Why all Apple users are rubbish [linkbait]
This post is not about rubbish Apple users!
In the past two days I’ve written some rather direct commentary regarding the iPhone and the iPad.
Quite a few readers have been outraged. Outraged, I tell you! Shocked and saddened. Horrified. Deeply worried, surprised and concerned for the well-being of the site.
All because I’ve posted opinions and indulged in a little emotional stabbing regarding the iPhone (“the iPhone is over”).
Some have expressed despair at what they consider ‘linkbait’. Linkbait, if you haven’t come across the term before, can be summarised as writing a post purely to attract readers. You see it regularly employed by the big tech sites who (almost literally) live or die by this extra traffic. Being first with a linkbaited ’10 things you need to know about iPad 2′ style post, 5 minutes after Steve Jobs has got up on stage to announce it, can mean a few extra dollars in ad revenue for sites (and writers) utterly dependent upon that additional cash. There’s little value in linkbait content beyond the additional short term traffic spike.
MIR is supported by sponsorship revenue and me. I fund the majority. I’ve no need to worry about traffic. This means I can care about the core audience of senior executives who rely upon the site to provide regular highly opinionated commentary and whites-of-their-eyes video interviews with the market’s movers and shakers.
I write this to explain that what you’re reading with these iPhone pieces is opinion. Some of it written in a vernacular style that I’ve learned the majority of the readers love. It’s opinion intended to be challenging, to provoke a response. Readers tend to agree with me, or violently disagree — and we then have-it-out in the comments. This leads to brilliant additional commentary for the rest of the audience. Often my opinion will be changed by the resulting discussion. Indeed, last night I had a super discussion with some readers who initially took me to task on the iPhone-is-over/Fisher Price post.
Challenge me in the comments and you’ll see that whilst I might write ‘so-and-so-is-shit’ in summary, there’s a reasoned argument (or history) behind the opinion. But publishing all of that background is generally long-winded, quite a bit of effort and usually not required for those readers who’ve been following the MIR output for sometime.
So to those offended at me slicing into Apple recently, let me say this: There is no secret ‘screw Apple’ agenda any more than there’s a secret ‘screw Nokia’ or ‘screw Samsung’ agenda. I’d like to see more innovation from all, incidentally. (And I do genuinely think we’ve crossed an turning point with iPhone in terms of dwindling global influence).
Finally, thank you for reading down to this point!
And the iPhone is still shit*.
* ho ho ho ho. If that didn’t raise a smile, even just a wry smile (as you know I don’t mean it) that’s a good clue you shouldn’t be reading this site.
Posted via email from MIR Live
