End of an Era: Macworld
Apple announced today that Steve Jobs would not keynote the San Francisco Macworld Expo in January 2009, suggesting (a.) that there isn’t anything cool enough for Jobs to personally go public with and (b.) that Apple feels the tradeshow has runs its course in terms of usefulness to the company. According to the press release, this will be Apple’s last yearon the show floor, as well. The release cites the growth of their Apple Stores as a way for them to reach out to customers.
The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.
It’s been years since I’ve attended a Macworld Expo myself (I don’t remember how many, but certainly my last show was before I moved to Mississippi in 2001), but I remember them fondly, particularly as I was attending through the lean years, pre-Jobs, when there were few enough of us “Mac authors” still fighting it out with the PC snobs and the Apple dead-enders. I remember the Return of Jobs in Boston in 1997, although I wasn’t there for that one…I believe there was a QuickTime simulcast. I think I WAS there in 1998 for Macworld SF, and I’ve seen Jobs do his live thing a number of times since.
I remember the fight over moving Macworld from Boston to New York (I was there for at least one of those; I remember meeting one of my editors at a great bar on 9th Avenue back when I was living there) and then Apple’s subsequent pulling of the plug on that one, too.
It may be that I remember Macworld Expo most for what a few of those shows taught me about presenting to live audiences…to this day I generally over-prepare for a presentation because of the times I was caught flat-footed and winging it at Macworld Expo presentations on upgrading and repair, despite my once-held belief that I had an encyclopedic grasp of the topic. (I still have a few Macworld “trainer” fleece pullovers as trophies of those times.)
The biggest part of any Macworld was using press credentials to get tickets to the “Apple Party.” (Believe it or not, being one of the six or so dedicated Mac authors back in the day would still not help much with the PR folks, who were always pretty ornery, bless their hearts, even back when the stock was $16 and it seemed like the clone companies were falling all over the media to buy us drinks.)
The parties were always impressive as hell, even if they were largely attended by anti-social geeks clutching their drinks and marveling at the how impressive the party is. To this day I remember some of those parties — one Apple party offered massive rooms filled with bars, tables of food marked “vegetarian” and “vegan” and a different “themed” cover band playing each room, including an I Love Lucy-style Desi Arnez cover band, a Beatles cover band, etc.
Another party I remember was a Microsoft party, rolling out the first new version of Office in a while. (Office 98, maybe? It was a big deal…part of Microsoft’s support for Jobs’ re-emergence.) They had an amazing rock-abilly band, with classic lead team of a balding Capone-era male lead and a flapper-esque female lead…and lots of geeks clutching their drinks and thinking what a great party it was.
Oh, and I think Jobs actually showed up, which people thought was cool, and thanked Microsoft or something. You know, in person. Wearing a turtleneck.
Apple has cleverly moved some of the “Macworld” experience into their retail stores, so I can sort of see the point, and it’s not like I was headed there this year. And I’ve developed a certain sense that Jobs likes to end on high notes and “let’s go” of things like the SteveNote easier that most mere mortals. (Not that he won’t be back to introduce new products at media events in Cupertino any chance he gets.)
But all that doesn’t mean I can’t feel nostalgic for a moment…
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