In my previous post, I was going to recommend Macgasm, but...., started out as an attempt to find an Apple blog that was open to those of us who are merely interested in what's going on in the Apple world but aren't necessarily fans of the company or it's products. Macgasm was going to be shining example of what one should look for until the events in my post transpired. I was pretty angry about it, and probably lashed out needlessly, but it is what it is and I don't regret what happened. I've learned from it and moved on.
I checked out a few other Apple blogs, iMore (part of Mobile Nations, which operates Android Central), Cult of Mac, as well as continuing to visit Macgasm (but not participate in the comments) and reading about Apple on non specific blogs such as Gizmodo, Engadget, Wired, and IGN. I learned a lot about what types of Apple journalist (I hate using that word here, but I don't have a better one) encourage discussion about Apple in the grand picture of the tech industry and what types do not. It's pretty simple, really.
People who write for Apple specific blogs or magazines tend to be very narrow minded. The Apple-Zombie stereo type that we PC and Android users like to point to has a strong showing here, though it does not describe 100% of them, they're definitely the majority. On Apple blogs, you're likely to find random articles that take unwarranted pot shots at the competition or, in this case, an Apple business partner who happens to not have his head stuck up his butt. You're also a lot more likely to find articles that show that the author has never compared how to perform certain tasks on an iOS device versus an Android, such as this gem (for those of you who don't know, toggling wifi on an Android phone is as simple touching an icon located on one of your five+ home screens, contrary to what the Cult of Mac post claims).
These situations happen a lot less often, if at all, on general tech blogs. I suspect this is likely because the Apple bloggers are surrounded by co-workers who use products other than Apple products, and have an opportunity to be exposed to these products. Gizmodo isn't likely to bash Windows Phone because it's fun to pick on the little guy. In fact, Gizmodo, a blog that many claim are the Apple-Zombies we all love to hate, loves Windows Phone and Windows 8, the latter much better than Apple's latest OSX version. The same can be said about Wired, Engadget, and IGN. You get the picture.
Now, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being unfair. My Apple loving friends claim that the same thing happens on Android and PC blogs. I agree that Android and PC users get passionate about our inanimate objects, but I disagree that a lot of factless hate speech gets thrown around by the fans, and I disagree with this idea in the Apple camp that PC and Android blogs take pot shots at Apple and tell lies about their products. But, I could be looking through Google Goggles, so I decided to go look for myself.
As I pointed out in I Was Going to Recommend Macgasm, but.... I did look into this a little and was disappointed with what I found from those participating in the comments of various Android and PC blogs I visited. Android and PC users can be just as childish as Apple fans. I did find some key differences.
First, I never found any posts that exist simply to bash Apple. While I never found any posts praising praising Apple, many posts are at the very least, civil. As I showed you above, most Apple bloggers would use an opportunity such as a new Android version announcement to push some fairy tale world where Apple is God and everyone else is suxors or some other weird troll speak.
This brings me to my next point. When I made this discovery, it really shown light on what the fundamental difference is between Apple users and the rest of us. In my search, I discovered that Apple users use words like magical, Apple experience, it's just better, and a lot of other terms that literally mean nothing and are not measurable. The rest of us don't talk like that.
Go watch an Apple ad. You'll never hear of a single hardware or software spec. Watch a commercial for an ultrabook or an Android phone and you'll hear a lot of measurable, provable specs and stats. Specs, stats, FACTS mean absolutely nothing to an Apple user. I was even told so in one of my interactions with an Apple fan. I sited a study on mobile OS market share, and the person I was interacting with literally told me that he doesn't listen to market share studies because they're meaningless. His experience told him that Apple was the most widely used OS and, therefore, it must be. I was astounded.
But, it made me realize that trying to show an Apple fan what's right in front of them is pointless. They've been sold some mythical experience that does not exist. They've been told that as long as they stay inside the walls of the magical experience that everything will be okay. Who cares that they're missing the freedom of a device you can actually own, and not just rent? Yes, the land outside the magic place is scary and filled with dangers and bad guys. But the freedom that comes with it is something I can't give up and won't give up.
I don't want to be part of a community that is hostile to outsiders. I owned a MacPro for several years. A VERY expensive Apple computer ($5000 to be exact). That didn't matter. I'm an outsider looking in and I'm not welcome because I like charts and graphs and hardware specs and facts. Oh how I love facts. I dind't drink the Kool-Aid, so I was treated poorly everywhere I went. This was my experience then before I sold the MacPro, it was experience now that I'm just trying to learn about this "magical" thingy I keep hearing about, and it's not something I really want to subject myself to again.
I want to make sure I'm clear. Not all Apple fans are like this, and it's wrong to say that they are. But my journey has shown me that the Apple camp is very light on warm welcomes. Tread lightly, outsiders. It's viscous in Apple territory. When one of them crosses into our camp, treat them well. Don't be that guy.
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