FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7TH, 2011
With the passing of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, there will be much talk concerning his greatest contribution to the tech world. Was it the birth of the GUI (Graphical User Interface)? Plug 'n Play? The mouse? Unibody laptops? The iPhone? The iPod? Maybe it was re-inventing music retail? Or Apple Stores? Was it the introduction of the spreadsheet (Visicalc), or perhaps PDA computing (Newton/Touch)?
If we are to be honest, his true "legacy" product is none of the above.
No, the one product that Mr Jobs should be remembered for, in fact the ONLY product actually created by Steve Jobs (Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computers which were sold from his garage), is the Apple Consumer©.
Steve Jobs did not offer products that the world needed, he sold a lifestyle which in turn created a desire for the items he had to offer. This was facilitated by an unrivaled intuition into the consumer's pulse, allowing him to identify products which would resonate with consumers on a personal level. His brilliance was not only in the area of system design (although he had a 'Bang and Olufsen' sense of esthetics). What placed Mr Jobs so far above all other CEO's of his age, was his keen insight into the what drives the masses. He understood the correlation between price and perceived status, and that brand loyalty was created most effectively by marketing image-defining uniqueness (fashion?), while selling memberships to an exclusive insider "clique". (not an easy sell for a mass-market product.)
People don't buy iPhones because they're the best cellphones available (although they very well may be - that debate is beyond the scope of this post), they buy iPhones because they are "THE" phone to own. Macbooks aren't better because they're faster, sleeker or more advanced, they're better because they carry a vastly superior cool factor. That level of cool goes beyond the hardware itself, and approaches religious significance. In our self-centered "me-first" world, how can we possibly resist a range of products, who's very names proclaim "i" (humbly, in lower case!).
Steve is a product of "The Me Generation" and included a membership to "The In Crowd" with every Apple product sold. Macs are to computers what foie-gras is to chopped liver. While plain old chopped liver may be just as tasty, it's the consumer of the foie-gras who is superior for having such discerning tastes!
What makes this marketing feat even more outstanding, is that while the company is as blatantly capitalist as the rest of the industry, it is brilliantly presented as the every-man alternative to its evil corporate competitors.
"Computers for the rest of us" was Madison Avenue speak for "Elitism for the Masses", while "Think Different" was really "Apple users are superior people"
This outstanding (albeit manipulative) marketing, and the image it creates, not only for Apple, but for the Apple customer themselves, remains Mr Jobs' real claim to fame. He never 'invented' anything of note (while he may have "inspired" more than a few cool toys) or contributed to a better world (besides bringing us closer to a Tofler-esque "Third Wave"), but Steve Jobs did introduce a psychopathic-bond style of marketing to the mainstream, and made us all love being converted into brand-loyal zombies.
Don't get me wrong, Apple products are outstanding, and often feature bleeding-edge technology that the entire industry benefits from eventually, but is that why we want Apple products? Or do we want (need?) them simply because our self-image suffers if we are not among the faithful.
Steve Jobs most impressive accomplishment lies not with alternative technology solutions - it is instead in the re-purposing of computer hardware as a fashion accessory.
R.I.P. Mr Jobs. The last time Apple was without you, it floundered to near extinction. Without your near-Machiavellian marketing prowess, history will very likely repeat.
What will your legacy be then? Will you remain a household name? A "visionary"? A "genius"? Or will you fade to relative obscurity like Thomas J Watson and the others who came before you.
When all is said and done, you won't be leaving the world a better place for having been here. You achieved a position of unrivaled influence, and used it to create nothing but gadgets and personal wealth. Granted, that is hardly unusual among CEO's, but it certainly demonstrates that you do not deserve the accolades suggesting that you somehow transcended your corporate station. You didn't transcend it, you embodied it!
THAT is what should be mourned with your passing. It is also why I refuse to join the fanboys in your virtual deification.
If we are to be honest, his true "legacy" product is none of the above.
No, the one product that Mr Jobs should be remembered for, in fact the ONLY product actually created by Steve Jobs (Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computers which were sold from his garage), is the Apple Consumer©.
Steve Jobs did not offer products that the world needed, he sold a lifestyle which in turn created a desire for the items he had to offer. This was facilitated by an unrivaled intuition into the consumer's pulse, allowing him to identify products which would resonate with consumers on a personal level. His brilliance was not only in the area of system design (although he had a 'Bang and Olufsen' sense of esthetics). What placed Mr Jobs so far above all other CEO's of his age, was his keen insight into the what drives the masses. He understood the correlation between price and perceived status, and that brand loyalty was created most effectively by marketing image-defining uniqueness (fashion?), while selling memberships to an exclusive insider "clique". (not an easy sell for a mass-market product.)
People don't buy iPhones because they're the best cellphones available (although they very well may be - that debate is beyond the scope of this post), they buy iPhones because they are "THE" phone to own. Macbooks aren't better because they're faster, sleeker or more advanced, they're better because they carry a vastly superior cool factor. That level of cool goes beyond the hardware itself, and approaches religious significance. In our self-centered "me-first" world, how can we possibly resist a range of products, who's very names proclaim "i" (humbly, in lower case!).
Steve is a product of "The Me Generation" and included a membership to "The In Crowd" with every Apple product sold. Macs are to computers what foie-gras is to chopped liver. While plain old chopped liver may be just as tasty, it's the consumer of the foie-gras who is superior for having such discerning tastes!
What makes this marketing feat even more outstanding, is that while the company is as blatantly capitalist as the rest of the industry, it is brilliantly presented as the every-man alternative to its evil corporate competitors.
"Computers for the rest of us" was Madison Avenue speak for "Elitism for the Masses", while "Think Different" was really "Apple users are superior people"
This outstanding (albeit manipulative) marketing, and the image it creates, not only for Apple, but for the Apple customer themselves, remains Mr Jobs' real claim to fame. He never 'invented' anything of note (while he may have "inspired" more than a few cool toys) or contributed to a better world (besides bringing us closer to a Tofler-esque "Third Wave"), but Steve Jobs did introduce a psychopathic-bond style of marketing to the mainstream, and made us all love being converted into brand-loyal zombies.
Don't get me wrong, Apple products are outstanding, and often feature bleeding-edge technology that the entire industry benefits from eventually, but is that why we want Apple products? Or do we want (need?) them simply because our self-image suffers if we are not among the faithful.
Steve Jobs most impressive accomplishment lies not with alternative technology solutions - it is instead in the re-purposing of computer hardware as a fashion accessory.
R.I.P. Mr Jobs. The last time Apple was without you, it floundered to near extinction. Without your near-Machiavellian marketing prowess, history will very likely repeat.
What will your legacy be then? Will you remain a household name? A "visionary"? A "genius"? Or will you fade to relative obscurity like Thomas J Watson and the others who came before you.
When all is said and done, you won't be leaving the world a better place for having been here. You achieved a position of unrivaled influence, and used it to create nothing but gadgets and personal wealth. Granted, that is hardly unusual among CEO's, but it certainly demonstrates that you do not deserve the accolades suggesting that you somehow transcended your corporate station. You didn't transcend it, you embodied it!
THAT is what should be mourned with your passing. It is also why I refuse to join the fanboys in your virtual deification.
