UPDATE: I failed to make the distinction below as to *who* would benefit more from Jobs' non-interactive, non-apology apology letter. Apple, of course. Not users or consumers.
Total control of the user experience (links to David Carr's Media Equation column in the New York Times, Sept. 10, 2007) is part of Apple's overall strategy.
The below was, frankly, an off-the-cuff riff. Not as well thought out as it should be. But ahhh... such is the reality of blogging. So if you'll forgive my somewhat muddled thinking, here's the original post:
The big news this week is that 1. Apple lowered the price on its new iPhone by US $200 and 2. Steve Jobs is acknowledging the furor from disgruntled early iPhone customers by offering a $100 credit at Apple stores.
Jobs published an open letter on the Apple Web site yesterday. And undoubtedly did a press blitz to let MSM know he was doing so (cf section front story in today's Wall Street Journal: Steve Jobs Offers Rare Apology, Credit for iPhone and a Forbes article: iSorry).
So what's the difference between Jobs' "open letter" and a blog post? Note: the "real" Steve Jobs doesn't have a "real" blog.
The letter posted to a static page on Apple's site isn't interactive.
All we see is what Steve wrote. Jobs mentions "hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price."
Wouldn't his apology be that much more credible to consumers if we could see those emails in the form of Comments on his announcement of the price cut?
As it is, Jobs lets "the discussion" loose in the blogosphere where he can't or, in this case, perhaps chooses not to participate in it -- too messy, too free form for his taste. For example, the PC World blog reprints customer Shayna B.'s Open Letter to Steve Jobs (requires free registration) which was posted this morning to an Apple discussion forum. Kudos to Apple for posting Shayna's letter.
But again, if the discussion were taking place on an official Apple corporate blog, we would be able to read all the viewpoints... and make up our own mind.
And Jobs' apology would seem more sincere and less scripted.
It's hard sometimes to nail why "social media" is so effective as PR 2.0. This is one example that [update] on second thought should work raises as many questions as answers as to whether social media is indeed more effective in a crisis. See John Whiteside's comment below.
Previous Comments
John Whiteside said on September 7, 2007 at 06:20 PM
As much as my instinct is to say that blogging and conversation are a better approach, this is one of those cases where I don’t think it would buy Apple much.
Their goal, basically, is to make this go away, and this is the quickest way. Having a blog entry with the letter and 4,000 comments venting spleen at the company would really just feed it. They obviously aren’t after a conversation here, and I think most of us have our opinions about the price cut already.
In fact, the whole discussion happening online about it can be covered in about one page; mostly it’s repetition.
Apple is one of those companies that can get away with its controlling approach to communications for a couple of reasons. First of all, their strengths all center on innovation, incredible attention to user experience, and great product design. They are so strong there (& their competition is somewhat inept in those areas) that they can get away with being a bit elitist. Second, they have a base of passionate customer advocates who will make their case for them in the online trenches.
Finally, while they will hear a lot of “Oh yeah, well I’m switching to Windows” I don’t think this will actually happen much. As my mom would say, “don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” People who use Macs are accustomed to their Macs and I think a visit to Windowsland will actually make them decide they that are mad about the iPhone but not mad enough to buy a new computer, used a clunkier OS, get all new software, and so on.
I should note that I’m a Mac user & didn’t buy an iPhone, and think the price cut was a bit obnoxious (too deep too quickly)... but honestly, not that bad. People who ran out and bought iPhone immediately were making an impulse purchase based more on desire than need. Those purchases, especially for brand new products, are always high risk. If it hadn’t happened now, it would have happened when iPhone 2.0 came out a little later. And given how much people seem to love them, I can’t see them all trading them in for Blackberries next time around.
John Whiteside said on September 7, 2007 at 08:40 PM
I should add the I don’t particularly like Apple’s controlling approach, despite being a big fan of their products.
Here’s the little mental game I’ve been playing: if I had half an hour with Steve Jobs to convince him that Apple should embrace social media, how would I do it? I have no answer that would make me try to get an appointment in Cupertino :).
Geoff Livingston said on September 8, 2007 at 03:00 PM
Apple flies in the face of open. Their products are closed, preventing other companies from integrating effectively with their various Operating systems (iTunes, OS X). So it should be no surprise.
ALso, I do think regardless of comments, it was an effective move by Jobs. It was classic crisis PR, and Apple has already moved on. The real impact is sales, and so long as Apple doesn’t have another misstep in the next months, I imagine this will fall to the wayside quicker than you may imagine.
The price cut was not as Machiavellian as some have made it out to be. It was a reaction to the very stiff competition that Apple is going to experience from Nokia, Sony, Motorola, and Ericsson.
Apple has picked a big fight, perhaps even bigger than Microsoft. They may not make it in the phone market. Pricing competitively was the right thing to do.
Ike said on September 19, 2007 at 02:13 AM
The “Apple Community/Cult” is not an online creation, nor is it a by-product of Social Media or Social Networks.
It’s an effective brand identity that has been about individual expression, but oddly enough not expression toward the company. There is no expectation that Jobs will listen to the faithful.
The example might seem a little extreme, but this is like saying that you should announce the next American Legion Spaghetti Supper on a blog. The intended audience has no track record in the medium, and has not yet clamored for one.
(and for the record, I think Jobs’ rebate/letter bit had been in the works for at least a month prior.)
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