Steve Jobs: Digital Disruption

At first we might have dared it was luck.  Then he did it again and again and again.  Each product more revolutionary and bold than the last.  During the dark ages, when he was in exile from Apple, while he created PIXAR and NeXT and creating the intersection between fine arts and technology, the rest of the tech industry was advancing much slower than it could have.  When he returned, he changed Apple by sheer will into the world’s largest start-up  — which has innovated and grown at such a frenetic pace that the rest of Silicon Valley has not been able to keep up.  Apple has one of the deepest executive talent pools, the most powerful supply chain, and while the largest company in the world by market capitalization is still the fastest growing company in the S&P500….

It was a sad day for many of us when Steve Jobs left us much too early, yet his legend and legacy continues to grow.  Apple continues to release new hit products from its deep product pipeline, products that were set in motion by the help of his creative genius many years ago.  Many of these products have changed entire industries.  Here’s a partial list of the industries that Steve Jobs, and his companies, have helped to digitally disrupt:

1. Personal Computing (PC)
2. Desktop Publishing Industry
3. Advertising Industry – Commercials
4. Object Oriented Programming – NeXT
5. Music Industry – iPod, iTunes, GarageBand, Logic Pro, MainStage
6. Movie Industry – PIXAR, Disney, RenderMan, Apple TV, Final Cut Pro, iMovie
7. Photography – iPhone camera, iPhoto, Aperture
8. Education – iTunes University, PodCasting
9. Retail Industry & Distribution – Apple Stores, iTunes, App Store, Mac App Store
10. Mobile Industry – iPhone, App Store
11. Post-PC era – Help to usher in Post-PC devices: “PCs are going to be like trucks”
12. Publishing Industry – iBooks, iBooks Author, Newsstand

Can you think of more?