RIAs use Twitter to reflect on the life and legacy of Steve Jobs

Brooke’s Note: It was only recently that people in the RIA business started to catch on to the power of Apple. First, we understood that the iPhone was better than the BlackBerry. Then we realized that the iPad was just better, period, and that it could change the industry. For some of us, it’s like belatedly discovering the Grateful Dead at age 48: The sadness of arriving late on the scene is sweetened by the zeal at being converted. See: Advisor Tested: iPad proves ideal for advisors on-the-go; the surprise is the effect on clients. There is an empty feeling here in the Bay Area today. Steve Jobs, the man who could make magic happen in technology and business but still carry a “dude card” is gone. That Jobs leaves behind a gazillion smooth-functioning gizmos seems very beside the point right now. This isn’t to diminish his legacy. Not at all. It’s to honor his towering ability to bring a whole-brained, whole-spirited approach to the creation of these products and of a company to build them.

It should come as no surprise that the news of Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs’ death overwhelmed a social media site like Twitter with countless thousands of tweets from admirers mourning his death.

Hours after the news broke, Twitter, deluged with posts, intermittently sent out messages saying it had “reached capacity.”

The 56-year-old genius died from a rare form of pancreatic cancer yesterday. Jobs stepped down as Apple’s chief executive Aug. 24.

Most users wrote brief tweets about his death with messages as simple as: “iSad” and “RIP Steve Jobs.” See: RIABiz makes its first major capital investment — an iPad.

RIAs, along with all other segments of society, reacted strongly to Jobs’ death. Here are some Twitter posts from the advisory world:

Shaun Murphy, The Trusted Adviser Technique, TrustedAdvTechn: “Steve Jobs: A
visionary far and wide in the planning industry: Consider for a moment what Jobs meant to financial planning.”

• Michael Kitces, publisher of The Kitces Report, MichaelKitces: “Rest in peace, Steve,” and “Wow. Even the acknowledgement of Steve Jobs’ passing on Apple.com is a homage to the elegant simplicity he inspired.”

• Diahann W. Lassus, advisor and president of Lassus Wherley Associates, diahannlassus : “A great loss with Steve Jobs death.”

• George Papadopoulos, advisor, feeonlyplanner: “'The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking & don’t settle’ – Steve Jobs, RIP.”

• Tom Brakke, investment consultant, Tom Brakke: “I haven’t been to Silicon Valley in decades, but happen to be going this morning — it will feel like a pilgrimage $AAPL.

• Cathy Curtis, advisor, Cathy Curtis: “Steve Jobs. He changed all of our lives. He left us at the top of his game.”

• Andover Equity Investment Group LLC, ex_wirehouse: “Steve J sort of like losing Edison…”

• Jeremy Voh, advisor, JeremyVoh: “Don’t own very many Apple products myself, but it’s a bummer to hear about Steve Jobs.” And then: “Is it too soon to start discussing plays on $AAPL stock in the morning?”

• Jim Cramer, TV host, jimcramer” “I, like everyone here, mourn the passing of the greatest industrialist and inventor of our lives…”

And these from more fans of Steve Jobs and Apple:

• Bill Gates, BILLGATES: “For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

• Faruk Ates, technology writer, KuraFire: “Absolutely 99% of my Twitter stream has been a tribute to Steve Jobs since the news broke, PC and Mac users alike. Biggest online hug ever.”

Some of the most touching tweets came from Apple employees:

• Robert Marini, software engineer at Apple working on developer tools, RobertMarini: “It’s like something landed in Cupertino and sucked all the happiness out of the world.”

• Taylor Carrigan, visual and user interface designer at Apple, taylorcarrigan: “I feel sick and my heart is pounding. Everything about this is heartbreaking.”

• Robert Padbury, user interface designer at Apple, padbury: “A light has gone out in our lives.” “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently.”

• Blake Seely, software engineer at Apple. blakeseely: “His legacy wasn’t any specific product. It’s Apple. That’s a lot of pressure. We have to rise to it and make all his work worth it…. And that’s a crushing thought right now.”

Finally, President Obama’s comments about Jobs’ passing were re-tweeted constantly throughout the night: “There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”