Photo Credit: Julia Folsom

Hehe, This is How You Report About the Consumer Electronics Show

Engadget features editor Joseph Volpe buries the lede, so I fix it for him by posting over at my new project, Frak That!, headline: “Steve Jobs calls Apple Watch a ‘Joke’“. Oh, the clickbait accusations will fly from some, and the Apple Faithful will fling rotten fruit for my irreverence, but the post fits the site’s core editorial principle of pointing out the absurd—in this case the otherwise lack of original reporting about the Consumer Electronics Show, to which the somewhat oddball Engadget story affronts.

Joseph rises above the CES 2016 public relations cluster-fuck to write something really original. He consulted a “higher source” to get the lowdown on the year ahead in tech: Las Vegas psychics. Brilliant! And it’s something I actually read in all the dribble designed to self-flagellate corporate egos. 

Among the three psychics, Alexis channeled none other than Apple’s cofounder, the esteemed Steve Jobs, from the great beyond. Clearly his successor, and current CEO, Tim Cook doesn’t seek such advice from on high, or he doesn’t listen to it.

Joseph writes:

Steve had a lot to get off his spiritual chest. He’s allegedly not a fan of the Apple Watch—’It’s a joke. Who needs to do that?’—and thinks the next one should include holograms. Steve spent the rest of our chat repeating his message for Apple, saying it needs to take its products to ‘the next level’ and avoid doing ‘the obvious next step’. It’s sound advice for any tech company, really.

She speaks the truth because Las Vegas psychics are never wrong, right?

I understand why Joseph buries the lede. He is a features editor, and he writes a feature about visiting three psychics. Perhaps he doesn’t want to appear to be too irresponsible the reporter by calling out the Ouija experience with Steve Jobs, who could be no one—or if you believe in the spirit world—someone else.

But, hey, it’s all fun and offhandedly, whether or not Joseph’s intention, jabs at the lack of original reporting coming out of CES. His psychic journey is cleverly conceived (and executed) original content.

Photo Credit: Julia Folsom