Wikipedia says an organization has jumped the shark when it uses an out of character gimmick in an attempt to generate new publicity. The phrase “jump the shark” evolved from a 1977 episode of Happy Days, in which Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water skis. The Free Encyclopedia says this gimmick strayed absurdly outside the original storyline of the sitcom.
VMware (VMW) has jumped the shark. The virtualization giant now has its own anthem. The VMware anthem performed by The Viarengo Band is set to Steppenwolf’s 1968 hit Born to be Wild. The song was most famously featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider.
Dell Technologies (DELL) stablemate EMC (EMC) jumped the shark in 2011. The storage provider staged an event where motorcycle daredevil Bubba Blackwell jumped over a parking lot of EMC Symmetrix storage units.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.