by hah002103 on Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:33 am As long as Apple keeps designing products that consumers love, the company is practically
untouchable.
(Credit: Apple) Yell "Apple!" in a theater crowded with Silicon Valley executives and watch
how power leveling wowfast
they head for the exits. Or, more realistically, drop the name into an interview and
suddenly even the most long-winded marketing manager is speechless.
This has always been vexing for me because the fear creates an iron curtain past which only
Apple-sanctioned information can pass, at least in the U.S.
Pretty much every person at every company that I talk to is under special orders not to
utter a syllable about Apple. (I say "pretty much" because there may have been one or two
cases that I'm not recalling.)
What's going on here exactly? Though this syndrome is not news in itself, it seems to be
getting worse as Apple grows in size and influence.
On the surface, it's pretty obvious. People are either directly or indirectly doing
business with Apple and do not want to jeopardize financial ties with the almighty maker of
MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads. At least, that's one of the more obvious reasons. And, of
course, power levelingthere's the theory that
company executives will often demur anyway when being asked to comment about other
companies. But not always. Some executives are foaming-at-the-mouth eager to contrast their
company--positively of course--with another.
But, below the surface, the level of fear and anxiety that Apple triggers is unprecedented,
I think. And this is made worse by the hordes of oversensitive, hair-trigger Apple zealots
who are ready to crucify anyone who offers even constructive criticism of an Apple product.
Though I don't know this for a fact, I can only surmise that on some level this reflects
the controlling nature of Apple corporate culture.
Sadly, the only meaningful, i.e., critical, commentary I've ever heard about Apple is from
a few Silicon Valley executives who always speak under the most strict conditions. In
short, that I promise to never report their comments--with the implied threat that they
will never speak to me again if I do. So, in this sense, I play my part too.
That said, it's hard to argue with success. As long as Apple continues to crank out
products power leveling wowthat everybody wants,
the fear factor will be there. (And I'll continue to buy MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones.) Oh
well.