Rewriting History for Fun and Profit
April 6, 2012
I read “Steve Jobs’s Anger at Android Was All for Show Says Google CEO Page.” I scanned other stories on this topic. Here’s the point in my opinion:
“Google CEO Larry Page apparently is trying to rewrite history,” charged Brent Dirks, at AppAdvice.com.
The tweaking seems to be that the late Steve Jobs, who is not able to contribute to this discussion, was annoyed that Google was emulating its products, business model, and attitude. Well, maybe not the attitude. Google has its own stamp on appropriate business behavior.
Mr. Page believes that Mr. Jobs was just chattering. One might imagine the duo zipping past the old Seaworld exit on Highway 101 to grab a burger in Belmont.
When I read about this difference of opinion about the Google – Apple relationship, I asked myself, “I wonder if I would have been angry if the CEO of Google had served on my Board of Directors, heard the discussions of opportunities, and sat through Keynote presentations showing road maps?”
My personal reaction would have been, “I can’t believe the situation was set up in the first place.” Then I would have been angry and figured out a way to get the interloper off the Board. Finally, I would ignore the situation and go on the offensive.
No way would I have embraced the “just pals” angle.
But forget me. Think about the historical parallels. I recall that one Russia leader who sparked great literature and groomed some slick colleagues just had history books rewritten. Now I have not seen a rewritten history book, but the possible connection between reworking facts is what I call “content with intent.”
Who does this type of stuff? I don’t know, but I think we have a useful incident to add to my growing collection of “weaponized information.” Filter a few Web sites and reality is effectively different. For those who accept predictive search results, “information”, facts, and reality are malleable.
Live with it I conclude. Life is search engine optimization. Seed those key words.
Stephen E Arnold, April 6, 2012
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