Should Steve Tweet? Thoughts on Apple and Social Media
I just came back from a Twitter conference and as is typical at most web 2.0 conferences the Mac dominated.
Now, you may think, Apple and Twitter? What the hell do they have to do with each other? And you would be right. They have very little to do with each other. When I say the Mac dominated I mean that by far the dominant laptop of choice for presenters and attendees was some kind of Macbook.
What I find strange about this is that Apple has so far completely ignored the Social Media space and yet it's users folk to it. The very creation of the world wide web took place on a NeXT box, a precursor to OS X and Apple is very proud to parade the fact that Twitter uses Macs for all their development and business work.
We have seen this contradiction with Apple before. No other company has the amount of dedicated sites to it than Apple does (including this one). The list of Apple sites, some mainstream, others passionate hobbies is mind-boggling. What is even more mind-boggling is that Apple has absolutely nothing to do with it. Indeed, unless you are David Pogue or Walt Mossberg, Apple PR will not talk to you. For years sites like this one could attend MacWorld as media and then, mysteriously, a few years ago IDG, one suspects as a proxy for Apple clamped down. (It will be interesting to see what happens at MacWorld 2010 now that Apple is no longer participating).
Apple is like the computer for the everyman made by a company that wants absolutely nothing to do with the everyman. This lack of dialouge is a shame. I'm not one to believe that customers know everything that a company could build; customer co-development can lead to crappy products. But it would be nice if Apple were to embrace its users, and nourish the community that is there.
I suppose you could look at the Apple stores as evidence that Apple is doing just that. But the Apple stores are a very one-way thing. You go there to talk to a genius and buy stuff; Apple has not taken the opportunity to create meetups or community learning events at Apple stores except in very very small ways.
As the Social Media revolution continues the customer of the future may very well expect this kind of dialouge and relationship with the brands it cares about. The standoffishness we experience from Apple now will not be sustainable if Apple want to build long term relationships with its customers.
In many ways being an Apple fan today is very much like having a love affair with someone who doesn't know you exist (except when it needs money). I have a collection of over 30 Macs, and despite my sometimes critical (god-forbid!) look at Apple on this site I think the company is fantastic, and the products it has made, and continue to make, revolutionary. I'm not quite sure how Apple could reciprocate to the fabulous community it has created. But some kind of gesture, no matter how small would be nice.
Maybe Steve should tweet 
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Apple is like the computer for the everyman made by a company that wants absolutely nothing to do with the everyman.
PS: As long as the everyman can afford it, which is hardly every man.
I’m not at all bothered by the fact that Apple isn’t heavily involved in this space. The social networking space is open, chaotic, and free. Apple’s MO is the opposite of that. They want to control, control, control. So I’m not sure what they’d really contribute. And the same goes for any commercial venture in the Twitterverse or on FB. Having the customer’s ear is a plus, but like you said, since when has Apple really been very interested in that?
Hadely, I think you’re right on point. I’ve felt that Apple, especially in the last five or so years, has decided to target and make products for people who have disposable income. They’re not always concerned about making their products affordable for average income people.
Your point about Apple stores is also very valid. I rarely go to my local store because unless you intend to purchase something or get something repaired, there’s really no reason to go. The stores are always filled with people, but just imagine how much more could be done with the stores. Apple stores do hold summer workshops for youth, and also I think they still hold workshops for how to use iLife applications, but I think that’s about it. I guess Apple can be mostly concerned about the bottom line as long as we keep shelling out money to them every time they upgrade an existing product. Why do anything different as long as they’re getting paid?
Do Apple users tweet?
I know tweet seems popular, but I heard a figure recently that it’s only skerrick of the internet population who use it. And a massive number of people who have joined Twitter have used it barely once or twice.
It’s kinda like Linux. The voice it carries is grossly disproportionate to its actual user base.
I think that’s probably because it’s so popular with geeks and celebrities.
Most human communication is personal. The telephone, email, SMS, IM, snail mail, etc. And even when we are in a group, we rarely try talking and listening to more than four or five people at one time.
Twitter is like standing in the middle of a football oval trying to have a conversation with the crowd.
So why should Steve tweet? Who’s going to hear him? Just a few geeks and celebrities.
John Welch made the point in a way I cannot disagree with at all. Steve shouldn’t tweet or social-mediaize himself just because everyone else is. Apple would be a disaster on it, unless they really want to become more open, which it does not seem to want to be.