Apple's buzz engine fueled by more than Jobs
commentary As Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs has transformed the way we think about computers, portable music, and mobile phones. So I read with great interest a profile of Jobs in the Sunday Times of the United Kingdom this morning.
Reality distortion field: To Air is human.
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)While there are a few interesting bits of information about how hard Jobs is to get along with and how driven he is, the piece missed the boat on a couple of very important points.
The story labels Apple's secrecy as "the mafia code of silence" that is "ruthlessly enforced, with employees sacked for leaks and careless talk. Executives feed deliberate misinformation into one part of the company so that any leak can be traced back to its source."
The Times piece correctly surmises that Apple's secrecy is "all about preserving the magic of each new product." Part of the magic of Apple, of course, is the constant buzz that surrounds the company.
Other companies in the tech market would give almost anything to have a small percentage of the buzz that Apple is able to create. Public-relations firms are hired to raise the profile of executives and have reporters write stories on all their clients' latest gadgets.
That works, to a certain degree. But as soon as something breaks that concerns Apple, every major publication in the world drops everything and starts writing.
The interesting thing is that Apple does it all without saying a word. That is part of the magic. It is the mystique that surrounds Jobs and the entire company. Take the buzz surrounding the rumored music event in September. There are hundreds of stories, but Apple hasn't even confirmed that there will be an event.
Jobs could announce a press event tomorrow, and the world's press would jump through hoops to get there. Why? Because they know that whatever Jobs is going to talk about is likely to be game-changing. No other executive has that reputation.
The secrecy of Apple is definitely put in place to protect the company's product development. If history is any indication, it needs that protection.
As soon as Apple releases a new product, the market scrambles to either denounce it as trivial, copy it as best they can, or in some cases, do both. The iPhone is a perfect example of that.
I don't see any company racing to copy a new Dell product. Why? Because it generally misses the innovation mark. When is the last time the world's press swarmed to see Michael Dell introduce something? I have no idea, either.
Apple without Steve
I was completely shocked to reach the end of the four-page article to find a prediction that when Jobs eventually leaves Apple, the company will seek a merger with Google.
That is flat-out wrong. Apple will not seek a merger with Google--or other company, for that matter--unless it is the dominant party.
The belief that Apple would shrivel up and die when Jobs leaves is giving no credit to what the man has spent the last 30-plus years building. Unlike chief executives who may fear being surrounded by other smart leaders, Jobs insists on it.
The executives at Apple could easily run most other companies, but they choose to stay with Apple. Take a few of the top names as examples: Tim Cook, chief operating officer; Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone software; Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design; and Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. In addition to Greg Joswiak, vice president of worldwide iPod product marketing, and Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of software engineering, they are regarded by many as the best at what they do in the market.
With all of that talent, it's no wonder that Apple is an incredibly innovative company. And it's not just with hardware, either. Apple has taken some of most mundane but enjoyable tasks and made them easier.
Take as examples iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie. With a click of a button, you can make slideshows and movies, and then burn them to a DVD. One of the biggest Apple success stories over the last decade has to be iTunes. We buy our movies, songs, and apps for the iPhone, all without leaving the comfort of our homes.
Jobs doesn't do it alone. The iPod is a perfect example of this. Tony Fadell is the father of the iPod, a product he and his team began building in 2001 under Jobs' tutelage. Fadell brought the idea to Apple, and Jobs had the vision to understand how big it would be.
While Jobs is certainly the driving force behind the company, he doesn't spend all night dreaming up products, then sitting in his garage soldering chips and components together so he can walk into the engineering team and say, "This is what I want."
Although his style is not to everyone's liking, Jobs is a visionary who gives people great devices. He does it with the help of some of the smartest people in the technology market.
Apple is changing the way we think of how we do things. Whether that's on the computer, iPod, iPhone, or the rumored tablet, it is positioned to continue doing so for a long time to come.
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop. You can follow him on Twitter @jdalrymple. 
The list goes on. Hi, I'm a PC on sale for $499 and I do more to change the world than a $1200 mac with out-of-date software
You cant even say without a shadow of a doubt that he doesnt give perhaps he does it an anonymously rather then make it a PR spectacle. Ask anyone of the 50,000 people he employes if he does enough, or the planet for insisting on less packaging and biodegradable packaging.
Its a competitive world demonizing people for not giving is ridiculous when he has s many bigger things that effect the world. Demonize him for things that matter like building everything in China or making deals with AT&T.
Using dollar signs for "S" by no means gives any respect to Steve Jobs. If you are unwilling to respect the man by at least using his name properly, then it is highly unlikely anyone will respect your comments here either.
@The_happy_switcher:
"Lots of billionaires donate anonymously. He doesn't have to answer to you. "
Ironic that you take Bill Gates and Microsoft to task, demanding a full accounting of how much they donate and to whom in the past. Why the double standard here?
Unlike Gates. Gates has a name that commands respect. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is where it is because of the name and the recognition Gates offers. His causes are heroic and truly benefit so many unfortunate people in this world. If it was not for the name and recognition, those causes would not be as successful as they are.
I commend both men and they really are good friends in real life. Jobs looks up to Gates for the work he has done in Africa. He has publicly said so time and time again.
A totally UFB statement. Even Bill Gates would bi--h slap you!
Apple was late to the environment-party too...so late that Greenpeace had to get on their case for it while PC manufacturers like HP and Dell were leading the way.
"Dell has been dropping down the ranking from 5th place in v.8, to 8th in v.9, to 12th in v.10 and now is in 13th"
"HP drops from 13th to penultimate (16th) position"
"Apple?s score increases to 4.7 points and the company leaps to 10th position ? up from 14th in v.10"
Source: http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/guide-to-greener-electronics-11.pdf
As to Gates' giving vs. Jobs': Gates had to be chastised into giving money by Ted Turner - prior to that, Gates, himself, wasn't on any such lists as you mention. I'm not defending Jobs - just pointing out that Gates was no better. Apple, Inc. has proven it can improve with Greenpeace, and perhaps Jobs will do some philanthropic work in the future that is to your liking, with a bit of coaxing from the outside.
Also, Apple succeeds at a lot of things because they are the first ones to do it right. Often they are not the first to do it, but they market it correctly and position it correctly. About all the hype that surrounds Apple. Go back a few years. Apple would release game-changing products little hype. People expected nothing and got a lot and they started realizing that just because Apple wasn't saying anything, didn't mean that they weren't making something. Now they are obsessed with figuring out what Apple is doing, even if they are doing nothing. All the other companies are trying to build hype by saying "me me me!! Look what I'm making." Apple just does, or doesn't, do it and let's the media do whatever it does. It works out well for it, but I doubt it would work for anyone else.
I'll just say what I had come here to say, I think apple will be fine, even without steve jobs. Sure, steve jobs has high standards when it comes to his products, but you don't need a tech nazi to be innovative. Even if steve died right now, the company would still survive.
I far more respect those who give to others in privacy than those who call a press conference to announce how much they are giving, and to whom. Jesus said that when you give don't do it like the Pharisees who crow about it, but do it in private and God will bless you for your faithfulness. To assert that Jobs doesn't give because he doesn't publicize it is just stupid
One of the highest is the one who gives charity to the poor, but he does not know the recipient, and the recipient does not know the donor. Beneath that, he knows who he gives to, but the recipient does not know the benefactor. Below this is someone who does not know who he gives to, but the recipient knows the donor. Below this is someone who gives to the poor person before being asked. Below this is someone who gives to the poor person after being asked. Below this is someone who gives to the poor person gladly and with a smile. Below this is someone who gives to the poor person unwillingly.
I don't know which one Steve Jobs is; do you? Which one are you?
"Jobs could announce a press event tomorrow, and the world's press would jump through hoops to get there. Why? Because they know that whatever Jobs is going to talk about is likely to be game-changing. No other executive has that reputation. "
It ain't just the executive. Sure, having one of the fathers of the Personal Computer running the corp is a good thing for buzz, but the one reason everyone in the press drops-and-runs for Jobs is because of this: With very few exceptions, Apple delivers game-changing gear. With their kind of track record, it's natural that reporters would scramble to find out what the next item is, no?
Bill Gates used to have something similar going about him in the early-to-mid 1990s... Windows 95 is a solid example of this. OTOH, he (and Microsoft) didn't keep it going, and shifted focus to visions that had more paradigm than substance. Perfect example of that? .NET. There was the language, the communications protocol, the "dot-net server"... everything that wasn't bolted to the floor in Seattle was named ".NET" - but nothing tangible the reporters can point to and go "oh, that's a game-changer!"
Now to be fair, there was the tablet evangelism, and if someone made one that was worth a damn at the time and looked good doing it, that may have taken off.
Jobs and Gates may or may not also share the same problem down the road. Sure, Steve Ballmer is an intelligent man, I don't doubt that. OTOH, he has no vision, little-to-no sense of PR, a leadership style that seems to confuse rather than drive, and a public persona that can best be described as vicious. He's simply not the kind of guy who seems to draw people in to him. Tim Cook (Apple's heir apparent) may be leagues ahead of Ballmer in the right qualities, but he has yet to prove himself fully, and is just starting to ease in to being the face of Apple... only time will tell.
- by heygeo August 19, 2009 4:32 PM PDT
- LOL.. really this so called Buzz article is weak.. the real story here is what the hell is growing out of Jim Dalrymple's nose and chin.. dude you need to stop feeding that thing seymore!
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(33 Comments)