Repression for Dummies: Jobs Strikes Again
Category: Books & Writing... News Commentary...
Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 08:25 AM [GMT-6]

In a move both predictable and senseless, Steve Jobs has brought his Reality Distortion Field™ into the arena of book publishing by ordering the removal of all offerings from John Wiley & Sons from Apple Stores. Jobs is reportedly upset over the publisher's refusal to disassociate itself from the unauthorized biography, "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business," written by Jeffrey Young and set for release within the next couple of months. The move affects "dozens of technology books" in Apple's 104 retail stores.

Apple is, of course, entirely within its rights to decide what products it will market. But moves like this do nothing to enhance Apple's reputation with consumers. Jobs simply comes off as whiny and childish, as he attempts to have his cake and eat it, too. He's a public figure and aggressively cultivates that status, while at the same time attempting to squash all reactions to that status that don't fit his agenda. Again, I'm not arguing that he doesn't have the right, legal or moral, to do this, but he really ought to pick his battles more carefully. For a creative genius, the guy surely has mastered the art of public silliness.

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"Jobs simply comes off as whiny and childish"

Right you are, Eric. I've noticed that the mastery of whiny childishness is often a trait of creative geniuses (or is it genuii?), even if it doesn't escalate into fullscale public silliness as it has in Jobs case. Dictators engage in this sort of opinion suppression as well.

We all need to control stuff don't we?

Posted by: JVJJR at April 27, 2005 09:29 AM

Yeah, and it doesn't help when you're actually right about 99% of the time.

I suspect Jobs himself wouldn't argue with the dictator label when it comes to running Apple and Pixar.

Of course, I've yet to see a CEO who doesn't fall into that category; some are just better than others at disguising it.

Posted by: Eric at April 27, 2005 09:34 AM

Imagine if Apple were in Microsoft's position, and still doing these same things.

Now I love Apple's stuff - and have for a long time. But they only get away with this kind of thing because they're (1) not Microsoft and (2) seen as an underdog (to Microsoft).

As Apple branches out into non-computer products, I wonder how long they'll be able to keep up with this kind of thing before they start getting beaten up about it.

Posted by: Brian at April 27, 2005 12:53 PM

Brian, I think the public's patience with these antics is directly proportional to the quality of Apple's products. As long as they keep making good stuff, they'll be able to get away with lots. But give 'em one bad misstep (the kind that MS seems to commit daily)...and look out!

Posted by: Eric at April 27, 2005 12:58 PM
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