So there I was at Apple Macworld the day after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, an invention so fantastic that Macolytes gathered around one of the new phones, spinning slowly inside a glass case and protected by burly guards, as awed as though they were witnessing The Oracle.
A few feet away, a young man was demonstrating the iPhone to a group of about 50-60 attendees and I snapped away, taking photos of the demo for IDG News Service.
After his presentation, I approached the man at the stage and asked what I thought would be a routine question: "What is your name?" That way, when we ran a photo of the guy demonstrating the iPhone, the caption could read something simple like, "Joe Blow, product specialist at Apple, demonstrates the new iPhone at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco."
But the guy's response was more typical Apple than typical: "You'll have to contact someone in public relations."
Again, this was not, "What will Apple's stock price be a year from now?" or "Why is the iPhone covered in Chinese lead paint?" It was "What is your name?"
I found a PR person and got the Apple corporate line: "We don't allow our employees to be identified."
I found this to be needlessly controlling and told the PR rep this, though it failed to remove the "I have no free will but to recite the Apple corporate line" smile from her face.
I thought of going back to the demo guy and saying, "I know you can't tell me your name but I missed the first part of your presentation. You know, the part where you introduced yourself to the audience. Could you go over that part again?"
Instead, I blew it off, but worried how many other journalists have inadvertently gotten themselves into trouble by identifying Steve Jobs as an employee of Apple. There must be thousands of them!
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