I don’t understand how Apple does it.
Steve Jobs is scheduled to trot out onto a stage tomorrow morning at 10 AM and announce…something. If Internet speculation is to be believed, it’ll be some form of magical tablet PC with touchscreen capabilities and a way of birthing unicorns.
Based on this unannounced (and as of this moment, completely fictional) product, rumors cropped up about the device hooking into a Barnes & Noble ebookstore.
Based on these unconfirmed rumors about a possible store that hooks into an unannounced interface to a completely secret machine, B&N stock shot up over 13% today.
How does that happen?
How can one company’s press event sway the market with such gusto? How have they manage to market an image that creates crowds of salivating intelligent adults that scream like Beatles fans when they see a new Apple product for the first time?
I mean, I guess I know the answer. The company does good work. They create stylish products that function simply and effectively and sell them at a premium price with a great marketing team that employs both Justin Long and John Hodgeman. They have a charismatic and likeable CEO who knows how to get people excited about products. They keep secrets well, meaning that they can launch revolutionary products with less lead-up time than their competitors. And they’re constantly looking forward, instead of at ways to mimic the competition.
But still. It’s a bit sick, how fervent and influential the Internet hype is over a product that we know almost nothing about.