Bloggers, Macs, and the OS X Blues

Stephen Van Esch - 2002.10.23

In my last column, I touched on the idea that as more people switch, Apple will have to become more attentive to customer needs.

In the same vein, Apple has to realize that they are gradually gaining a higher profile in the weblog "blogosphere".

In a very simplified nutshell, weblogs are websites that are updated on a daily basis. These updates may be simple musings, personal opinions, or short articles. They usually contain a smattering of links to other sites or articles. Again, weblogs are much more complex than that. You can find a good overview of weblogs here.

While many people have never heard of weblogs, it's clear that some wield an enormous amount of power. Some of the most popular weblogs can bring in as many as 10,000 readers a day. That's nothing to sneeze at.

While the number of weblogs in existence might be between 250,000 and 500,000, depending upon who you refer to, the number of people who read them is much higher.

Which brings us to Apple. There are many popular weblog writers who are Mac users. There are also a rising number of popular weblog writers who are switching to Apple products. Two popular weblog writers who have recently made the switch (or switched back) are Jason Kottke and Meg Hourihan. Both of these people (along with many others) could be considered founders of the weblog age. Their audiences are substantial. And their audiences differ greatly from other websites that discuss Macintoshes; their audiences are probably not Mac users.

This means that there is a vast audience of potential switchers visiting a weblog every day. While neither Meg nor Jason make the Macintosh the main topic of their weblogs, they do mention them occasionally. So far the mentions have been favorable. That may not always be the case.

Take for example, Jeffrey Zeldman.

Zeldman is one of the most respected web designers on the planet. Thousands read his weblog every day. When Jeffrey ran into serious problems with his Jaguar upgrade, he wasn't shy about sharing his feelings. Witness OS X Blues Part 1 and Part 2.

I think the OS X Blues articles are great. So great, in fact, they have made me think twice before upgrading to 10.2. I'm already a Mac user. Think of the thousands of Zeldman readers who are not Mac users. I'd say that those two articles generated a lot of bad PR for Apple.

I'm not saying that those who have famous weblogs or columns should get better treatment. What I'm saying is that the journalistic topography has and is changing. While sending a machine to David Coursey so that he can test it out is a good idea, there are more and more people who command small audiences that are just as influential, if not more.

In fact, it's likely that weblog writers have more influence over their readers than regular journalists, because they seem to forge real relationships with their readers. Regular readers feel a more personal connection to the weblog writer because a weblog is an inherently personal thing that usually doesn't make the writer any money.

I would trust a software review from Jeffrey Zeldman. I might not place that same level of trust on a review from MacAddict. MacAddict must make money, and, while I don't doubt their journalistic integrity, I never know then they may be skewing some of their writing to favor an advertiser.

So, some weblog writers have large audiences, are trusted by their readers, and can influence their buying decisions. Apple would do well to keep an eye on some of the more prominent weblog writers that use Macintoshes.

<This article is available in a printer-friendly format.>

Stephen Van Esch is the founder and president of the E-learning Foundry, an online training resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual, since he's also fluent in Windows and French.

Recently on Mac Scope

• Connecting with the broader Macintosh community, 04.06. "But beyond the very minor celebrity status that came with being published on Low End Mac, it gave me a real opportunity to participate in the Mac community."
• Hardware failure, that rare Mac headache, 07.09. Macs are usually pretty reliable, but a hardware failure after just two-and-a-half years is still disappointing.
• Still waiting for iTunes Music Store Canada, sort of, 06.23. While the pay-per-tune model makes sense, Apple's post-purchase copy management flies in the face of Canadian copyright law.
• PearPC's slow Mac emulation - What's the point?, 05.26. "For all those Windows folks who are gussying up Windows to look like OS X and getting excited over PearPC, please just buy a Mac."
• More in the Mac Scope index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
• List of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
  
• September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• Anticipation: New iPods Now, New Macs Later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
• Buy a MacBook Now or Wait?, MacBook touch Patents, Samsung X360 Takes on MBA, and More, The 'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
• Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
• Source of iPhone 3G Problems, Army Uses iPods as Field Translators, Gains with Business, and More, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading', iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009 models, weather tracking software, and more.
• Macs Gain Ground in August, Consumers Most Likely to Buy Macs, LaCie USB Speakers, and More, Mac News Review, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive and two new keyboards from Logitech.
• Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
• Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
• Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
• Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
• Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700.
• Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
• Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
• Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
• Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
• Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
• 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
• Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
• Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
• Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
• Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
• Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
• More links in our archive.

---