You know, I don’t think my few readers actually care what I have to say about Facebook or Apple. Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and their planned direction for their companies may be interesting and important but my commentary on them is really nothing more than a repetition or qualification of what has always been said numerous times throughout the blogosphere. You can hear it and read it anywhere. Yes, I am fascinated by the privacy issues and implications of Facebook’s actions for its users. I am also fascinated and horrified by the lock down of Apple’s hardware and software. You may be, too. There are a lot of blogs who cover these topics. I know, I read them. Text and Hubris doesn’t need to be one of them.
In his late night email conversation with Ryan Tate, Steve Jobs wrote something that struck a chord with me:
“By the way, what have you done that is so great? Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations?
He’s right. While I think he is headed down the wrong path, it is his path to choose and he is certainly far more experienced and competent than I am in traveling those paths. My critique does nothing and it means nothing. I do more by simply deciding that I won’t buy his products until I see a shift in how his company does business. That’s my choice but my second guessing how he does business does not actually contribute to world at large.
As I mentioned in my spring wrap-up, there are plenty of good ideas and very few implementers. For all of his flaws, Steve Jobs is an excellent implementer. He gets things done. He creates and he facilitates creation. The same is true for Zuckerberg. Part of being an implementer is dealing with the thousands (or millions) of people who call you crazy or wrong. It’s being more involved in creating rather than than criticizing. Jobs didn’t want to use Adobe Flash. So he created a product that didn’t have it. That’s fine. It’s his/Apple’s creation. They can do that. Don’t like it? Make your own.
Now, I won’t be making an iPad competitor any time soon. I can create products and entertainment for platforms that share my personal philosophy, though. That I can do. I can focus my time on my own direction within this space instead of caring so much where everyone else is going. If you ask me, that is a far more productive path to follow.
I actually appreciate your rants on these businesses, since I am not so inclined to read those types of blogs. Your knowledge helps me.
However, your point is valid, so if you as information source of all that is wrong and right in the tech world goes away, I shall find a new place, if I care enough. ^.^
In other news, I am finally migrating to wordpress. I hope to work on that most of today! Will let you know (and if you care
) what the new address is when I finish setting up!
No worries. I will still tweet links I think are worth reading. I just don’t want this to turn into a place bent on critique and commentary. I’d rather have what I create stand as an example. That is why I really do hope that ideas like Diaspora actually succeed. What better way to prove yourself than by making a competitor and succeeding!