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The Internet Age is a period marked by advancements in technology where information travels from all parts of the world in less than a second. Many great individuals helped shape this Information Age. An innovator, designer, and magnate called Steve Jobs is among these individuals.
He was a man filled with both passion and creativity. A college dropout who pursued something more than an education. By inventing the Macintosh, having a unique marketing strategy and campaign, and thinking differently, he was able to move mountains and save Apple Inc. from its financial crisis. His road to becoming a successful man was not a straight one. His vision and innovation were altered during his lifetime. Nevertheless, he got back on track and turned the technology industry upside down.
Throughout his career, he changed the world for the better. From introducing the first Macintosh or as others call it “iMac” to introducing the iPhone in 2007, he became a sensation to the world. He motivated and inspired individuals to think differently and to act differently. By co-founding Apple Inc., he introduced many devices that people still use in their daily lives. And finally, by firmly believing in himself, he helped shape the new era. The tech industry as well as the Internet Age would be completely different without his existence.
The “famous” Steve Jobs was not only an inventor but also an entrepreneur. His life was not that simple as he was adopted and a college dropout. During his lifetime, he left the company he once founded and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Nonetheless, that did not stop him from believing in himself, believing in his capabilities and what he could achieve. He co-founded Apple along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, was once the majority shareholder of Pixar Inc., and was the founder of NeXT, Inc. His Macintosh creation, his distinctive marketing strategy as well and his marketing campaign made him what he is still known for today, a legacy. Although people are not aware of it, his innovations had a positive effect on the Internet Age. From computers, movies, and music to mobile devices, he had a tremendous impact on the tech industry.
A man who revolutionized the field of technology was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California. His parents were university students unable to afford to raise him, so he was given up for adoption. His non-biological parents, Paul and Clara Jobs, raised him. Paul Jobs introduced little Steve to the world of electronics in their home garage. He started at Reed College but never finished. Nonetheless, he still attended a few classes like a calligraphy course that later helped him shape the typography in Apple’s personal computers. In 1974, he started 1 working as an inexperienced man, for Atari Computers, a company known for creating video games. In that same year, Jobs traveled to India where he became familiar with Buddhist philosophy as well as Eastern spiritual philosophy. That trip gave him a better sense of life and a deeper understanding of the world of business. Two years later, Steve Wozniak with the help of Steve Jobs tested the first Apple I computer in Jobs’ garage. The initial cost was $666.66 each.
Apple was then founded on April 1, 1976. This was the beginning of Steve Jobs’ successful career in the field of technology. By that time, the market for computers was growing rapidly. With this factor, Apple computers expanded fast.
In 1984, Jobs designed the first Macintosh. Macintosh, or “Mac”, was Apple’s first successful small personal computer that had a graphical user interface. A year after the 2 creation of the Macintosh, Jobs started having internal problems with Apple’s Board of Directors and the CEO at that time, John Sculley. He accepted his resignation in 1985 after proposing his new venture “Next” to Apple’s Board of Directors and wanting to take a few employees from Apple to help him with his new company. Next was a company that intended to make computers for higher education.
After accepting his resignation, he spent almost 10 years regaining a sense of innovation and freedom. His life wasn’t just Apple. Jobs began being involved in other things. Among them was Pixar, the computer animation company. As of today, Pixar is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. However, back then, “Steve Jobs also played a huge role in turning film company Pixar into a multi-billion-dollar success”. He was the majority shareholder for many 3 years until Walt Disney acquired it in 2006. He bought it at that time for $5 million. In addition to Pixar, he founded NeXT Inc. “NeXT’s system software was designed to rival the best offerings of the Macintosh and PC”. Jobs had vision. He wanted more. Nonetheless, the NeXT
The computer was not that successful. NeXT stopped manufacturing hardware to become a software-oriented company. Jobs began working on NeXTstep, with its focus on object-oriented programming. With these achievements in NeXT Inc., Apple bought NeXT for 429 million in 1996, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple as an advisor with a different mindset than ever before. Jobs’ mission when he was brought back to Apple was to “change the public perception of Apple, which had suffered steady losses since losing the market share”. With the acquisition of 5 NeXT, Apple had a new operating system. “Apple hopes that NeXT’s object-oriented Java-enabled open development platform will significantly improve its Internet and intranet position because its technology is agile”. Steve Jobs believed that Apple could surpass the 6 financial crises. The Internet, as well as Apple, was going to improve with the acquisition of NeXT, Inc.
After Steve Jobs was fired in 1985, Apple fell behind its competitors like Microsoft. It was about to go bankrupt if nothing was to be done in a matter of 90 days. Nevertheless, Steve Jobs pushed Apple forward with his vision and innovation. Steve Jobs redesigned Apple’s marketing strategy. He changed Apple’s advertising. He went from selling products to selling dreams. He focused on the consumer’s overall experience not just the experience of buying the product. There were many versions of the same product, so he decided to go with a simpler product line cutting 70% of Apple’s products. This also meant that many workers lost their jobs. Nonetheless, by having a simpler product line and focusing on the image and quality of the devices, Jobs helped Apple during Apple’s financial catastrophe.
In addition, Steve Jobs also helped Apple’s turmoil during the mid-1990s with his advertising slogan back in 1997. Jobs presented the marketing campaign “Think Different” which caught the eye of many people. Steve Jobs once said that marketing was all about values. He said, “Apple at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better”. Jobs wanted to honor people who thought differently like Albert 7 Einstein, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi, among others. Referring to the people who thought differently, in his advertising campaign he later added “About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius’’. Steve Jobs was passionate about people, not 8 the products. He wanted people to change the world with those products. This marketing campaign was on air until 2002. Just as these genius people changed the world for the better, so did Steve Jobs with his creativity and design. He shaped the Internet Age and helped this era move forward.
Apple has a deep connection with the Internet. In 1998, with the introduction of the iMac, Steve Jobs explained the linkage of the “i” in its products. He stated: “iMac comes from the marriage of the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of the Macintosh “. Consumers want the internet to be simple and fast and the iMac was created to 9 make that possible. Steve Jobs also added that the prefix also stood for “individual”, “instruct”, “inform” and “inspire”. This was the ‘i” revolution. With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Apple wanted to give the “i” its original “internet” meaning, like the one it had with the introduction of the iMac. Since the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has continued to expand to other markets. It continues to add devices bringing, for example, the Apple Watch and Apple TV. The “i” is not included in the name of these devices. Perhaps it is because, since then, every device has had some form of Internet connectivity built-in, and the “i” has lost its association with that specific meaning”. People are so used to being connected to the Internet that they often forget 10 how it started, who took part in the development of the Internet, and how it has impacted the world we live in.
The Internet Age was influenced by many people. Investors, businessmen, engineers, technicians, physicians, and genius people want to change and make progress in the world. Steve Jobs was one of them. Just as he said in his advertising campaign “Think Different” “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do’’. He inspired individuals to change the world with Apple’s products. People do not stop to 11 realize how his innovations changed the tech industry. Although he had many altercations and for some time left the company he co-founded, thanks to his vision and innovation as well as his marketing strategy and campaign, he transformed Apple Inc into a successful brand. Without Steve Jobs, the company may not have been one of the most important brands of our time and the Internet Age.
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