to a slow start, but Microsoft has made it clear that it is in the mobile game for the long haul.
Tech’s Biggest Surprise of 2010: The Rise of Groupon
In April, Groupon was worth $1 billion. By November, it was worth $6 billion. In other words, the group-buying website’s average value is growing by more than $20 million in value per day. That makes it the fastest growing company in history.
Groupon now has more than 3,000 employees selling brands on the daily deal business model. And business is booming. Now the company is shooting for greatness after turning down Google’s $6 billion offer. The eventual Groupon IPO will be the most anticipated public offering since Google (unless Facebook beats them to the punch).
Nobody could have predicted that Groupon and the group buying business model would explode like it did in 2010, not even Groupon’s founders. Local business and advertising has been changed forever by the flood of daily deals that now permeate the web. And remember this: We have yet to see the limits of the Groupon phenomenon.
Runner-up: HP, Mark Hurd and Oracle
HP was on track for record profits and a big push into mobile through its acquisition of Palm. Then CEO Mark Hurd shocked the tech world with his resignation after a sexual harassment scandal that played out for weeks in the tech press.
Then Oracle CEO Larry Ellison brought Mark Hurd on board as co-president, sparking a fight between Oracle and HP and bringing their rivalry to a whole new level.
Oh, and who would have guessed HP would choose former SAP CEO Léo Apotheker as its new CEO? We certainly didn’t.
Bonus Surprise/Flop: Digg’s Total Implosion
After writing this post, I had to add an honorable (but unfortunate) mention to the list: The dramatic fall of Digg from the social web’s graces.
Remember when Digg was one of the web’s biggest traffic referrers? Remember when Digg users could take down a website or create a major controversy?
Those days are over. In its place is a new version of Digg that its users hate. The heavy competition between publishers for the front page of Digg is gone, replaced by the rise of Twitter, Facebook and other social news tools.
Digg gambled and it lost big. Now the company is just trying to survive. It’s a dramatic change from just a year ago, when it was one of the kings of the social media universe.
Year End Exclusive from e-News® DESK