Global CIO: Google Derangement Syndrome Erupts WorldwideGlobal CIO: Google Derangement Syndrome Erupts Worldwide

"Steve Jobs is in the running for two trophies: comeback of the decade and villain of the year. . . . Meanwhile, though, Jobs stands accused of what in Silicon Valley is a capital crime: authoritarian tendencies. He’s long played hardball with journalists who reveal details about forthcoming products . . . ."

So in this guy's vision of the business world, Steve Jobs should be put to death—that is what "capital crime" is all about—for having "played hardball with journalists" and other such nonsense. This writer apparently wants Jobs and Apple to continue creating phenomenal products that dazzle and engage customers, but he doesn't want Apple to be sullied by getting all successful and big in the process—because, after all, to be successful and big is to be authoritarian, right?

Forgive me for being so unsophisticated, but I fail to grasp why it is so foul and evil to be a forceful, uncompromising, and visionary CEO in one of the world's most challenging industries. Because it seems to me that the real work that Steve Jobs and Apple have actually been doing is far from authoritarian: he has blown apart the stiflingly restrictive music industry and brought greater choice in consumption and creation to hundreds of millions of people around the world; he's turned our view of wireless communication and interaction upside-down; and his computers have become so appealing that even 5,000 IBM employees use Macs at work.

But in spite of all that liberating work, all that innovation, all that artistic dynamism, Steve Jobs in the eyes of this unseeing author is "authoritarian" because he's made Apple incredibly successful: in its stock price, in its commercial appeal, in its brand power, in its global iconic status, and in its unmatched ability to drive the direction of so much of the technology that's become so deeply ingrained in so many parts of our lives.

My deeply astute colleague Rob Preston recently wrote a column called Down To Business: War On Business And Innovation in which he captured forcefully the essence of the ugly mood in this country today toward successful, assertive, and disruptive corporations and their leaders:

"The recent griping about Apple is consistent with a deeper, more disturbing anti-business trend in this country following the financial industry bailouts and recent misdeeds and missteps at the likes of Goldman Sachs, Toyota, and BP," wrote Preston. "As in the Enron era before this one, the exceptions have become the presumed rule. "Big business" is now synonymous with fraud, greed, negligence, or incompetence, so pile on the regulations, tax those companies earning "excess" profits, and cap "excessive" executive compensation. The highest unemployment rate in many years has made the anti-business crowd even more rabid, as if slowing down growth will somehow lead to more hiring."

Rob's biting column nails the precarious nature what such attitudes mean for the U.S. economy and, by extension, the global economy. And in this fevered pitch, even Google and Apple—until very recently the favored corporations among the chattering-class elite—have gotten sucked into the maws of this destructive philosophical beast that seems rabidly intent on stifling innovation, punishing success, shaming financial strength, and torpedoing American competitiveness.

Turning once again to the New York Times--the same geniuses who yesterday warned us that Steve Jobs may be Big Brother—it was only two weeks ago that they gave Google a full-bore proctological going-over not so much for what Google has in fact done but for what the enemies and detractors of Google say it might do.

They have no proof of this malevolence—none—but they have plenty of speculation and jealousy and unfortunately, in today's world, that's more than enough to get rapt attention from the deeply sympathetic media and then, in turn, the finger-in-the-wind politicians and various throne-sniffers. So here are a few samples from the Times' recent piece on Google:

--"Google has managed to squeak by most regulatory reviews." What does the term "squeak by" mean? If the regulatory reviews rule in Google's favor, then Google is free and clear—but "squeak by" allows the Times to cast a shadow of doubt over the company.

--"On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission approved Google’s $750 million acquisition of AdMob, a mobile advertising start-up. Staff members had initially planned to oppose the purchase, even saying in a statement that the deal "raised serious antitrust issues." But the agency ultimately endorsed the deal, assuming that Apple's entry in the market would facilitate competition." Oh I see: so the FTC did its job by scrutinizing the deal and then ruled in favor of Google, but in today's yes-means-no world, this is somehow evidence against Google in the eyes of the influencers.

--"Mr. Reback, the lawyer, is one person who does not trust Google to do the right thing. He is eager to talk about legal remedies to antitrust concerns, including appointing an independent expert to monitor Google’s algorithm to ensure that it does not unfairly penalize rivals like Foundem." In other words, Reback wants to turn Google into a government-controlled public utility stripped of the ability to utilize its own competitive advantage in the marketplace.

But don't worry—you and I will be better off in world where the chattering-class trust-busters determine who is and who isn't Big Brother, and where politicians who've never run so much as a bake sale are suddenly dictating strategy and policy to the biggest and best and most-innovative corporations in the country.

Because big is bad, and success is bad. And those who go there must be cut down to size.

RECOMMENDED READING: Global CIO: Google CEO Eric Schmidt's Top 10 Reasons Mobile Is Always #1 Global CIO: Apple's Steve Jobs Torpedoes Another Stale Business Model Global CIO: Why IBM CEO Sam Palmisano Earned His $24.3 Million Global CIO: Oracle's Larry Ellison Embraces Cloud Computing 'Idiocy' Global CIO: In Praise Of Mark Hurd's 9,000 Layoffs At Hewlett-Packard Global CIO: What Is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's #1 Competitive Statistic? Global CIO: Apple's iPad, Electric Cars, And Runaway CEOs Global CIO: 10 Tech Acquisitions That Would Rock The Industry Bob Evans is senior VP and director of information's Global CIO unit.

To find out more about Bob Evans, please visit his page.

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