Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, MacBook Pros and more. Optical Drives for Apple iBooks, Powerbooks, MacBooks, MacBook Pros in Stock. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: Big Drives, High Performance - Not High Prices! SATA 3.5" up to 1.5TB. Notebook up to 500GB. FW up to 6.0TB. 1.0TB Drive Models from as low as $97.99 www.MacSales.com

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Scope

Bloggers, Macs, and the OS X Blues

Stephen Van Esch - 2002.10.23

In my previoous 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.

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

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.