• The Most Unpopular Blog Post Ever

    Posted on July 29th, 2008 by and currently 18 commenting.

    It is not without some trepidation that I post this. But (and here’s my way to unceremoniously announce this) since this is my last week at Brains on Fire*, I may as well go for broke!

    Over the years, I have developed a rather sizable amount of venom toward Apple. Not good, working where I work, among a tribe of “believers.” Perhaps it’s even BECAUSE I’m surrounded by all these believers that my tendency to be contrary has taken on such vehemence. Perhaps you’ll recall my post a few years ago about not wanting an iPod? And my subsequent admission that I ended up caving? Now… this post could be about the fact that said iPod has been nothing but trouble since I bought it, but it won’t be. Spike’s sick of hearing about that anyway. I’m not even going to argue about Apple vs. PC or attack Apple outright. The fact is, Apple makes a very good tool for graphic and creative applications. And I am definitely not going to argue that Microsoft rocks… it doesn’t (I will never succumb to Vista!).

    My real conundrum is this: The general sentiment these days is that a brand has to be open and interact with its customers – inviting them to own and engage with the company – in order to survive and thrive. But doesn’t it seem that Apple does the opposite? We talk about transparency, about letting those who love you get close, “opening the kimono (which I think is a really gross term)” to give them a peek, rewarding their loyalty… Apple doesn’t do any of those things. Do they make good products? Absolutely (my iPod notwithstanding). But they are secretive and exclusive and “reward” their fans only by coming out with the exact same product slightly cooler 6 months later so you have something new to covet. An insider story from an old teacher of mine (the specifics of which I won’t share out of respect for my teacher) who used to work on the Apple marketing confirmed for me that the company’s motivation is not generally with their customers in mind. It’s about what’s “cool.” They all but admitted how overhyped the iPhone was when they refunded $100 to some of the early purchasers because they had so overpriced their product that even Apple felt guilty about it.

    I had a problem with my iPod recently and looked online for help, where I was informed I “do not qualify for phone support.” Having spent a good deal of money on their product, I don’t “qualify” to have a condescending tech guy roll his eyes at me over the phone. I’ve spent far less and gotten far more by way of long-term support. (And before you comment Scott, yes… I know that I could have paid more to get the Applecare plan [which would have expired by now]… and no, there is no Apple Store in Greenville.)

    One of the Mac Heads around here said that when people tried to create their own applications for the iPhone, it would “brick” – become totally useless. They were actually penalizing their customers for trying to love and personalize their product. To be fair, I have heard they are working to rectify this… but still… This “there’s no way you could make this product better” sort of mentality floors me.

    Now… what Apple DOES do EXTREMELY well is stand for something. From their famous “Think Different” and “1984″ spots up through today, Apple has elevated its brand beyond being a tool company. Microsoft will always be a tool company… that’s just who they are. But Apple stands for creativity… and perhaps the emotional nature of that forte is what attracts such passion despite their refusal to display many of the open “transparent” behaviors that are preached so often these days.

    So there ya go. You can post 30,000 comments about how I “don’t get it.” And you’ll be right. But you’ll be missing my point. I don’t worship at the altar of Apple and I never will. Your comments won’t convert me… and I’m sure you all don’t want me in your club anyway. I am just pondering the extremely person-based success of a company that seems so much more concerned with its cool factor than with its customers. If you have examples to contradict me, by all means, share them. I’m not looking to stir up a hornet’s nest so much as I’m looking to understand what appears to be the exception to the rule.

    *If it happens to interest you, I am leaving Brains on Fire to pursue my MA in Theatre at the University of South Carolina. Good times. I’ll post my official final post on Thursday… provided I finish writing it.

  • http://www.consumerpassion.com Jeff Crites

    Bravo!

  • Matt

    While I admit that I am completely obsessed with Apple (for a number of reasons) I most certainly agree with you. It is strange to see their business plan in action, how they sue people who post things they don’t like, how they don’t allow employees to access other areas of the campus, yet people still fawn over them. Maybe its just wanting what we aren’t supposed to have (insider knowledge) or maybe they are the greatest products in the history of man kind… perhaps both?

    For a great counterpoint, look at Google. They are working so hard towards open source for everyone and they genuinely care about what their customers want. Its strange that lots of tech nerds (myself included) love Apple and Google even though they are complete opposites!

  • http://gretemangroup.com/blog Todd

    Vile fiend! How dare you post salacious lies against the Maker? May your days be spent toiling the blue screens, never tasting the sweet nectar of functioning widgets and attractive stock desktop imagery.

    Did you happen to read the Wired article a couple months back about Apple? Apparently, their internal culture is similar to the external persona. It’s fascinating that such an anti-everything-we-preach company can be so successful. And, I suppose, fairly frustrating as well.

  • http://www.spinningsilkmultimedia.com Patrick

    I’m also an Apple user. My day to day tools are a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. However I think I may have more of a “think different” personality than Apple itself. No matter if it is Apple, Microsoft or whoever I still like to find software that works for me. As someone who does web development I really dislike iWeb for example. Not because of what it produces in terms of looks. iWeb pages look really slick for “push button” convenience but just like the travesty that was Microsoft Frontpage. iWeb is no better or even worse in terms of clean code. I’m sure that doesn’t matter to your typical iWeb user and is “ok” for something “quick and dirty” like a photo album.

    I love open source and freedom but I can also see where the closed environment makes thing smoother as far as a user experience (I didn’t say customer service – one should never have a tech support person “rolling their eyes!)

    As a “creative” I prefer Macs because a significant part of my “community” also uses them.

    As a “geek” I love the fact I can work in something so “mainstream” but have access to a Unix like environment.

    As a “web developer” I pretty much have to have a Mac (which also has Windows XP running virtually) to check on my work across the major platforms and browsers.

    I think Apple’s personality is pretty much tied to the personality of it’s CEO and the closed environment (a lot less closed than it was 10 years ago). Some of the “closedness” may also come from their marketshare and fear of the competition. It’s hard to tell sometimes. They have an interesting history. They are definitely doing things now they would have never done 10 years ago.

    I’m not going to say, “You don’t get it.” Your eyes are actually more open and you’re being honest about your experiences. Apple is doing well but they could do “very well” by listening to more people like you.

  • http://dougsdigs.blogspot.com doug

    (I had lengthy gushing with thanks response, but I settled for this instead)

    Amen.

  • http://www.TechHerding.com Dick Carlson

    Bravo! Many, many years ago (fifteen?) I had to do support on a large university campus for both Apple and PC. I had a chance, first-hand, to see side-by-side the differences in culture and actual rubber/road usage for the two models.

    Since then, I’ve gotten to work with many highly creative people (nearly all in the @pple camp) and lots of disgusting money-grubbing droids (most recently in my five years inside Micro$oft).

    My take, in a nutshell, is that Apples are wonderful machines that hardly every go wrong. And when they do, God help you — you’ll never be able to fix them.

    Apples have absolutely wonderful magical software to do amazing stuff — as long as you want to do just what the software says you should do. And if you want something even a tiny bit different, God help you.

    Apples have great commercials, a marvelous logo, a bitchin’ cool CEO and the most wonderful branding in the world. And if they fuck you over six months after you bought a piece of hardware, you just have to say “thank you sir, may I have another?”

    Bottom Line: It pretty much depends on where and how you’d like you pain.

  • Alva

    Hey, just wanted to say that I agree with you. I also find it interesting that Apple doesn’t seem to mind doing the same things it has railed against MS for doing. The “bricking” with modding is an excellent example.

  • http://brainsonfire.com Jennifer

    Hey all – thanks for all the constructive feedback! (Todd… in particular… I have never before been called “vile fiend” or “salacious”… and I LOVE it!) I do think that Apple is an interesting one of those exceptions that proves the rule. Because, really… what other brand could do what they do the way they do it (or more importantly, with the attitude with which they do it) and be this successful? I certainly don’t have anyone else leaping to mind, eh?

  • http://www.daanjansonius.com Daan Jansonius

    Be prepared, the knifes will be out soon!

    Excellent post and I completely agree with you. Apple’s a really strange company for me. I admire Steve Jobs and the way he has built and branded Apple, yet I don’t subscribe to their way of doing marketing.

    It’s funny you write this now, as I;ve been thinking about that lately. On the one hand I love what they are doing and on the other hand I hate it!

    Apple are probably a rarity and I certainly wouldn’t advice and other brand to follow a similar path to Apple. I don’t think there are many other brands out there which can get away with what Apple does and STILL have God know’s how many brand evangelists.

    Recently I wrote a post slating Apple and within minutes (literally minutes!) a flock of Apple enthousiasts had surfed to my blog to defend their brand. Who needs a webcare team with fans like that, eh?! :)

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Carrie

    I have nothing profound to say…but sometimes I think humans just want “cool”…they will throw the transparent customer/company relationship out the window to have the cool stuff.

  • http://twitter.com/theupstate Jason B.

    I’m a banner-waving, card-carrying, evangelizing member of the cult of the Mac. But I do agree with your central point about Apple being closed and stand-off-ish with the public and it’s customers.

    I wonder how long they can keep up the tight-lipped attitude. With a market-leading digital music empire, a smash-hit phone and increases in Mac sales, the audience for Apple products is quickly moving beyond niche. It will be interesting to see how Apple handles this new success and if they adopt a more open stance in light of it. My guess is that we won’t see much change.

    And that may hurt Apple in the long run.

  • Pingback: links for 2008-07-30 | Daan Jansonius

  • http://www.insidesales.com Steve Watts

    Heh, Jennifer, you and I are of the same mind…

    Here’s a comment I posted a week or so ago on another blog:

    “As universally praised as Apple’s product lines are, I will always be a tough sell to Apple. Why?

    “During my college days, I did computer repair work to put me through school. And without fail, Apple owners were always the whiniest, most arrogant, unreasonable computer hardware owners on the planet–and it wasn’t even close. Now I’m sure not all of you Apple owners out there are like that–but due to my experiences, when I think of the Apple ‘brand,’ my typical gut reaction is, ‘Narcissistic poseurs who think Apple is cool because someone told them it was.’ And whether reasonable or not, I don’t want to be associated with the Apple ‘brand.’ In my mind, the Apple brand is not associated with the phrases ‘cool,’ ‘trendy,’ ‘elegant,’ or ‘excellent computing solution.’”

  • http://pointoforder.squarespace.com kamran

    Hold please– leaving us for an ma? We will sure be poorer for the lack of you and your insight (and curiosity!). You will be missed!
    As to Apple, I had to go back to your original post, and it was written before we went digital. And I know where you were with that- I was in the same place then.
    I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the ‘Brave New World’ of mp3 and iTunes.
    Now days I cannot imagine how I could get by without all the podcasts, concerts, interviews, and music organization.
    And my purchasing has dropped through the floor as I have fingertip access to thousands of songs I used to have to root around for. And scratch, and buff, and scratch, and buff the old cds of my less dainty days.
    Curiously, the thing I was most adamant about I was also most wrong about. In the old days I was a purist- put on a cd and listen to it all the way through. No skips, no random. Pink Floyd and the Beatles were certainly meant to be listened to in order. These days I live for shuffle mode, and love to play our homemade version of ‘Name that Tune!’ with the first few bars of each song. But the phones! Jezel pete at the phone deal! Wicked, evil, vile, naughty people wrote that deal with only one(comically under prepared) cellphone provider.
    I love the rich irony that the dirtiest deal in the history of cell phones has not quite worked out in Apple’s favor, with about 1/4 of all iPhones being hacked to work on other networks (or not at all?).
    Reap what you sew, smart guy. Keep hiding behind the curtain.
    You get it, Jen, Jobs doesn’t.

  • Mariscia

    I didn’t convert to Apple until I attended the VCU Brandcenter where MACS rule since in my previous careers everyone uses a DELL. I wanted to be a “bi-computer” person. Both systems have their pros and cons.

    Your article is dead on but I did find out from speaking with an Apple employee that they lowered the price because the patents were about to expire and other vendors would have access to the technology. He also told me to never, ever buy a first generation Apple anything because it is just the test model. I was scared straight into getting Procare after seeing people at school spend $500 to fix their laptops.

  • http://www.bizandbuzz.blogspot.com gianandrea facchini

    While I love Apple products, I sometimes have to disagree with their policy.
    And I did it lately with this post about IPhone price and the heritage of the 1984 ad you mention.
    The price policy for IPhone goes in a direction which is exactly the opposite of that ad, where we were told that Apple was about being different.
    I understand that companies are here to make profit but, sometimes, to be honest and straightforward and to reward customers is the better profit.
    http://bizandbuzz.blogspot.com/2008/07/24-years-later.html

  • http://www.thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com olivier blanchard

    I feel your pain. I get repeatedly kicked in the shins for being an ardent fan of Microsoft AND Vista AND Zune.

    My brother is a Mac cultist and rags me to death about being a PC. (Good thing he lives on the opposite side of the planet, or there would be busted lips over this.) As a fairly passionate photographer, I butt heads with almost all of my peers since they use Macs. It’s constant.

    And I won’t even get into the passionate Vista haters out there whom I just don’t understand at all and get vitriolic hate mail from weekly. (My experience with Vista has been pretty kickass from Day One.)

    The way I see it, the whole Mac vs. PC thing is a complete waste of time. For starters, “creativity is not device dependent.” (Bruce Mau) Second, I see a lot of crap being designed and created on Macs, and a lot of incredible work being designed and created on PCs. Bleh. The whole thing reeks of Canon vs. Nikon, Trek vs. Specialized, Smith & Wesson vs. Colt, or even Coke vs. Pepsi. I can’t for the life of me understand why people take sides like this over tools (even if they are representative of a particular lifestyle) when they should instead embrace the choice that that these tools afford us.

    I dig Mac. I also dig Microsoft. I own a Playstation 2 AND and Xbox 360. I have an iMac, a Dell and an HP. I use XP and Vista. Why do I have to pick a side? Why does picking one brand over another make me cooler or better?

    Don’t sweat it. Do your thing. The rest is just noise.

  • http://www.spinningsilkmultimedia.com Patrick

    To the person who mentioned the bad Apple experience in college mine as the opposite in fact it was my college days in the mid 80′s that kept my interest in Apple to I eventually bought my first Apple computer some time after 2000.

    In college I majored in Mass Communication at Winthrop College (now University) and in my news and feature writing classes we went in one day to discover these strange looking machines which turned out to be the Macintosh or Macintosh SE had been placed on all the desks which originally had typewriters (they also had a laser printer in the room next to the instructors desk).

    I was totally impressed as the last computer I had worked on on college was a Tandy TRS-80 for an Intro to Computers course where B.A.S.I.C. was taught.

    They were flyers on campus to advertising the Macs students could by. I wanted one so bad but at the time it was almost the cost of a sememsters tuition and needless to say I had to take out student loans and grants to pay for that. A Mac was way out of the question then but over the years I kept my eyes on the company and off and on considered buying one. I almost bought on as my first computer around 1996 but to be honest it didn’t look like Apple would survive… and then they bought out NeXT and brought in Steve Jobs.

    I had worked places where they had Macs and OS8 and OS9 were used but I had already been using Windows 95, 98 and 2000 and XP towards the end of my big switch. When OSX was introduced that was the game changer for me. I was serious about getting a Mac again and I’ve been pretty darn happy ever since. Still use Windows but virtually of course, on my Mac.