2023-10-08

• Listened: [[Cory Doctorow on Seizing the Means of Computation]]

• Sunday, 10/08/23 ** 10:48 The tech keynote only exists because it was the best way for Steve Jobs to present new products. It doesn't work for anyone else. There is some value to hosting an event that's (1) physical and (2) completely controlled by the company announcing the product - it gives them the ability to present and control a complete narrative. I'm not sure if today, new consumers are exposed to new products in that way!

Most people (I believe - not quite sure) consume secondhand - The Verge chops up cuts of these multi-hour-long sessions into fifteen minutes of What Really Matters, while other tech review websites and content creators all quote the same two or three relevant sentences from the keynote. Companies try to buy the attention back with stunning video quality and presentation acumen, but they'll never beat the perspective of a third party - and some review outlets, like MKBHD, are stepping up to match that production value.