Updated: 6:53 a.m. ET, Aug. 25
The news of Steve Jobs’ resignation as Apple CEO on Wednesday night utterly dominated the conversation on the web and around the wired world.
“The end of an era,” as the cliche goes, but for once, it actually fit.
Looming in the background were fears not just about about the void his stepping down would leave at Apple, the hugely influential company he founded, but about Jobs’ own health as he fights pancreatic cancer.
Understandably, reactions to the news covered the whole spectrum from the clumsily sarcastic to the preemptively cynical to the deeply sincere.
“It’s a terrible day for technology and a terrible day for him personally,” said tech journalist and author Leander Kahney, editor and publisher of the blog Cult of Mac, when reached by phone. “During his tenure, Apple had a profound impact on culture and touched everybody’s life in profund ways. The products he’s created have been as far reaching as products like the automobile and the record player. He’s had an astonishing career.”
On Twitter, the range of reactions was the widest. Here’s our rundown of the most evocative tweets in the moments and hours after the announcement.
@bgurley Bill Gurley, general partner, Benchmark Capital: Steve Jobs run at Apple is likely the very best CEO execution we will see in our lifetime. Amazing.
@jimcramer Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money: Very sad news about Steve Jobs at $AAPL. He is America’s greatest industrialist. Perhaps the greatest ever.
@janewells Jane Wells, business reporter, CNBC: Geez. Overreacting? I don’t think I’ve felt this sad about someone I don’t know since John Lennon.
@susanorlean Susan Orlean, writer and author: Very sad hearing about Steve Jobs. That can’t be good news about his health.
@jason_pontin James Pontin, Editor-in-Chief, MIT Technology Review: Steve Jobs was my first interview in tech. He was at NeXT; it was 1994. He told me to f-off: “I invented the Mac, and it’s still the best!”
@Pogue David Pogue, personal tech columnist, New York Times: Steve Jobs resigned as CEO today. There’s probably 2 years of great
Apple stuff in the pipeline, but after that …
@fivethirtyeight Nate Silver, Five Thirty Eight blog editor and columnist, New York Times: AAPL has lost $18 billion in market capitalization since the Jobs news broke, about the same as the GDP of Paraguay.
@michaelroston Michael Roston, home page producer, New York Times: Have to wonder: Will Steve Jobs do anymore Apple keynotes? Or was the last one The Last One?
@harrymccracken Harry McCracken, founder and editor of Technologizer blog: Still unimaginable: that Jobs was the most important person in personal technology both in 1978 and in 2011.
@Arrington Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor, TechCrunch: This just plain sucks.
@Scobolizer Robert Scoble, tech evangelist: Steve Jobs, has been named Chairman, so not all is totally dire. Being CEO is tough work.
@cenedella, Marc Cenedella Founder and CEO, The Ladders: Some of my favorite people writing tasteless Jobs headlines. I think b/c they view him as an institution, not as a dying man w/ a family.
@SteveLevitan Steve Levitan, Co-Creator, Executive Producer of ABC’s Modern Family: Very few people I admire as much as Steve Jobs. One of the great visionaries of our lifetime. I wish him a long & happy retirement.
@Alyssa_Milano Alyssa Milano, actress: I want to put a ding in the universe. ~Steve Jobs #quote
@defcon_5: Jobs is the only CEO Joe six-pack knows by name. Rex Tillerson? Who? Steve Ballmer? Wha? Warren Buffett? The margaritaville guy?
@TheBillWalton: Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple should be no surprise to anyone. It’s been listed on page 46 of iTunes terms & conditions for weeks.
@FakeSarahPalin: See, I told you Obama is killing Jobs.
@inthefade: Ok, I declare a moratorium on putting “i” in front of any word regarding Steve Jobs for the next 48 hours.
@BrianLynch: YES, Steve Jobs has resigned. But I hear that Steve Jobs 2 will be Verizon compatible, so, glass app half full.
@hemeon: I think we should all grow beards in memory of Steve Jobs.
@placito: “Why do people care so much about Steve Jobs resigning?” he said as he typed on a square of glass that contained all the music he ever owned
@sweetney: Steve Jobs, thank you for everything. Be healthy, happy and well. Love, Mac Users Everywhere.
