Quick post because I’m really busy today but I’ve been reading the reactions to Steve Jobs’ Flash Letter as I walk from place to place and I wanted to get in on this. But this post was written in under 10 minutes so please forgive Spelling, Grammar and overall non-sensical-ness that might be therein.
Andrew Nusca gets why this letter is important…
Jobs’ letter is remarkable not for its argument, which has been elaborated on before by Apple and pundits alike, but in its very existence. It’s highly unusual for the chief executive to respond to criticism in such a public and permanent way.
And then asks the most important question about this…
Still, it’s a wonder that Jobs couldn’t work this out behind the scenes, and that the clamor was so great that he felt compelled to write a public letter on the subject.
Surely the average mainstream consumer Apple user cares little about this B2B problem. So why publish this?
Are Apple’s sales really taking a hit from flash-ready Android devices? If not, why bother addressing the issue?
Who is this letter actually for?
The answer: It’s for consumers.
Follow me here because it seems like I’m going off topic but I’m not.
People like Cigarettes. Even if people didn’t the tobacco companies admitted to pumping cigarettes full of drugs to make them more addictive. Watch any TV show or Movie set in the 50s and you’ll notice everyone has a cigarette hanging out of their mouth. Because people really do love to smoke.
So why don’t most people smoke today? Because they know it’s bad for them.
People tend to go out and buy things they want. There are only two things that stop that impulse. The first is they can’t (as in they can’t afford the thing they want) and the second is they acknowledge it’s bad for them (as in the case of cigarettes).
People want Apple products. Apple is great at creating devices that make people lust after them and they’ve gotten much better at creating products that most people can afford (The iPhone, iPad and Mac Mini really aren’t expensive compared to their competitors at this point).
So the one thing standing in Apple’s way is the perception that buying their products might somehow be bad for you.
That’s where the current string of bad press about Apple comes in. With developers revolting, Adobe telling everyone Apple is trying to kill them and the Daily Show showing them breaking down journalist’s doors Apple is starting to look like the Gestapo. That’s bad for Apple.
They can’t afford the perception that they are bad for people or that they’re lessening consumer choice. Because that’s the one thing that will keep people from buying their products. So they’re going on the offensive and using their most visible resource (Steve Jobs) to explain that they have good reasons for blocking Flash and that (in their view) this is good for the consumer.
That’s what this letter is about.