It has been over a month since Steve Jobs’ death, and while many of my classmates have put in their two cents regarding his death, hailing him a hero and a prophet of the technological generation, Joanna Zhu chose a different tact in viewing Steve Jobs’ death in her post “Cult Fanaticism for a Technocrat”. She questions the devout following that Steve Jobs’ has cultivated over his lifetime and (in her opinion) the overreaction to his death.
And indeed why did his death have such a major impact on people? What did he do for the Apple brand name that justifies such cries of despair? What makes him great leader?
Whoever you are, you have at least some basic knowledge of Steve Jobs. Or you’ve heard him talk. Since his death, I have been ambushed by an influx of Steve Jobs information- all positive of course, as no one likes to talk ill of the dead. But Joanna makes some good points- he was no Mother Teresa. In fact in watching various documentaries (and Pirates of Silicon Valley), I found that Jobs has been involved in some scandals- namely he has been accused of stealing from Xerox
Steve Jobs was an innovative entrepreneur. As CEO helped pull out a dying corporation from the dust making it into the 24 billion company it is today. A company which has ranked first among the 20 Most Admired Companies by Fortune magazine. However placing him on God-like pedestal? I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Joanna in saying that it’s a bit much.
Sources:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/contemporarynostalgia/2011/10/08/oct-6-2011-cult-fanaticism-for-a-technocrat/
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0802/gallery.mostadmired_top20.fortune/index.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20124720-37/jonathan-ive-steve-jobs-stole-my-ideas/