How things have changed at Apple in just a few short years
Wednesday night I read a terrific post over on Google+ by Guy Kawasaki with his tips for speaking in public (link). It was a really insightful article, and in it he links to an article in the UK’s The Guardian about how Steve Jobs used to prepare for his keynote speeches.
The article was written in January of 2006, and this one paragraph really put things into perspective for how far Apple has come in just a few short years. The writer, Mike Evangelist, wrote:
“Objectively, Apple Computer is a mid-sized company with a tiny share of its primary market. Apple Macintoshes are only rarely seen in corporate environments, and most software companies don’t even offer Apple-compatible versions of their products. To put it another way, Apple is just bit larger than Cadbury-Schweppes and about the same size as Nike or Marks and Spencer in terms of annual sales.”
At the time, of course, he was right. But who would have guessed that in just a few short years, Apple would become the #1 most valuable company in the world, surpassing not only Microsoft, and Google, but even Exxon/Mobile. Truly amazing. (By the way, the image above is Apple’s home page from January of 2006).
That being said, I have now publicly mentioned Apple, which means you are now free to post hateful comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the topic I just discussed, except for the fact that I mentioned Apple. Please don’t forget to use the term “fanboy” frequently, but right after that, read this: http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/11/how-to-avoid-sounding-dumb-when-you-write-about-apple/