“Yep,” wrote Apple chief
The message was addressed to Andrea Nepori, an Italian blogger who wrote to [email protected]
this week. He asked the high-profile yet reclusive Apple founder
whether he’d be able to sync his free e-books to the iPad, which will
hit U.S. stores next week.
Jobs’ affirmation wasn’t the real news. That
particular detail was listed on Apple’s Web site before Nepori’s
inquiry. The response itself is what prompted bloggers to fly off the
handle.
The 55-year-old Apple co-founder has something of a
rock star status among technology fans. So the prospect of receiving a
direct response from him — or someone with access to his e-mail in box
— sparked excitement.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Nepori said.
Neither Jobs nor Apple responded to e-mails seeking
comment. Apple’s public relations department is notorious among
journalists for its tight-lipped nature and precise statements. But the
company has always found other ways to get its message out.
Apple has had monumental success in the last few
years drumming up interest — be it with clever “Mac vs. PC” ads,
dancing silhouettes or semi-exclusive press events. The cult of Mac
eats it up, and so do the media and the blogosphere.
Talking briefly before a product announcement last summer at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in
a developer on the QuickTime video software team surveying the throngs
of reporters at Moscone Center said, “It’s great. We get plenty of free
advertising.”
A personal e-mail is certainly an unusual way for a chief executive to broadcast his message.
Marketing analyst
is working on a book about Apple, points out that Jobs’ messages to
customers, which have ramped up this week, are characteristically
simple. He selectively chooses the questions he wants to address in an
always concise and calculated manner.
Software developer
Little App Factory had received a legal warning for using the name of
Apple’s trademarked music player in the name of its iPodRip program.
Devor sent e-mails to Jobs, to Apple co-founder (and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant)
Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. He received
responses from the two co-founders. Wozniak’s was several thoughtful
paragraphs long.
Jobs’ response, however, was terse. He wrote: “Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal. Steve.”
“I didn’t know what to think because it was really
brief,” Devor said. “I don’t really blame him. He’s got a lot of things
on his plate.”
Like many personal e-mails Jobs sends, this one made
the rounds on numerous blogs. Many expressed support for Devor due to
Jobs’ less-than-compassionate tone, Devor said.
But Jobs was right. “It actually didn’t turn out to
be a big deal,” Devor said. “It actually ended up helping us because we
got so much press.”
Devor, a senior at the
Jobs’ recent burst of personal e-mails seems to surprise even his own employees. Frode Ersfjord of
Jobs’ response: “This problem is behind us.”
“An hour later a woman from Apple called me,”
Ersfjord told The Los Angeles Times in an e-mail. “She was giggling and
obviously found the whole thing rather entertaining and maybe a bit
unusual.”
Jobs replied, “Yes,” and his signature indicated the message was sent from an iPad.
“I’ve been sending letters to
him some letters when I was around 9 and once or twice when I was 12.”
“It was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened to me,” the
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