Good old Skank pointed out an article on Salon titled, Has Google Peaked? I gave a general answer to that question, but I wanted to respond to this paragraph separately:
The recent announcement of an alliance between Google and Sun is another sign of potential future trouble. Usually when Google trumpets something, it has a product ready for prime time (even if it’s a product that remains in beta for years). But despite the media froth about Google and Sun joining forces to attack Microsoft on the desktop, all the companies have agreed to do is distribute and promote each other’s products—and without a plan to actually make it happen.
Translation:
“Those bastards! They told us they were making an announcement, we got all frothed up guessing about what it would be, we printed all sorts of rampant speculation, and now we’re disappointed! Sure, it’s our fault for printing unsourced rumors, but we’ll blame them anyway.”
While Google has fallen victim to this sort of thing a few times, the all-time worst punching bag for the rumor mill is Apple. Every time Apple stages an event, the internet is flooded with speculation that gets picked up by the tech journalists who pass it on to millions of other people. When Apple finally announces whatever product or service they’ve been planning, stock market analysts are disappointed because it isn’t what was rumored, and Apple’s stock price falls.
Let me stress this part: Apple’s stock price falls because people are disappointed that the truth isn’t as good as the lies they were told. “The new PowerBook is only 30% faster and 15% lighter? I heard it would be made of fairy dust, make waffles and cure my impotence. Apple sucks.”
Another great bit of tech journalism about Apple: when the iPod nano came out, every article talked about how beautiful and pristine and clean and stunning it was. And now they’re all reporting that it scratches easily. What? Something that’s prized for its beauty and you have to take care of it? You can’t keep Faberge eggs in the coal bin? The horror!
So do me a favor, tech journalists: put a lid on it. If you’re going to print something, either make sure that it’s true or be willing to be publicly caned when it turns out you were full of it.
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