Apple Treats its Fans as Well as the RIAA Does

It's often thought and generally believed that Apple's success (and resurrected longevity) was due to its devoted group of fans. Happily slapping the freebie Apple logos on anything they owned, placing their jelly colored iMacs in conspicuous places around their homes and offices and flashing their candy-coated clamshell PowerBooks anywhere they went, making sure their lit-up logo was unobscured, Apple was in a good place.

The underdog company, competing against the mighty Microsoft, the mainstream media lapped it up. In what was to become a giant turn of events: Apple gushing and Microsoft bashing that would soon follow, Apple was set for success.

Their iPod revolutionized the way digital music, and music overall would affect our very lives. Despite the closed, anti-competitive iTunes platform and the then-Mac only requirement, their success took a short time to gain its speed... ultimately propelled by their introduction on Windows-based systems.

In a time where Microsoft was felt lacking in their commitment to propel technology into the future, Apple was pulling ahead. The mainstream media picked up on every lawsuit against Microsoft as possible, comparing it to the modest and humble Apple company from Cupertino, California.

Fast forward to today, Apple has lawsuit after lawsuit pending, an investigation into how the company and Steve Jobs handled some stock options, foreign governments taking action against iTunes/iPod's closed DRM format.

Apple had a longstanding grudge against fanboy-based AppleInsider, Think Secret and PowerPage blog/news/rumor sites, suing them for what the public understood as alleged copyright infringements, insider information leaks and being overall bad people.

Today, newswires are spreading the story that Apple is at it again, suing their fans and blogs that openly promote their products and services, place Apple's visibility in the limelight and hand out copious amounts of free press.

They're even sending their famous legal notices to blogs like TechCrunch for linking to a site allowing Windows Mobile 5 devices (that are gaining popularity quickly, thanks to T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular) to skin their interface to imitate the upcoming iPhone -- using add-on software previously available. (The type of add-on software Apple said the iPhone wouldn't support).

The iPhone, a desirable yet largely unreachable device, either due to contract obligations and the high price point -- something the average teenager can't afford, or will kill/mug for. Being a loyal fan has its price, and the price is high.

Telling blogs that often praise Apple and gush about their products and services to 'cease and desist' isn't a good turn of publicity, and surely forcing blogs to edit posts when they're simply linking to a suspect download or page is beyond justification.

It's even being reported that Apple is 'scolding' its employees who visit one too many Apple rumor sites. It would seem the bridge between Apple employee and fan is a narrow one.

Indeed, Apple is starting to treat their fans and followers, not to mention potential customers, as well as the RIAA does. The RIAA, an organization that was founded to protect the artists and their trade, now label their customers as thieves and bandits; going as far to prevent customers who purchase their music from even playing it on their computer, let alone transfer it to their personal music devices. Sony got in trouble for their infamous Rootkit technology and the RIAA is in its own troubles, with CD sales plummeting and consumers getting angry at overzealous DRM restrictions.

Wired proposed a thought: 'Is Apple the next Microsoft?"... not in terms of power and market share, but in terms of business practices, lawsuits, investigations and the public eye. Microsoft was forced to open up their ubiquitous Windows platform to allow consumers, software developers and PC makers to customize the system as they saw fit; Apple isn't that far off from this same suit.

With a company bound by trouble, troubled by their success, you would think that they wouldn't do anything to anger their loyal fanbase. In business, one of the best aids in marketing is free press. Why would you do anything to hurt your free press, let alone your fans?

Apple is surely reaching a tipping point... either launching them into unparalleled success, or a tragic downfall as the result of lawsuits and public backlash. The next Microsoft? Only time will tell.

By the way, I found, downloaded and installed that iPhone mockup for my Cingular 8125 after reading about the Apple vs. Blogs news. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Apple!