Who were the icons when you were growing up? Musicians, sports stars, actors, politicians, and humanitarian leaders are likely to have made the list. But CEOs of IT companies? With the exception of Bill Gates, probably not.
Technology has come to play such a central role in daily life it now impacts virtually everything we do. A few decades ago, computers were abstract machines running things elsewhere, while we got on with our lives. Now, they run our lives.
Jobs was one of the foremost architects of an era in which technology has become an extension of the self.
Lezette Engelbrecht, online features editor, ITWeb
Think of the verbs that dominate daily living, and how their meanings have changed: to like, friend, un-friend, follow, un-follow, share, search, link, tweet, DM, Skype, ping, BBM, and even good ol' Google and e-mail. We have an entire lexicon of actions that came into existence only a brief time ago.
Google, Apple and Facebook are not merely businesses or even brands, but global forces driving changes in the way people think, work, communicate, socialise - in short, live. And as these changes shape economies, topple governments and revolutionise human interaction, so their instigators - the leaders of tech companies - become more than just CEOs. Even the most technologically illiterate are familiar with names like Mark Zuckerberg, and last week came an event that cemented the prominence of technology in society - the resignation of Steve Jobs.
His cult status, coupled with a long-running illness, gave the whole affair an almost morbid air, as if people were discussing his death, rather than his stepping down. News stories and blog posts read like obituaries, and fans paid tribute in the form of everything from paper sculptures to food art. One Japanese fan went as far as running a half-marathon in the shape of the Apple logo.
Letters of dismay and praise streamed in from the business community, with former colleagues and peers speaking of his inspirational influence, contribution and leadership. Writer and author David Shenk wrote a thank you note chronicling how Apple products had been present at every milestone of his life, signing it “Your admiring customer”.
This isn't your everyday mogul. Jobs has become something else altogether - a visionary, a genius, an icon.
Personal-IT
In many ways, Jobs may have been a prominent figure even in a non-tech-conscious world. His perfectionism and attention to detail are legendary (one colleague tells the story of Jobs calling him up on a Sunday morning to discuss the fact that the Google image on the iPhone didn't have quite the right shade of yellow, and that he was sending a team to help fix it).
Another anecdote from “Inside Steve's Brain”, by Leander Kahney, describes how the night before the iPod was shown to media, Jobs found the headphone jack didn't make a click when something was plugged in. So he had all the iPods dismantled and fitted with jacks that made a satisfying click, even though engineers had to stay up all night and repackage the iPods the next morning.
So, much of Jobs' fame is linked to his personality, to the “charisma” everyone keeps alluding to. But the response to his departure reflects more than just disappointment over the loss of a leader. Much of it stems from the fact that Jobs has become synonymous with objects people love. He pioneered products that mean far more to users than slick design and functionality. They identify deeply with the essence of the company Jobs created. That's why Apple fans stick doggedly by their brand; why they will queue for hours in pouring rain to get their hands on the latest Apple release; why one fan was even willing to sell a body part in order to buy the iPad 2.
It's a phenomenon captured by John Gruber on his blog site, Daring Fireball: “Jobs' greatest creation isn't any Apple product. It is Apple itself.”
He helped make technology personal for an entire generation. People from all ages and backgrounds covet Apple products because they offer a taste of genius. They allow their users to transcend to the level of innovator. It's why many rival tablets have struggled to take off while the iPad keeps flying off shelves; it's that little “i” that symbolises both individualism and belonging.
As remarkable as Jobs may be, the furore surrounding his resignation marks a far broader shift in the relevance of technology. Phones and tablets are no longer gadgets; they've become personal artefacts, mini-archives of their user's interests, friends, conversations, memories, networks, activities - their frame of mind. Jobs was one of the foremost architects of an era in which technology has become an extension of the self.
With devices acting less as a tool and more as a voice, it's given millions agency to express their needs, and act on them. Events like the WikiLeaks cables, recent political uprisings and the growing influence of social media are evidence of technology's evolution into a powerful social force. As traditional areas of leadership flounder, with governments crumbling and economies collapsing, people are looking to new places for vision and guidance.
Jobs told graduates of Stanford University in 2005: “Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
As technology increasingly provides this sense of empowerment, acting as a channel for people to be heard - and taken notice of, more pioneers in the mould of Jobs may emerge. Not only due to their individual brilliance, but because of the transformative power technology has come to hold in our world.
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