Steve Jobs Won't Give Macworld Keynote
News Commentary. Apple's not saying, but I have to assume the CEO's health is the real reason. |
Apple dropped its bombshell announcement in a press release issued late this afternoon, Dec. 16. The PR is about Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 being Apple's last. But I see that as a smokescreen obscuring something much bigger: CEO Steve Jobs won't give the keynote as he usually does.
Instead, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will give the Macworld keynote on Jan. 6. The question everybody should be asking: "Why not Steve?"
Good PR works like this: Bad news obscures even worse news. Because the topic of the press release is that this will be Apple's last Macworld, many bloggers and journalists will write mainly about that. They'll look at how Apple has pulled out of other events and how the bad economy is affecting other trade shows. As Michael Gartenberg tweeted today: "This close to CES and there's still room at the Inn," which is unusual. Rooms are usually booked and rates rising in Las Vegas for the January event. Michael tweeted: "$129 - $149 depending on the property and room. Sign o the times."
In fact, Michael has taken the position that pulling out of Macworld won't mean much to Apple. He writes: "As for Steve Jobs as a no-show? I'd expect this to be a pretty tame Macworld in terms of news." I don't agree. My inbox is chock-full of Macworld meeting requests, and not a single one for CES.
I expect other people will share Michael's sentiments. But not me. Apple's brand is sizzling hot, and iPhone, iPod Touch and App Store are quickly emerging as the next-generation computing platform. Even with a weak economy, Apple and its partners have every reason for a big Macworld. Or they did until Apple's CEO pulled out of the keynote.
The reasons why Steve should give the keynote are many. Some of them:
- Increasing popularity of Apple's mobile platform
- Chance to reassure investors that Apple can deliver during tough economic times
- Mac market share gains against Windows PCs
- Chance to rally developers to support App Store and Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6)
For Wall Street especially, reassurance will be necessary. Apple's stock has fallen with the misfortune of the entire tech industry. As I have repeatedly asserted, in business, perception is everything. So it's paramount that Steve get up on stage and keep up the image. Macworld is still a huge media event, mainly because of his keynote.
From that perspective, there would have to be something big to offset the many reasons why Steve should give the Macworld keynote. I come back to his health. I think that's the real news here, what today's last Macworld announcement seeks to obscure. Steve isn't well, and he hasn't been for some time.
People started asking hard health questions during summer, after Steve's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. He looked thin, and I would say gaunt. His appearance wasn't much changed when announcing new MacBooks in October. Apple has dodged questions about Steve's health, but two facts are indisputable:
- The CEO looks mighty thin.
- He spends little time on stage during public events.
These two things are interrelated, I say. Steve Jobs is reputed to have a big ego, which his keynotes confirm. He likes the center stage and the attention, particularly when announcing his famous "one more thing." More recently, Steve has shared the stage, a lot of the time. Demonstrations he used to give, he calls on others for. At WWDC, Steve presented for just 35 minutes of the 1 hour and 43 minute keynote. Steve used to do keynotes like this one mostly solo.
I put a call in to Apple PR, but haven't received comment. I'll update this post whenever it comes. Nobody at Apple PR is going to say that the CEO is sick. What do you think? Do you agree or perhaps have a better reason? Please answer in comments or by e-mail.
[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com]
Related Posts:
- Steve Jobs' Health: Why It Matters, Apple Watch, July 24, 2008
- Steve Jobs' Perception Problem, Apple Watch, June 11, 2008
Comments (5)
I just saw at iClarified the post that this is the last MacWorld and that Steve Jobs would do the keynote, and I went straight to google his health.That was my first thought and I have to say that I hope I'm wrong, but unfortunately I don't think I am...
Posted by dnhuch | December 16, 2008 7:32 PM
Let's all wish him well, regardless of any other considerations.
Posted by Cait Hurley | December 16, 2008 7:52 PM
Joe,
I think the reason for no Stevenote this year is that there are no big announcements and Steve would rather have Phil provide a minor keynote then do it himself.
As for end of Apple at MacWorld Expo, again I think it has more to do with Apple wanting to control the timing for its announcement and not being tied into an early january date every year.
Mark
Posted by Mark | December 16, 2008 8:06 PM
All good things come to an end, and in the end we all are dust. Jobs is a legend and the work he did at Apple will survive long after he leaves the scene. I wish him godspeed on the rest of his journey.
Posted by Trent | December 16, 2008 10:23 PM
Joe,
I think that over the past year Wall Street and Apple's investors have demanded that Apple show that they are not single-threaded through Steve. Each keynote that Steve delivers himself reinforces the perception that Apple is Steve and Steve is Apple. The stock got nailed for this at least twice in 2008. Steve is not doing the keynotes because the market has punished Apple stock for having him be to central to Apple.
I look at this as taking some short term speculation and whining in order to preserve the company when Steve does eventually leave - customers, shareholders, and bloggers will be used to seeing other people doing keynotes and playing major roles in all phases of operations. This is a soft-landing approach to him leaving rather than an abrupt event.
As for his health he does look thin and I imagine he has repercussions from the surgery he had but I don't know if it is enough to keep him from a task like this. If he doesn't have the energy to do a presentation I can't imagine he's doing much week to week as CEO with all the travel and so forth that requires. So either he is involved in a lot of Apple operations at this time or he isn't (Schrodinger's CEO?) , I think it's time to evaluate Apple as Apple and not as Steve.
Posted by Alan | December 17, 2008 10:42 AM