In my opinion, he's used often as a prop by companies who want to try to inject 'hip'-ness in to a product, and it screams r/fellowkids. He has tried to promote

In my opinion, he's used often as a prop by companies who want to try to inject 'hip'-ness in to a product, and it screams r/fellowkids. He has tried to promote a bunch of products that have ended up complete failures (2 smartwatches so far), but is bandied about as this 'tech celebrity'. Intel made him a "director of creative innovation" for no reason whatsoever. 3D Systems made him "Chief Creative Officer". He tried to sell a $475 iphone case that added a lens and made it look like an old digital camera: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-iphone-camera-accessory-macworld http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/01/william-ip... Basically, he is used to confer some artistic legitimacy to stogy corporations (not to say he isn't an artist, he has done very well in music) and in return these companies confer unearned tech legitimacy upon him, creating this cycle of forced legitimacy.