Apple’s Fanbase, an endangered species
Apple has had a signifigant fan base since the beginning. Many would argue it’s these dedicated users who have kept the company going through hard times. Microsoft doesn’t really have a fan base. You don’t see people buying Microsoft posters to decorate their office like people have with “Think Different” posters. You don’t see PC evangelists, but you do see Mac evangelists. Apple is loved. Love has kept Apple afloat.
There are several times every year when Apple and the Apple lovers renew their vows. We call these times Expo’s. It now appears that one side refuses to renew it’s vows with some.
Apple has recently been pushing IDG to block media passes to the MWNY Expo next week to many news sites who write, mention, or link to rumors. One of the criminals being blocked is MacFixIt. Just in case you didn’t already know. MacFixIt is one of the most reputable websites around. Over the years they have provided some of the best coverage and have come to the rescue of infinate Mac owners by facilitating troubleshooting. They are far from a Rumor site. According to their website: “Macworld Expo (apparently acting at Apple’s request) has banned numerous Web sites (including MacFixIt) from getting press passes for Macworld Expo. This is so even in cases where the press pass had been previously approved.” More recently they have said they received 1.
It appears that Apple compiled a pretty through list of anyone who linked to, mentioned, or created a rumor. Now for those in the industry for a while, that basically takes care of everyone but Apple’s own Hot-News. I would assume that MacCentral will get by as it is a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), who runs the Expo.
Will this lead to less coverage of MWNY? In a word, No. Many Mac news organizations don’t even attend. With all of the communication via press releases, it is very easy to provide good coverage via the Internet. Many sites have been doing this for years and you may have never known. Not to mention just going to the floor of the Expo as a regular person.
This will most likely just cause a backlash of bad PR for Apple. Rumor sites normally don’t attend the expo anyway, so they don’t care. This simply with annoy regular news sites and cause unnecessary hassle. You would think that Apple would use it’s legal department to curb these rumors yet try to keep the media guessing and building some hype for the Expo. The hype the media builds is free advertising for the Expo.
Seems to me like Apple is hurting the relationship between themselves and the media. It won’t stop rumors, and it will only cause anger and frustration. Will blocking sites like MacFixIt from attending the expo stop rumors? No. Silly Apple, rumors are for kids.
