Macworld 2008: Some losers pissed me off, so I'm sharing them with you!

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The media queue to get into the keynote yesterday morning was insane, it always is at an event like this. It’s a couple of hundred journalists jockeying for the best spots in line so as to get the best seats with clear shots of the stage, while at the same time getting their software running while trying to keep their batteries from dying. It’s chaos. And the last thing it needs is people coming to make more.

Enter the Losers of Macworld 2008™, a couple of people who were doing what they thought was right but who just ended up making a messy situation even more so.

We have a tie for the top spot this year between the Ron Paul supporter handing out CD-ROMs of who-knows-what and the Tivo mascot obliviously knocking everyone in line over each time he turned around. Let’s take a look at each of our champions.

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We stay out of politics on CrunchGear for a couple of reasons, such as they ususally don’t have much to do with gadgets and hardware, and because there are other blogs for that. But Paultards are all insane people. Not lock-them-up crazy, but I-don’t-give-a-damn crazy. Many of them are socially irresponsible to a fault, and this lady, handing out campaign goodies, is a prime example.

There was a whirlwind of people, each and every one there to see a Stevenote, not to read about fringe politics, and they were all surrounding her. She stayed in the middle, blocking the sidewalk, and forcing those of us trying to get by her into cracking our laptop bags into the ribs of the innocents next to us, prompting many sayings of “Oops, sorry, Paultard’s fault!”

Of course the argument for her being there is “it’s a free country, I can do what I want,” which is something of a Ron Paul battlecry. And while they’re right, she can do what she wants, she’s showing the irresponsibility that characterizes many of Ron Paul’s fans. If your freedom is causing problems for others, then you’re just a jerk, not a revolutionary. Sorry, lady, you make the Losers list.

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And Tivo guy, what were they thinking sending you down there? It’s not his fault, really, I’m sure he’s not some crazy Tivo fan who owns his own costume and goes to events. He was on the payroll of Tivo, a mascot to dance around and bring brand awareness to the gathered crowd. Fair enough, we see stuff like that all the time, but what a bad place to put him.

The sidewalk was not wide, there were three parallel lines, as well as cops routing traffic and utility boxes and posts. It was crowded already, so when a five-foot-wide Tivo costume tries to turn around, people get knocked down. Not once, not twice, but three times while waiting did I see Mr. Tivo send people sprawling, only to be caught up by fellow mascot-dodgers just before they hit the pavement.

The costume is large enough to be seen from across the street, Tivo, he should be there next time. No matter how much we like the product, and we do, it was the wrong place at the wrong time for a branding campaign with a mascot. Sorry, Tivo Guy is now on the losers list.