"Rotten to the Core" by Pupski on Flickr.
I have been an Apple fan and a Mac user much of my adult life. I bought my first Mac in 1992 and have owned half a dozen since. I wrote for Mac magazines in the mid-1990s. I waited on line for many hours twice for the iPhone and I am writing this post on a MacBook Air that I bought sight unseen last year after the Jobsnote.
However, after yesterday's disappointing keynote, I am convinced the Internet is slowly eroding Apple's PR mojo. They are still having a good run, but the times are changing. Here are three reasons why Apple may not make the turn like it did before. There's a lot of lessons here for PR professionals.
1) Bloggers and Citizen Journalists
In the old days, Apple could keep a tight lip on the ship. Steve Jobs has built a no-leak culture since he arrived back in 1996. Today, however, with eyes everywhere and contract manufacturing in China, that's getting harder.
The bloggers are getting pretty good at least at directionally writing about what's coming. The professional journalist are feeding off of it and doing more fact checking of their own. By the time the press invitations are emailed, there's not a lot of oomph left - especially since the iPhone debuted. If you think about it, that was the last time Apple was able to shock and awe.
What does this mean? That expectations are high and Apple can't meet them since the launch of the iPhone.
2) The Rock-Star CEO Era is Over
For years we lived in an age where CEOs were like rock-stars. Edison, Henry Ford, Jack Welch, Sam Walton, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs - all are rock stars.
Today, however, employees and "a person like me" are far more trusted, according to data from the Edelman Trust Barometer. This isn't Apple's fault. It's just times are changing. Recent CEO scandals haven't helped. More importantly, Web 2.0 and social software is giving rise to individual voices and personal brands.
Apple is still living in age where its CEO or executive team are the only people who speak for the company. Compare that to Google, meanwhile, who have an army credible faces in the community like Matt Cutts. Got a Gmail security problem? Matt is on the case. Got a flaming Macbook? Email Steve and pray he isn't too obnoxious.
3) Cloud Computing and Netbooks Erode Apple's Edge
As an early adopter, I am a huge enthusiast of web-based applications. About 75-90% of my needs are handled in a browser. I do all my writing in Google Docs. I edit photos using Picnik or Photoshop.com. The only desktop apps besides a browser that I still use are Microsoft Entourage and PowerPoint. (Microsoft and Adobe are clients of my employer, Edelman.)
Now I am rare. A lot of you still love desktop apps but I think that's going to change. In the next few years you will do more of your computing online. And that means you will be able to be just fine using a netbook or even a phone. The category is still emerging and many are still 1.0 products. But I expect that to change and if the current economic climate continues, then it could erode Apple's notebook share.
"But Apple has web-apps," you say. "What about Mobile Me and the new iWork.com?" They're gorgeous, for sure. However, functionally, they don't hold a candle to Google or Adobe's web apps. And I think Microsoft's products here for sure will be strong. In three years iLife and iWork will have to be entirely cloud-based and the edge goes to the first movers.
That's one person's view of the situation. There are others. What's yours? (For more, see this thread on Friendfeed.)
