Huh...

[sleigh]

Mind you, I'm an admitted Machead and I think the iPhone looks like one cool device. But I find my hackles rising when I read how the CEO of AT&T, Stan Sigman, addressed the commencement crowd at West Texas A&M University. Holding up the iPhone, Sigman reputedly said: "You don't have to remember another word I say. If someone asks you about graduation, your graduation, you can say that you got to see the iPhone."

Umm... that's what you're going to tell your children and grandchildren about your graduation -- that you got to see the iPhone? That's the important message you're supposed to take away from your education?

Comments

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

I've often wondered about the thought (or lack thereof) that goes into selecting a commencement speaker. Last year, Syracuse University invited Billy Joel and awarded him an honory degree, no doubt due to the rather large donation he made and his daughter being a student. I've never seen a man more uncomfortable nor unprepared to speak. He basically said "Do what you love and you'll love what you do" for five minutes and then sang a song.

It's not a bad piece of advice, but as a commencement address I found it lacking. Still, given the number of universities out there, not everyone's going to be able to get a Ted Kopple, Al Gore or similar, but they could have done better I'm sure.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Hey, "Do what you love to do" and a free Joel mini-concert isn't bad deal... :-)

[casaubon.livejournal.com]

I don't remember a thing about my first graduation, apart from the venue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Albert_Hall).

I remember 1 out of 2 of the speakers from my second graduation, but don't recall what either of them said...

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Wow, nice venue! Did anyone play "Louie, Louie" on the organ? (semi-obscure musical reference...)

[casaubon.livejournal.com]

Heh, I hope so, but as I say, it's all a blur. :)

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Wow. They got to see an electronic device before it was released. That's... incomparable. I wish my commencement speaker had avoided actual words of wisdom and shown us, oh, a laptop computer or something.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Heck, at mine he could have held up a Sony Walkman cassette player... :-)