Edible Apple

It’s been said that success can often be a hindrance for stand-up comics because once the money and fame start rolling in, they aren’t able to interact with society in the same way they used to, and they begin to lose a source of experiences they once relied on for their material.

That same principle may help explain Calacanis’ recent diatribe against Apple where, more than anything, he comes across as markedly un-intelligent.  The thing is, Calacanis is filthy rich and could have retired years ago if he wanted.  So in that vein, he’s not really “in touch”, so to speak, with how a normal person perceives technology.  For example, Calacanis can fly to Asia and buy every gadget he sees, but most people can only afford 1 smartphone or 1 MP3 player, and they’ll often go with a the product that works best for them and is the easiest to use (often, Apple products).  And when you can afford to buy $20,000 worth of Apple equipment in just a few years, it makes sense that you’d come up with ridiculous suggestions that Apple should come up with a phone with 2 SIM cards.

Calacanis may be in the tech world, but I don’t think he really understands it (at least when it comes to Apple) from either a business or tech perspective.  He may know how to market himself and his own ventures, but he clearly lacks a firm grasp on the realities that most companies have to deal with and the challenges they have to navigate.

Comically, Calacanis calls himself a “nerd” on his website, but he really appears to be a wanna-be nerd who just happens to be wealthy enough to buy gadgets by the truckload, perhaps as a way to cement his “nerd cred” that he’s unable to cement with actual knowledge and nerd-like analysis.

So yes, in a new level of nerdity, I’m calling Calacanis out for being a fake nerd, a wannabe nerd, and maybe even a straight up tech punk.  Now it’s not that Calacanis wrote an anti-Apple piece, it’s more so the fact that he portrays himself, and is often written about, as someone very much in tune with the tech world.  When you advertise yourself as such, you open yourself up to honest criticisms, and so there ya go.

Maybe Calacanis will respond, if he happens to read this, or maybe he’ll jsut pay someone $1,000 bucks to respond for him.

A commenter on our first Calacanis post also raises a good point.

Calacanis is a smart guy, (or a guy who thinks he’s smart, it doesn’t matter which), so there’s a reason why he’s putting forward the idea that he’s turned against Apple.

His arguments are vague at best and easily dismissed. With these arguments you can at the very worst, say that Apple have made a few mistakes and maybe need to change a few policies.

He must know this.

His recent rant along similar lines on Twit got quite personal with Steve Jobs (which I found to be in very poor taste), so I don’t think that the content of his rants are actually the point.

What he’s trying to do is make himself relevant again. He’s openly criticizing Apple and SJ and he’s making headlines.

That is the point – he’s got something up his sleeve and he’s prepping the media.

Maybe Calacanis isn’t that dumb after all.  I guess only he knows the answer to that question.