There have been numerous debates as to whether the role of Steve Jobs in today’s world is over hyped. I for one, think it is. But let us try and understand the reasons for the hype.
Steve Jobs did not change the world. He didn’t invent the personal computer or the mouse driven GUI. People already listened to music on the move and owned cell phones. On the other hand, co-inventor of Unix OS and C programming language, Dennis Ritchie, passed away without making any major news. Without doubt his contribution to the world is much more than Steve Jobs’. I have no idea what Steve Jobs would have done in his life if not for the inventions of Dennis Ritchie. It’s actually like comparing the inventor of the wheel to the creator of the latest Mercedes car.
But let’s give credit to Steve for who he really was- a visionary marketer. The common link in all his success stories is that the success is less because of the basic product (similar products had always existed) and more due to the marketing skills of the legend. I would even risk saying that he may be the best marketer we have ever seen. He realised the latent need to make the computer and everyday electronic devices more user friendly. This one insight alone led to Apple becoming the second largest company in terms of market capitalization after Exxon.
But the marketing legend is been bestowed with many more adjectives than this alone. The importance of Steve Jobs and Apple to the world is stated to be much more than it actually is. The reasons simply are as follows:
- Steve Jobs passed away at the peak of the Apple success story. For example, the 27 club members wouldn’t have been as famous if they had lived on and died peacefully off their peak at 70.
- Steve Jobs was the face of Apple. He was like the lead singer of a band. No matter who wrote the lyrics and who gave the music, it’s always the lead singer who is remembered.
- His fall and return to power is what fairy tales are made of. His speech at Stanford graduation in 2005 mapping the story is one of the most (if not most) famous speeches of our time. This is one of the biggest factors in the making of brand Steve Jobs.
- It’s not the inventor or the back end guy who is remembered. It’s always the one who takes the product to the customer. Steve Jobs’ products in the initial stint were more impactful but he never gained popularity as the products/features were better marketed by Microsoft. However, his second stint gave him a cult status when he was able to market his products to the masses bettering competition.
Today when anyone sees and uses an Apple product, he feels the emotional connect to the face of the company. And emotions run much deeper than any logical argument which may try to prove the hype.
An interesting read but I beg to differ a lot from your point of view. Yes, you are right when you say that in most cases the person who takes the product to the masses is remembered. But when you say Steve Jobs was only the front end marketer for Apple products, sorry, it sound a little unconvincing and very very unfair to the genius who changed the way we look at portability of media today.
ReplyDeleteMan is mortal but ‘an Idea’ lives forever. That is what Jobs gave to the world of computers and technologies. Imagination beyond technology. Whether it was iMac- the first all-in-one PC with an USB and no floppy drive or the latest gadget from Apple’s store – the iPad, Jobs surely revolutionised the computer industry with technology that no one had ever thought of, with stunning designs and style.
Before launch of iPod in 2001, no one had ever thought of the concept of carrying thousands of songs in your pocket. That was “an Idea” that changed the music and its related gadget industry forever. The click-wheel feature changed the entire experience of listening to music and in its way to success killed the CD-player and walkman industry. Launch of iTunes added another feather to the success of iPod, downloading of music became legal and artists got paid!
iPhone was unveiled in 2007 and surely, many would agree it is the best ever portable device to be held, an innovation that revolutionized not only the mobile phone industry but also the music, the movie industry and the internet. Again, it was “an Idea” that was the game changer. The idea to make a phone that’s not only a phone, it becomes your world- with its classic glass panel touch screen, in built iPod, game player, movie theatre and internet – all this with style that was impossible to imitate. Not to talk of all other supported apps.
And with iPad, I think Jobs just imagined the impossible. To state a fact that similar products existed before will be as naive as comparing apples with oranges. iPad almost made other big players like Samsung and HP to lose their competitiveness and start copying features from it! This itself speaks volumes about the product. Again, it was “an Idea”- an imagination to have a compact tablet with multi-touch finger sensitive display, a virtual onscreen keyboard and internet connectivity, a portable device just a little bigger than your phone, which you will enjoy carrying around to your work or holiday equally. With its unlimited apps and features, it is giving tough competition even to the laptop business.
So, as they say, an Idea can change the world. And Steve Jobs was the epitome truly justifying that. Whether it was his imagination of having multiple typefaces in Mac or of touch and play music players and phones that can be your lifelines, surely his contribution to the technology world can never be termed as sheer marketing! If that would have been the case, we would have been reading many more of such success stories. After all there is no dearth of innovative products, but so many coming from a single individual is a rare occurrence in history. Salute to the genius!
Steve Jobs wass the most influential man ever and changed the world or technology. No arguing to that.
ReplyDelete