Think Secret : Ban On Rumor Press at MWNY
Think Secret has an interesting piece about how Apple is putting the smack down on any and all websites that have posted rumors or linked to rumor stories in the past by refusing to issue press creds to representatives from those sites.
Here's the <a href="http://thinksecret.com/news/editorialpressaccess.html"; target="_blank">link ---></a>
Any thoughts?
Here's the <a href="http://thinksecret.com/news/editorialpressaccess.html"; target="_blank">link ---></a>
Any thoughts?
Comments
I mean, I'd hardly consider anything I've ever seen on SpyMac to be what I would call "journalism".
<strong>Too me this just sounds like de Plume whining his @$$ off. Don't get me wrong, I like TS and speak with him on occasion, but this isn't even newsworthy. Companies do this all the time, especially larger ones like Apple. False rumors that raise expectations can damage Apple. I think de Plume's larger concern is the few hundred dollars a month he makes off those hundreds of advertisements strewn all over his site. He knows exactly why Apple is doing this but he also knows it could be damaging to him and his source of income. Oh well. The government cracking down on child pornography hurts the child pornographer's incomes, but arguably it's for the better. de Plume went a little too far with regard to how much b!tching and whining he did in his 'report.'</strong><hr></blockquote>
The comparision between Think Secret and child pornography is not very good. Child pornography imply bad things for the child involved.
I quite understand that Apple try to control everything in order to earn more $, just like microsoft, but we , even if we are apple fans, we are not stupid customers, we appreciate infos that let us buy Apple stuff in a intelligent way.
Imagine that you buy a dual 1 ghz powermac and the next month you see the release of a G5 for the same prize. Good for Apple, bad for you.
The media are made for us (the customers) and not for the pleasure of Apple.
I think you owe an apology.
[quote]Originally posted by powerdoc:
The comparision between Think Secret and child pornography is not very good. Child pornography imply bad things for the child involved.<hr></blockquote>
Yes and rumors may imply bad things for the company(ies) involved.
[quote]Originally posted by powerdoc:
I quite understand that Apple try to control everything in order to earn more $, just like microsoft, but we , even if we are apple fans, we are not stupid customers, we appreciate infos that let us buy Apple stuff in a intelligent way.<hr></blockquote>
You're not getting what im saying. We know that Apple will update the products every six months or so. Why? Trends. What they want to control are the false rumors that raise expectations beyond what they should be. False rumors aren't going to let us buy Apple stuff in an inteligent way by a long shot, and they only damage Apple.
[quote]Originally posted by powerdoc:
Imagine that you buy a dual 1 ghz powermac and the next month you see the release of a G5 for the same prize. Good for Apple, bad for you.<hr></blockquote>
If you knew anything about anything, you wouldn't have bought the PowerMac. You KNOW that MWNY is right around the corner. And the last time the PM was updated was about 5.5 months ago. Seems timely for an update, no?
[quote]Originally posted by powerdoc:
The media are made for us (the customers) and not for the pleasure of Apple.<hr></blockquote>
The media is controlled by larger companies. Get used to it.
[quote]Originally posted by cinder:
I find your comparision of a pedophile and a rumor site publisher extremely offensive.
I think you owe an apology.<hr></blockquote>
Which I will not give. Replace child pornographer with software pirate and be on your merry way.
gosh, you think apple would ban macworld from press credentials... at macworld new york???
now that's a funny thought.
I bet youthful exhuberance combined with his dickhead attitude were probably what got him fired in the first place. Age seems to have given him some wisdom, but he still seems like a big kid.
...so macworld can no longer post or publish the rumor buzz?
<strong>Replace child pornographer with software pirate and be on your merry way.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You're still off. The ability to publish rumors, tips, and documents that arrive in the night in unlabeled envelopes is an important right of the press. Corporations might not like it, but that's the point. Corporations have PR departments to offer their own spins on things.
MWNY is not Apple's show. It's MacWorld Expo's. That said, they can issue press passes at their discretion, and I don't doubt that their discretion is heavily influenced by Apple's. Apple can't legally prevent the publication of anonymously received rumors (at least, not yet, although the courts have been increasingly totalitarian in recent years) but they don't have to do the rumors sites any favors, either.
[ 07-02-2002: Message edited by: Amorph ]</p>
DePlume may as well have spent his time writing up a dissertation on how the legislature must pass a law that forbids any citizen from holding a closed meeting, organizing a members-only club, or having a slumber party.
-- PEte
He does try to point out the positives and negitives on the issue. Such that, control is power, and power can currupt leading to rebellion. Ala, M$.
I always believe in freedom of the press, but the press is pretty sleezy.
I agree with the author, Apple needs to mingle and prefect this age old dance, not try to force everyone into a march with them in the front.
I'm sure there are a few alternative ways to control the flow of information, like selective rumor feeding. Half truths aren't always bad.
~Kuku
They also can't give customers what they want: Performance for the Pro line. I love the platform, but am I supposed to get all giddy over even a 1.4 GHZ chip with 133 DDR RAM? Even that would be pathetic.
I'll never go back to Windows. Never. But, let's not fool ourselves here. Apple will have trouble blowing away the industry with PR buzz when they continually sell machines with 1.5 GHZ clock deficits.
It used to be that Apple really DID push the performance standard. Now, we are supposed to be thrilled when they are going to possibly ship a DDR 266 or 333 system with (GASP) a "blazing fast" 1.4 GHZ chip?
The point is Apple should never have stoked the fires like they did for last MW. It's one thing to have a chip clockspeed problem, but when you put on your web site that you are going to release something no one can imagine, then you come out with an 800MHZ G4 iMac with 15" flat panel, you have got be kidding me.
Here is a really good quote from the <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=7176"; target="_blank">MacRumors Forums</a>:
[quote]Originally posted by groupeone:
Forgive me for throwing water on the passionate commentary by Think Secret. I'll admit to spending way too much time on the Mac rumor sites. I'm always fascinated and appreciative for what they discover, but I approach them at the same time with a note of skepticism at what are often total flights of fantasy, or at worst sheer posturing for what they would like to see.
It should come as no surprise to the rumor site operators that Apple will jealously defend its right to privacy, even secrecy over its intellectual capital. While the sites certainly stir interest and speculation, by speculating incorrectly, the sites can falsely raise expectations to unreasonable levels (iWalk or G5, anyone?). And that can damage Apple's credibilty. Further, is it any surprise that Steve Jobs and others at Apple like to control the flow of news, or prevent spoiling good surprises?
Freedom of speech may be a God-given right in the United States, one we tend to take for granted. But there is no absolute right that a company must make its trade secrets transparent for all to see. Following this argument, a press pass is a priviledge, not a right. Ditto for news access. Until such a time as the courts mandate that equal access must be given to rumor sites as mainstream news media, the passionate arguments of Think Secret simply lack merit.
Sorry guys. I love a lot of your reporting. But you and your rumor site bretheren must be aware that this is part of the risks of your business. It will make dumpster diving somewhat more difficult, but there is a price of doing business in every trade, including rumor mills.<hr></blockquote>
I think it would do many of you good to read some the posts in that thread. Apple has rights to certain things as well.
<strong>Apple isn't here to please you in every way, it's here to make great products and most of all turn a profit. </strong><hr></blockquote>
And I, the consumer, am working to get the greatest products at the best price/performance ratio possible. Believe me, I know Apple is not my friend and really does not care what I think. Likewise, I work for my own best interests and when our interests intersect any positive effects to Apple are purely unintentional on my part. I know what Apple's interests are but being a Mac fan doesn't make me oblivious to my own interests. At about $3000 a full system upgrade is a very big purchase for me and as much as possible I am going to get the most bang for my buck. Steve isn't going to send me a complimentary upgrade when updates the Mac Line 14 days after I bring mine home and I feel no obligation to give him the chance to do that to me.
Suppliers have a right of trying to put things to the best of their advantages, consumers have a the same right too.
This is what the author is talking about when the article uses "dance". It's two parts. Apple and the consumer. Neither one should have enough power to push over the other.
This time apple may have pushed a little too far, and the journalist tries to push them back. It will be a while before we know who won and what will be accepted by the people.
Give and take, it's the same for both sides.
Whinners always seem to miss this fact. There is nothing "due" to them from Apple. Apple as a corporate enitity is just as selfesh as the whinners. IF you aim too high, you'll never get the anything is the moral of the story I guess.
~Kuku