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Technology is like a blues song instead of a holiday song this year. We are in a dark period where geeks are feeling low. Steve is gone and we don’t see who could possibly lead us to the light. It ain’t Ballmer and it’s too early to make a call on Meg. The Kindle won’t light your Fire; you already have an iPad. Sony hasn’t made a lust-worthy product since the Walkman and Roku, Tivo, and Google TV just make finding entertainment, unentertaining at best (albeit cheaper).

There also won’t be a Facebook phone for Christmas and I will bet you a buck that the phone from Zuck- will suck (and I will put this on my Wall to take all bets).

I asked Siri what she wanted for Christmas and she said, “I have very few wants.” Talk about uninspiring!

As Black Friday comes (that phrase will always be a Steely Dan song for me), I can’t figure out a single thing I would buy my nerd friends, let alone my own bad nerd self.

So, I send out this 2-part challenge to our friends:

1. Name the technology leader or company that will lead us from the desert to the land of the insanely great, new-new gadget and the re-inflation of the Tech Bubble.
2. Name the product (in existence or one you can articulate that is not in the category of ‘flying car’) that I can buy, make (or at least promise to buy or make) by the holidays and put under a lonely, sad, Charlie Brown-style tree at my nerd buddies’ houses.

We have built a digital shop in Santa Monica, California called ‘Backward Heroes, Inc.’ Being artists and geeks, we have always wanted the right story to tell that creatively, yet accurately explained the origin of our company name. The name has always fit us somehow and we have tried other options and even asked our clients if we should change it. We made attempts to make it more clever or simple or clear, but the options were universally and roundly rejected.

On the dawning of this day following Steve Job’s passing, I suggest that we will finally embrace our name in honor of him. I think we would not be alone in connecting our love for Apple to what I believe is the best articulation of what distinguished Steve and the company. I am referring to the inspirational and aspirational 1997 TBWA/Chiat/Day commercial that confirmed and affirmed the fanaticism that was the cult of Apple. The script of the commercial was…

YouTube Video Link

Now that Steve has passed, it is our duty to honor his legacy by taking up his cause in the spirit with which he pursued it and take it further and make the world even better. It is only by standing on the shoulders of giants that we can see the greater horizon and Steve Jobs has allowed us to do that.

So, from now on, our answer to ‘What is a Backward Hero?’…  We are the crazy ones who still intend to think different and change the world.

Apple is releasing a new version of Mac OSX tomorrow and Backward Heroes is buying. We buy everything Apple makes and we make most of what we make with Apple products. Lion is exciting because it takes much of what has excited us about iPad use and loops it back to the user experience and feature set of our ‘full blown’ computers as well. It is of course, only a matter of time before our Apple laptops and desktops will have touchscreens and we won’t have to decry that we need CNN’s Magic Board aka http://www.perceptivepixel.com/ or forbid, Microsoft’s Surface.

This year, we published an iPad app called ‘The Venetian‘ with our author/friend Nick Bantock and it gave us the opportunity to really dive deep on what an iPad experience is. Although we kept everything simple, we felt we achieved an elegance to our approach. We are looking to continue this pursuit of tablet and other mobile development, both in publishing and in marketing with Backward Heroes’ clients.

The challenge to up our game is daunting at times, but innovators like Apple keep us inspired. We know the transition to Lion will be smooth and we look forward to seeing you all real soon in the iCloud.

We have many great folks to thank:
• The various studios who employ us to design for their creative projects. We love this work and we love the movies and hope to do more and more of this work as part of our mix.
• The associations and corporations that have trusted us with their brands and messages and allowed us to balance our books.
• The great employees, friends, freelancers and studios that we coordinate with to produce everything from tiny startup web sites to enormous corporate initiatives.
• The creative, energetic and sage folks at Stradella Road who have provided us with referrals and counsel and good times.
• Our families for understanding that we are crazy and love our work and who let us get away with late nights, nerdy behavior and occasional lapses of hygienic attention.

The Future is Now and we have a clear idea of what we want to accomplish.
• For the most part, we want to improve our service to clients and expand our capabilities to deliver great work.
• This year, we will publish an App or two. We have creative partners and great content to explore. You will hear more about this very soon.
• We will delve deeper into two trends we see driving our industry: video and mobile. We have done more and more motion graphics and editing work and we see the phone and the tablet as being how more and more content will be consumed.
When you have been in this business as long as I have, you know that you can predict anything and whether you are right or wrong, it will change again. Rest assured, Backward Heroes is ready for whatever comes at us.
Happy Twenty-Eleven!

Here is my wish list:

1. Pentagram Marks
2. Craft Inc. Business Planner
3. Pocket Cash
4. How to Cook Like a Top Chef
5. Handy Dad: 25 Awesome Projects for Dads and Kids
6. Mom’s Ultimate Family Organizer: A One-Stop Planner for Busy Moms
7. The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
8. The World Almanac for Kids Puzzler Deck: U. S. History & Geography, Ages 9-11
9. Taking Aim
10. The Golden Mean
11. Urgent 2nd Class
12. The Venetian’s Wife
13. The Balance of the $500 prize in Moleskins (love Moleskins)!

Happy Turkey Day!