There is both a joy and a power when one arrives late to a party. Even if it's your own party. Especially if it's your own party.
The entrance you make draws absolute attention toward you and away from everything else.
It is, therefore, with a consummately uplifted spirit that I thank TechCrunch for spotting the arrival of Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt on Google+. He has posted a link to his thoughts on Steve Jobs. Yes, that's all, but it is a fine start.
Those of you whose hearts have been riven with a cynical virus will chafe at the timing of Schmidt's entry.
You will declare--because you are declarative sorts--that he has suddenly appeared on the very day that one of Google's own engineers accidentally posted a stinging, scathing, troubling rebuke of the social network and, particularly, its non-platform platform.
Steve Yegge, for that is the engineer's name, described the platform as "a pathetic afterthought." He also offered that the service was "a knee-jerk reaction."
I feel confident, though, that Schmidt's appearance on Google+ is not a knee-jerk reaction. He is a busy man. And let's face it, Google+ is a slightly complicated thing, one that takes up a lot of time, energy and brain fluid.
Surely, Schmidt's timing is perfect. Surely we can now expect daily posts that will offer us a deeper and more satisfying glimpse into the inner thought-processes at Google--such as, does he really get nervous before appearing on "The Colbert Report"?
And surely you will appreciate why I have not once mentioned Schmidt's profile picture.