I've been thinking for a while now that Nokia needed someone to be their Steve Jobs, performing his communications function. A "garoto propaganda" ("ad boy"?), an identifiable face to represent the company, someone to show up in the media to talk about their new technological advances, strategies, views, history...

But it can't be some hired model, it has to be a company person. Bill Gates and Steve 'Monkeyman' Ballmer are also a bit like this, not to say Linus and RMS.

I will never forget Jobs presenting the tOuch's (or was it an iPhone?) kinetic scrolling for the first time. The trend was set in that very moment. He touched only the screen, but momentum was transfered both to the animation and to the hand-held UI design fashion all over.

That was an anthological moment in modern gadget history. But if you think about it now... Come on, is that all? That's just blinking lights! It's sooo last week now.

Presenting the eye and finger candy is part of the show, of course. But I need some more, some interesting speeches that last because they are interesting, not just the "we are the best, the great innovators, computers have advanced typography today just because of me" pretentious trash...

I saw an interview with Ojanperä the other day where he talked about how Nokia approached the Indian mass market, for example. That is the kind of thing I want to hear! And that is where positive differences can show up between Ojanperä and Jobs et alii.

Nokia sites often refer to him as "Dr. Ojanperä". The guy has a post-grad title, while many old-school IT icons (even the more modern Google guys, actually) are college drop-outs. I really don't care about the whole noblety atavism of academic titles, and that sure doesn't take merit from the great work of all this great people who didn't graduate. But the level of the interviews is just different, I think this might have something to do with school...

Jobs and perhaps Gates most of the time just go on saying "oh, look at this, I love this, it's so beautiful!" Kind of an owner of a new dog showing it to neighbors. Just salesman talk, or that pretentious garbage. The kind of thing I've seen Ojanperä talk is closer to, I don't know, maybe Nicholas Negroponte books? That's the kind of people I want to follow on Twitter. He's also younger, has hair and a different accent! Also, the fact he is not the historic and admired founder/owner of the company is good, makes he look more human and approachable.

Therefore I ask: Is this really so? Is he being prepared by Nokia to have this function of iconic guy that brings us their revolutionary products, set trends, etc? I can't think otherwise comparing this picture of his from circa 2007, I guess, with this recent picture at Fast Company magazine. The guy is dressed all fashionable, he took a "shop bath" as we say here. Not to mention the "photoshop bath"!... It's part of the show again, I guess.

His hanging around with Dave Stewart isn't hurting.

And the bottom photo looks more CGI than Photoshop...

Is Texrat the Phil Donahue of maemo.org?
...discuss.

No.

Do not discuss.

Why not go all the way and have Jon Stewart talking about his N900?

Probably too expensive...

...His Moment of Zen will be an iPhone battery exploding

You mention a lot of CEO. Why not Eric Schmidt. Or Ari Jaaksi.