A key figure in the US civil rights movement died on October 24th…her name was Rosa Parks. I confess to be only vaguely aware of her name in the past, but I knew she was involved in the famous bus segregation incident. Apple showed that they really do ‘think different’ by turning their home page into a memorial. The image is one that they used before in their ‘Think Different’ campaign.
Apple’s Home Page Honors Rosa Parks
This simple tribute had two effects on me: first, it caused me to do a bit of Googling to learn more about her, and second it made me reflect on the very real ways that Apple differs from other large companies. This made me curious if any high profile sites may have similar tributes, so I started jumping to the home pages of all the ‘big’ web sites I could think of. Not too surprisingly, except for the news sites, there was no mention to be found anywhere of Rosa’s passing.
What does this mean? Does it mean anything? Well for me it continues to demonstrate that Apple, more than any other company I know of, has a heart. And more importantly, it lets its heart participate in the operation of the company. Sure, they are a publicly held company and are concerned with all the usual stuff: sales, profit, shareholder value, etc. But that’s not all there is to it. If you get anything out of reading this book, I hope it will be some understanding that Apple is defined by its people and the things they create; not by ROI and EBITDA.
Deja Vu
This is not the first time Apple’s has turned their home page into a tribute. Back on November 2001, something similar happened much ‘closer to home’.
It was early on November 30th, and I was sitting at my desk in 1 Infinite Loop reading the news. I was stunned when I saw a headline saying the George Harrison had died. As with many others of my generation, his music had been an important part of my life for many years. It really hit me hard. I sat there in a dark contemplative mood for quite awhile, feeling quite alone in my grief. But then I realized I wasn’t alone; many of my colleagues at Apple were Harrison fans, and I was sure they’d also feel the need express some of their feelings at this moment. This gave me an idea…one that took considerable courage on my part: I would suggest to Steve that Apple put some sort of tribute on the home page. Up to this point, all my dealings with Steve had been strictly business, and I was afraid he’d think I was some kind of sentimental looney. But my feelings pushed me forward…I sent Steve this note:
Then I waited nervously.
Several hours passed with no response, so I concluded that he wasn’t interested and sort of put it out of my mind. But that wasn’t the end of it. Later that evening, I’m back at my desk and get a call from Tom M (the Final Cut Pro product manager) who tells me he had just come from a meeting with the web group and they were all working overtime tonight because of me. ‘What? What do you mean?’ I asked. Turns out that Steve did not think it was a stupid idea, as I feared, but instead had put the web team to work on coming up with something suitable.
So, late that night, after a couple rounds back and forth with Steve to choose the best photos, the Apple home page became this:
There were three different photos of George Harrison shown in rotation.
It was one of my proudest moments at Apple; not just because I made the suggestion that prompted this memorial, but because I was honored to be part of a company that lets its heart guide its actions.
Nice story. I was surfing, and I saw a link to your site from a computer site. Lots of people do not appreciate this ad. Seems like Apple haters to me.
> What does this mean? Does it mean anything?
That sort of tribute doesn’t affect the way Apple deals with customers or business partners. Apple is just another corporation.
This is wonderful — relating something Apple is doing today to something you did while you were at Apple. This really makes your blog that much more interesting being able to see someone relate the Apple this way. Keep writing.
Hey Apple customer #987654321,
I’ll bite. What’s your beef with Apple?
After Johnny Cash passed away in September 2003 I sent an e-mail to Steve Jobs. This was during the Paris Expo, I believe. I asked him about a doing tribute like the others that Apple has done, like the one for George Harrison.
I tuned in the next day to the Expo Keynote and there was a picture of Johnny Cash with his cover of “One” by U2 playing. Needless to say I was appreciative, although it was probably coincidence. But, I did get a reply from Steve telling me about something special they were doing in the iTunes music store that week for Johnny Cash.
BTW: I love the articles.
I read things like “Apple is different…” They don’t care about ROI or EBITDA…” etc etc etc… I personally think Apple care about making money above ALL. There’s nothing contradictory in this and being “in sync” with your customers. Many companies out there have not had a tribute to Rosa Parks probably not because they wouldn’t want to, but because they are disconnected from their surroundings. Apple’s “paying attention” to their environment. They make the effort to listen to customers and be “in sync”. The result is that they are producing the products people want, forsee what’s coming, and do things that put them in touch with other people. And all this, if anything, increases their revenues. No problem with this, in fact, it’s the best of both worlds.
I came home that day after having a rather unpleasant confrontation with one of the HR personell in the company I work for. seems that every time I had to speak with her, she would be very rude and deameaning. Not verbaly, but with her body language, mannerism, the way she directed her words at me. She litteraly gave me the impression that she was stereotyping me. Most of y coworkers admitted to having similar experiences with that cerain person, but never did anything aabout it. Needless to say, the workforce is about 98 percent hispanic, myself inclued, while the administrative workforce is 98 percent white. Herself included. I finally confontred her personally after my fourth visit to her office. I let her know that she was being very rude and deameaning. she outright denied it. Well, I stormed out of her office, more satisfied than upset, because I had finally stood up for myself. But that was it. I planned to take no further action. The thought ocurred to me to take it to the next level, and let her superiors know the way she was treating the company’s most precious assets, the employees. but I shrugged it off. I thought that I had said enough to her that she would hopefully go home and reflect upon herserlf and her behavior and she woukd probalby come to her senses, and realize how dehuminizing she had treated me, including my fellow coworkers. Or at least, for fear of being labeled as rude and offensive, particularly to a certain “group” of people, she would change her ways. So I get home. and like any ohter day, I wake my faithfull machine up from it’s slumber, fire up Safari to catch up on the latest Apple News like I do every day. And up comes the Apple Home page with the tribute to Rosa Parks!!!! and then when I hit the oic and get to the link, I read about her courages part in the movement of Civil rights. I still can’t explain it, but one when i got to this part, and I quote ” wich led the Supreme Court to issue a ruling that stated that segregation was unconstitutional…” the events that had transpired thruought the day raced across my mind, and tears started streaming down my face. So I went back to work the next day, with a new plan. There is now an internal investigation to address the issue and ssure the employees that they will be welcomed with an open heart when coming to the “HUMAN” resource office.
> I’ll bite. What’s your beef with Apple?
Most of the computers I bought from them were nice but I can’t stand the personality cult surrounding Steve J., the crazy rumors, the buildup to every keynote, the blind faith people put in this company. I don’t buy Macs to feel different, this is not a lifestyle, and I don’t want to be part of a cult. To be bluntly honest we don’t need evangelists, fanboys are not healthy. Pointing possible problems is far more useful for the platform IMHO. From my POV Apple is a Fortune 500 company selling an attractive combination of hardware and software, period. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but idealizing Apple doesn’t make us any good.
That’s so cool! This very well might mean YOU singularly started a tradition at
Apple. Wow!
I dont think anyone buys macs to think or feel different… We buy them because we’re so bored with the every day Microsofty world out there! The point isnt to buy it to be different, its that buying one makes you special! Indivual! Different than the WinDrones!
Ehhhhhhhhhh… I think some people buy them to feel different. Some because they are used to them. And some buy them because they represent the cutting edge of tool design.
For an example of “think different” (I’d say “think better”) just look at Aperture: I was BLOWN AWAY (by the description and specs anyway, haven’t used it yet). Anyone who’s ever had to deal with a large number of raw images would be too. Even simple things (not raw related) are so obvious… I mean, how hard is to develop a loupe? How about non-desctructive cropping? Adobe: are you awake?! (you better get your ass in gear or Photoshop will be history).
Another example: people talk about how much better and stable linux/unix is. It is. And this is exactly what MacOSX is.
I could go on and on… Apple is about developing products that people want, that simplify people’s workflow, that make the experience seemless. Simple as that.
[...] necessarily has to be rooted in this need? Mike Evangelist, who has worked at Apple, has a related entry in which he relates how Apple came to honor George Harrison, when he passed away in 2001. I [...]
Great article Mike. Thanks for sharing!
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Haven’t you ever liked a T.V. show so much that you wanted all of you friends to watch it so you could share in its depth and greatness. That is how I feel about Apple. I don’t idealize Steve Jobs or the company, I just admire what they do.
Apple has an attention to detail that is unmatched in the technology industry. Things that most people won’t even notice are planned down to the most miniscule element. Every thought process comes from countless hours of discussion and examination of the subject at hand. When I purchase an Apple product I know that removing it from the package I will get everything I need in the order that it is needed. These are the things that set Apple apart and make people talk about Apple and their products.
All companies make mistakes, including Apple. But when Apple does it it receives more press. Creative shipped hundreds of virus infected CD’s with one of their players and hardly anyone knew about it. Apple ships a product with a manufacturing defect and it receives as much press as the Pope would if caught cursing. People expect more out of Apple – plain and simple.