The end of the Silicon Valley celebrity CEO?
 |
| Attendees settle in before Steve Jobs' final Macworld keynote in January 2008. Photo: Jon Fortt |
It's tempting to say it's no big deal that Apple is ditching the Macworld Expo. Yes, Steve Jobs has used Macworld stages to introduce the iPhone, the Macbook Air, the iBook and a slew of other objects of techno-lust. But Jobs doesn't need Macworld to get attention. Mr. Innovation could have invited the press to a bowling alley in Fresno to unveil new technology, and a crowd would still show up.
But this actually is a big deal. Fueled by Apple's (AAPL) recent success, Jobs's San Francisco Macworld keynote had become the industry's most remarkable marketing event. Journalists from around the world, drawn by star power and the force of tradition, gathered annually to hear Jobs set the agenda for consumer technology.
It's true that over the years Apple has developed alternate venues to get its message out; there's the Worldwide Developer Conference before the back-to-school season, an iPhone event in the spring or summer, an iPod event in September, and one or two more. But Macworld was the big splash — the one time when press and analysts gathered at Apple's doorstep without having to be invited.
Are things different without a Jobs keynote at Macworld? In the short term, barely. There just aren't many superstars left running companies these days, now that folks like Microsoft founder (MSFT) Bill Gates and former Intel CEO (INTC) Craig Barrett have stepped back from operational roles. There are folks like Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Sam Palmisano of IBM (IBM), but they're known more as uber managers than as tech geniuses.
There's Oracle founder Larry Ellison, but Joe Sixpack has no idea what Oracle (ORCL) does. Then there are the Web 2.0 celebrities – Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page at Google (GOOG), and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg – but none of them could be mistaken for inspirational speakers. So as long as Steve Jobs is still at the helm of Apple, and as long as Apple's products remain popular, the tech community will gather when he's got something to say.
The question is what happens when His Steveness steps away from the company, or when Apple's products are no longer the toast of the town. When that happens –Â and it's a matter of when, not if — Apple executives may long for the bygone days of the Macworld keynote, when the techies of the world huddled like kids on Christmas, and expected to be blown away.
People try to find complex reasons why Steve decided to put an end to the Stevenote. It's very simple really if you think like Steve for a moment. Does anybody think it's a coincidence that he suddenly and abruptly steps off stage, probably for good, just three weeks after the Simpsons Lampoons the Stevenote on primetime television? Silly as it may sound, Apple execs saw that as the end. The Stevenote instantly became too iconic, and passe. I'm sure all the other things people are wondering about have been discussed at Apple for months now as well, but that was the final straw that hastened the end of the Stevenote because nothing is more important to the Apple Brand than being cool. And the Stevenote instantly became "uncool" when the Simpsons made lampooned it.
[the comment referred to in this post has been removed.]
The comment posted below attributed to me is not from me. It is someone posing as me for lord only knows what reason. There is no other Ken Fisher in Woodside and I have both business and personal reasons for never making such a posting.
One very sad part about the internet era is the wide spread capability for people to post anonymously, pretend to be who they aren't, etc.. The internet really has allowed our society to devolve into a drastically lower level of integrity. It is impossible to figure out what someone pretending to be me, or pretending to be anyone, posting something like this gets out of it. But whoever it is I feel sorry for. The world should hope for and expect better–but we don't and won't seem to be getting it via internet.
Stave is pissed at the MacWorld people. Apple is pulling out – and this is his slap in their face (since they already committed to being at this final show.) In addition to his tech/business savvy, Jobs is also pretty good at "payback" – just ask Sculley, and the former board members at Disney.
The "cult of personality" is always disgusting no matter what the institution. The media loves it and sycophants can't seem to live without it.
This is sad commentary on those who believe in such non-sense.
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff is probably the closest thing today to a Silicon Valley celebrity CEO. It is hard to find any article on Cloud Computing that does not mention or quote Marc.
The increasing amount of product info leaks has taken the shine off of actual product announcements. It's no wonder that Apple was planning to pull out at some point, as the "splash" was just no longer there.
Maybe the fact that "MacWorld" is really for Macs, and Apple is much more than that now. I bet that there will be a new venue for non-Mac Apple launches.
Steve Jobs is over 50 years old. The body does not recover from physical activity as well as it did at 40 years of age, and naps are much appreciated.
Steve Jobs had major surgery a few years ago. So he has some difficulty maintaining a high pace, and long-distance travel might be more difficult, with more frequent stops in transit, and requiring extra days before and after to rest, not including jet lag.
He might have some recent medical issues that require close monitoring, and long-distance travel is not a good idea.
And consider this – he might have a new and very keen interest in medical instrumentation – and he doesn't want to talk about it until a product is better developed. Sometimes silence is an indication of new product development – isn't that the Apple way ?
Fact checking needed. The iBook was introduced at a special event at the Apple head quarters in Cupertino. I know, I was there!
From Jon Fortt: I'll have to challenge you on that one. I believe the very first iBook was introduced at Macworld New York.
I think that Steve is fed up with the market manipulators using him
and his health to the detriment of Apple and it's shareholders.
The former positives of Steve's great presentations, are now out-
weighed by the negatives of over-hyped, exaggerated expectations, and
an exaggerated perception of Apple's dependence on Steve. The news of
the presentations is now completely obscured by the "news" that the
presentation doesn't measure up to the manufactured rumours, or that
Steve is too thin so Apple is doomed.
The only cure is for Steve to step away from all public performance,
and let the rumour mongers have their last fling now, and to let the
"Cult of Steve" die.
Apple could buy and host it’s own better attended MacWorld shows if it ever became as desperate as you think, which will not happen in your lifetime – FUD.
As long as people buy Apple products, which will continue as long as quality, user friendly and cool design matters, Apple will reign. It doesn’t matter how the press is – It’s the products and the technology that Apple die hards will always be behind .
What a wretchedly short-sighted article. It essentially says "Apple should be afraid to step outside the box."
Gads man, have you been paying attention? This company did not jump to the head of the class by doing things as they've always been done.
Steve's absence from MacWorld keynotes fits nicely in his new policy to show that Apple has more brilliant people than just Steve. If Jobs ever wants to retreat (like Bill Gates did with Microsoft) he has to prove that Apple will live on without Steve. That retreat may not be near, but Steve Jobs has learned from the past year, when the share price of AAPL has retreated several times, on rumors about Steve's health. Now of course Jobs has had cancer, and he probably had major surgery, so you never know if that reduces his life expectancy. So it can only be applauded that Steve now puts directors like Cook and Schiller in the front line.
Tell Steve to do the Dr. William Kelley diet. He will survive!