That old black magic: Steve Jobs transforms crusty old hack Om Malik into one of the faithful
Here is an excerpt from my good buddy Om Malik's hugely popular GigaOm site, in which the crusty old hack has fun reporting on the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld--in the style of one of the "Mac faithful."
Apple CEO Steve Jobs: Always a pleasure to write -- and complain -- about the "old black magic"
Quite a few readers didn't get the spoof at first...but, those that have met his Om-ness, the universal sound of all that is broadband, would know that such breathless, enthusiastic reporting could not come from one with such a finely tuned nose for hype and spin. Take a look at these telling excerpts from:
The Steve Jobs Experience
By Om Malik
A very gaunt looking Steve Jobs, in his classic Levi’s-black turtle neck outfit walks on to the stage, with a purpose and a tentative smile. The hair is a little more gray, but it is still the same old Steve. A master salesman selling to the faithful. I shudder when [I think what] he could do had he focused on religion instead of computers. He works the room with [the] ease of a comedian on a good night.
...
On stage, Jobs displays emotions with the veracity of a Hollywood thespian. The smirk he reserves for iPod pretenders, the innocence of a man who finds out that the Apple stock is trading down a bit. Some machismo when he says - well there is more to come in the keynote. Perhaps that will lift the Apple stock. Like a young Bobby DeNiro, he mocks the desktop search by Google and Microsoft.
...
And he switches gears, and shows an emotional sensitive side ala Nick Cage, and thanks the Apple engineers, and loyalists. A big smile, a hesitant wave and then he is gone.
By the way, when I was at the show last year, I noticed that some of the enthusiastic clapping and shouting during the Jobs keynote came from a small army of hired ushers that were standing along the sides of the enormous, and cavernous Moscone auditorium. It looked scripted to me...and it seemed designed to encourage similar noises from some of the audience.
My absolutely flat-out best ever experience at a Steve Jobs keynote was in 1998 when I found myself one seat away from Muhammad Ali. I was completely star-struck. To me, he has always been such an incredible icon of the turbulent 1960s. His eloquence and heroism in protesting the war in Vietnam was astounding and outstanding. And his explanation for refusing the draft was so succinct and so powerful—perfectly connecting the war for civil rights with the war ten thousand miles away: "No Vietnamese ever called me a nigger."
