I woke up to find my Twitter homepage flooded with tweets that said "RIP Steve Jobs". A while later, I saw a few tweets- "Who is Steve Jobs?"- that were later deleted and replaced with "RIP Steve Jobs". There also were people speaking from the other side- "Steve Jobs did not attend one funeral of the dozens of Chinese workers who died in his factories, so why should anyone care about him?" At first, it struck me as yet another one of those celebrity hoaxes, like "Justin Bieber is really a 50 year old man", "Paris Hilton stabbed to death in jail". However, I looked it up on Google, confirming that Steve Jobs indeed was dead. I felt pity, because despite Jobs' resignation in August, he still was the face of a company that has had such a great impact on the world. This was a man who brought in products that were pricy, yet still managed to attract a large consumer base. This was a man who turned previously unsuccessful ideas into successful ones. This was a man who created trends that were never expected. It was interesting to see people who previously didn't even know who Steve Jobs was expressing condolences. This could be because it was the highlight of the week, or because people actually felt bad about the death of someone so influential.
I am not a huge fan of Apple products, but the news did appeal to me and make me sympathetic, because of the fact that he was a huge icon who pursued his dreams. I think the death of Jobs related to our course, because interestingly, Apple chose to announce iPhone 4S just before Jobs' death. According to Apple Inc, iPhone 4S received more than a million pre-orders in just a day (around 70% more than for the previous version). Since it was the last phone developed with Steve Jobs at Apple, it is likely to have a sentimental appeal- a commemoration to the legacy of technology's hero. Apple probably realised Jobs' health was deteriorating and is likely to have rightly predicted that the shares would go down in value after his death. It shows us how companies strive to keep their image and can't slow down even if something important happens- they have to get past obstacles and move on very fast because advertising world is so competitive.
Sara, I couldn't agree more with the title of your post. On that same day, I woke up to a broadcast on my BlackBerry Messenger from one of my friends. It was meant to be a joke, but the broadcast said a certain name, then a full stop and a number of lines were empty. Scrolling down, there was a comment saying 'He is the creator of BlackBerry. Google him before he dies.' I smiled when I read it, but then thought to myself that it's sad how people start giving others gratitude only once they've passed away. Wouldn't they want to be thanked for what they've given the world while they were living if they had created something impressive?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I thought about it from a different perspective. Every single day people die fighting at war, suffering from widespread diseases, deprived of hunger and a number of other heartbreaking reasons. I didn't know which argument to side with, because both seemed equally valid to me. Steve Jobs was an amazing person, who deserves all the respect he was given from the people of the world, however at the same time, there are millions of people out there who have not been able to live their dreams, the same way Steve did, and pursue the careers they've been longing for, due to circumstances they have no control over.
I deleted the broadcast, both praying for Steve and all cancer patients, and those whose deaths have gone without a single person mourning over them.