FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
April 28, 2005
Rotten at Its Core?
I am surprised to find that no one blogged about Apple banning John Wiley books from their stores. It seems Steve Jobs is on the offensive, issuing lawsuits against Apple fanatics and pulling positive biographies off of store shelves.
What if Virgin Megastores stopped carrying Random House books because a bio on Branson examined his strategies? What if other retailers stopped carrying a publisher's entire catalog because of one release? You might have to go to certain stores to get certain releases. Maybe Borders won't carry Penguin. Or Barnes and Noble wouldn't have HarperCollins books.
This ridiculous notion can affect other mediums: stores not carrying a distributor's DVDs because of one documentary, or a boycott of software due to a founder's political bent. Any retailer who does such a thing is putting their beliefs ahead of the bottom line. I would usually applaud such an action, but if the belief is that the CEO can do whatever he wants, then something is amiss. Maybe the public should boycott a store that commits such an act of censorship. What do you all think about this?
Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at April 28, 2005 11:23 AM | Category: leadership |
10 Comments
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This is the kind of thing I'd expect from Wal-Mart, but not Apple.
Hey, when your name is Steve Jobs, you can make Apple stores sell what you want.
Even if it makes you look stupid.
And petty.
Finally, I don't believe this quite qualifies as censorship. Let's not ruin a perfectly good word by applying in situations where it doesn't really fit.
When you say, "no one has blogged about..." were you referring to on the Fast Company blog, or, no one on the blogosphere? I first learned of it on Dan Gillmor's blog and have seen dozens of people "blogging about" it.
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/003950.html
and
http://www.johnniemoore.com/blog/
Yeah, people are talking about it - this is the 4th post I've seen.
Maybe censorship isn't the right word...hmmm...
how about tantrum? :-)
Hi Kevin,
We blogged it here:
http://twoscenarios.typepad.com
Our view being that Steve is doing the right thing to fight back.
There is a difference between a thoughtful well-researched, balanced account and a Kitty Kelly hatchet job.
If a blog is not in the precious list to the right or a part of the "in crowd", then Fast Company doesn't see it.
Kevin meant no one else on the Fast Company team -- not no one else in the blogosphere. Sorry for the ambiguity! Our team reads hundreds, if not thousands of blogs and news sources -- and we often compete in house to be the first staff member to put a Fast Company take on a development.
If we're not occasionally commenting on entries in blogs that you think are must reads, let us know what we should be following.
You should be following Scripting News at the very least
http://scripting.com/
by Dave Winer
When I wrote this I should've been more specific. I meant no one has blogged about it here at FC.
The word censorship may not apply perfectly, but if a government banned a book from stores that is what it would be called. While Apple is not a government, it has governing control over its operating system and Job has been almost a dictator.
Mike: I hadn't heard this one was a hatchet job. Rather, one source said that overall it was a positive treatment with a couple of unflattering items. Haven't read it myself, and not sure I plan to (a kitchen remodeling job is much more pressing). Can you cite some specifics to support the "hatchet job" label?
Niti: I've heard that a sign of aging is that you begin repeating yourself. Hope that's not the case for you.
Niti: I've heard that a sign of aging is that you begin repeating yourself. Hope that's not the case for you.
;-)