Episode 8: The Geek God Complex

Appreciate the podcast and thanks for the link. I see where you are going and I understand the annoyances of those that carry this complex. I totally get it. I’m guessing most of your thoughts in the podcast were around the other piece you referenced above but I do feel the need to clarify a couple of items from my perspective.

With my “iRecognition” post, I tried to detail in a simple way how, if anything, Apple is now selling tools/devices and targeting an audience that is now different than me and what I want. My goals, which always seemed connected and a great fit to Apple products and ethos for as long as I can remember, are now are no longer aligned.

But, just because I have come to that realization for me, it doesn’t mean that others will agree because other people will not have the same “wants” that I do. I understand I am not asking for the same stuff others want. Many (even most) might not care about what I care about. So, I take issue if you are saying that I am arguing that others (the masses of new and old Apple customers) should be or need to be of my opinion. I didn’t ask for a boycott or beg Tim Cook to change his ways. I never advocated for Apple to change because, in my mind, they already have. An all-knowing geek god, as you detailed, probably would have gone down that road demanding others conform. I don’t feel I that I did.

Now that I am month or so away from it, I think the post was also really written to work through the disillusionment and mourn (for lack of a better word) that Apple’s ethos and goals are now different from mine and that such a discovery felt weird for me after being such an strong advocate for most of my personal and profession life. The post was meant to be more of a reflective moment a person or couple would have perhaps at the end of a personal relationship after the understanding that they need to go their separate ways because they have grown apart. It’s funny to personify Apple in that way, but many people who have used Apple products for a long time might understand that sort of a special bond. I would take the angle that it was more of a sadness that it no longer is working-out instead of someone with a geek god complex issuing commandments on what is good tech vs. bad tech to the masses. I think those perspectives are different. Perhaps, I could have done more to elaborate on this in the piece.

The reaction the post received was *very* much a surprise to me. I got kicked around from the entire spectrum of Apple “haters” to Apple “fanboys” to those that attacked me personally for whatever reason. I can tell you that If I did have any sort of “geek god complex” it was rapidly cured after reading all the attacks in my site and the HN comments.

All and all, I have been able to take some positives from the whole experience and hope others have as well no matter how they viewed my words.

Take care and wish you the best this new year,

– Jonathan Mergy