Apple Computers may not be able to make much of a dent in Microsoft’s domination of the computer marketplace.
The company seems to be making a bid, though, to compete head-to-head with Microsoft when it comes to arrogance. In fact, as Microsoft humanizes itself with employee blogs and an effort to reach out to constituencies (through tools such as Channel 9 for the developer community),
Apple is headed in the other direction. The company-flush with success from market domination with the iPod-is turning into a draconian monster when it hears something about itself it doesn’t like.
First came the lawsuits aimed at the Apple enthuasiasts who run Web sites like Apple Insider, seeking to force the company’s fans to disclose the sources of information about the company’s upcoming products.
Now, apparently unhappy with a biography about to be released about Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, the company is pulling the book from its own store shelves and has actually tried to get the publisher, Wiley, to halt distribution.
Compare that to blogs from companies that happily allow critical comments from readers. In a world in which transparency and openness are becoming the price of admission, Apple is presenting an image of a company with closed doors and narrow attitudes. Even the mainstream media-outlets like the Houston Chronicle-are beginning to characterize Apple as an opponent of the First Amendment.
Is anybody doing corporate PR for this company? Or is the financial success associated with the iPod leading Apple’s leaders to believe that they can thrive no matter what people think of them? Personally, I’m getting so fed up with Apple’s attitude toward free speech that I’m about ready to ditch my iPod in favor of an iRiver device. Now if only I can find an alternative to my PowerBook
Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology which focuses on helping organizations apply online communication capabilities to their strategic organizational communications.
As a professional communicator, Shel also writes the blog a shel of my former self.
