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This is a remarkably charitable take on the values that John Gruber stands for. A more cynical person would say that Gruber's fame grew on the backs of his mani
by corresation 13y ago
This is a remarkably charitable take on the values that John Gruber stands for. A more cynical person would say that Gruber's fame grew on the backs of his maniacal defense of all things Apple(1), and his raw contempt for any who went against Apple in any way. That his draw was that he pandered to an audience that constantly needed to be reassured and reaffirmed, perhaps due to some sort of shell-shock from the days when Apple was an underdog or something.
This doesn't exist in the Android space because...well who wants to read that? A few authors do the growling anti-Apple/pro-Google spiel and see little uptake because that just isn't interesting. That John Gruber gained such an audience on the schtick that he engaged in remains a mystery, and is something you won't often see repeated.
It comes to me now that the one other industry where you see that is in sports writers. That John Gruber is the technology industry parallel to the guy writing about how the Red Sox are the absolute bestest and the players on all of the other teams are mugs and...
(1) I should mention that Gruber has reduced the bravado lately, and is less hysterical about every random internet commentator who happens to have a unkind word about Apple.
- danilocampos 13y agoHysterical is an amusing choice of words given your tone: "grew on the backs of his maniacal defense...raw contempt for any...pandered to an audience that constantly needed to be reassured...is less hysterical about every random internet commentator..." Gruber's greatest gift is his ability to inspire haters. I don't think he could be successful without being able to draw a screed like yours. Grist for the outside discussion that draws traffic.
- corresation 13y agoI'm unsure what your point is: I chose every word purposefully and with meaning, and I find it a bit odd if you think that's a "screed". Daring Fireball has been one of the most negative, hateful, bitter (do those words offend you? Mightn't you italicize them for me, declaring them "ironic"?) sites on the net. It has absolutely taken a turn for the better over the past year, but Gruber's rise absolutely came because he essentially took up arms for all Apple Believers everywhere. I don't even think he particularly believed the things he wrote -- and I have a raw sense that he is a eminently likable person -- but he knew what drew the eyeballs and padded the subscribers, so for that the more power to him. To your edit of your reply, regarding your purported endless amusement, I too am having a laugh at your continued, and rather futile, attempts to try to imbue emotions that don't actually exist into this conversation (two posts in a row, so you really are desperate for this approach to work). That's a boring BBS-era tactic that...well it just embarrasses us all. You have nothing to say to this but to attempt to laughably diminish the speaker so move along.
- danilocampos 13y ago> I'm unsure what your point is, besides to demonstrate that you know how to italicize words? I was calling your word choice hysterical and showing my work. > do those words offend you? Not really, but I'm endlessly amused by your touchiness on this. Maybe the trick for Gruber is that's fun to poke the prickly. > imbue emotions that don't actually exist into this conversation > do those words offend you?
- gnarbarian 13y agoDo you believe Gruber offers an Objective evenhanded perspective on his posts? To me nearly everything he writes reeks of one sided immature fanboyishness. He writes solely to appeal to those who seek affirmation of beliefs and reinforcement of Apple's 'Reality Distortion Field'. He is the king MacFag.
- danilocampos 13y ago> He is the king MacFag. Nothing to add – I just wanted everyone to know your character in case you later thought better of that line and deleted it.
- gnarbarian 13y agoOf course you have nothing to add. You haven't added a single thing to this entire thread. Best to avoid the question and glom on to something you perceive as offensive and white knight for those poor people whose tender feelings may be rustled by my brutish and ugly language. I shudder to think of the world thinking less of the character of my quasi anonymous hackernews account.
- danilocampos 13y agoNo white knight here – you just used a slur that's deeply hurtful to a lot of people I really like. That's just good ol' fashioned me taking it personally. This isn't /b/.
- general_failure 13y agoGruber became insanely popular because he was credited by Steve Jobs in one of his emails. Before that, I had never heard of him.