By far the two companies I’ve written about the most recently are Apple and Twitter. This is to the delight of some people, and the absolute horror of others. And now I’ve got something that will really whip up the fanboys and enrage the haters: Me writing about Apple writing about Twitter.
Yes, Apple has a new business profile of the micro-messaging service that it put up today on its site. The headline may just say it all, “Twitter. Triumph of humanity.” But it’s actually a fairly in-depth look at how Twitter uses Apple products to conduct their business. “Pretty much everyone here at Twitter uses a Mac,” says Alex Payne, Twitter’s API lead, in the video that accompanies the profile.
Specifically, the profile is pretty much like a series of talking points about why the Mac is great for business (as you might expect in such a profile). The profile delves into OS X and how it offers just about everything Twitter needs from TextMate to Keynote. And if Twitter team members really need to boot Windows for testing purposes, they just use VMware. Also brought up is the idea that Macs are more secure than PCs. And that MacBook Airs and iPhones has given employees a new state of mind about working on the go.
“Historically, people thought about the Mac as something for entertainment or graphics, but now they see the value of the Mac as a serious business tool. The same is true of Twitter,” the profile says at one point.
But there are a few interesting tidbits. One is that the profile claims Twitter gets “heavy use” out of Numbers and Pages — two pieces of software in the iWork suite that are much less popular than their Microsoft Office counterparts, Excel and Word. Another talks about the synergy between Twitter and Apple — how the keynote address at MacWorld was a big moment in early Twitter usage history. And how Twitter is now driving a lot of development for both the Mac and iPhone with third-party clients.
The profile also claims that many of the team’s software engineers “were attracted to Twitter as an employer because of its bent for the Mac.” And that one of the reasons the office space is littered with Macs is because they are more environmentally friendly than their PC counterparts — a message Apple has been pushing heavily recently.
A quote from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wraps up the profile, “Twitter is a minimalist communication tool that is very powerful. The Mac is the same way. It offers beautiful design, simple elegance, and a system that’s incredibly flexible and powerful to use.”
I can hear it now. The fanboys will let out a collective, “Awwww” — while the haters scream, “Get a room.”
[via Daring Fireball]
[photos via Apple]
“Awwwwwww” – I had to do it
Awwwwwww -ful
Enough already. At least create some sort of filter so that those of us interested in reading about new companies doing innovative things can do so without having to wade through all the Apple, Twitter fanboy posts and all the MySpace, Owen Van Datta, CNET hateboy posts.
i likes Iphones. and fart app. can i run twitteer inside in fart app in Iphones?
As a matter of fact, yes you can!
http://www.atebits.com/pee/
I second that. Awwwwweeee. (you need more than just one to have a “collective awwwe”)
we need multiple ones!
AWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
I think I just threw up in my mouth. Ugh!
Awwweee.. One big Apple and twitter loving group hug.
This is the perfect story to wind down the night to. Thanks MG Siegler!
Apple’s profile a while back of 37Signals was also interesting, especially since DHH was quoted at one time in his Wikipedia page as saying “the absurdity of being a Windows developer would only increase”
I can’t stand fanboys.
so we gonna see apple buying twitter and Microsoft still looking like stupid dumb 90 company ?
Interesting thought…but I wonder if GOOGLE will do it first..I honestly see twitter being bought and bought soon..the question is how much is it worth..is it worth more than Facebook? hmm
You can’t POSSIBLY compare Twitter to Facebook, give me a break.
Yes, there is absolutely no way you can compare Twitter to Facebook. Maybe some day down the road (a long road), but as of right now there should be no question which is the bigger more successful venture so far.
Awwww, get a room.
(undecided)
And, they don’t have twitter an official twitter account! Do you know if they have any plans to change this?
i had a sneaking suspicion the majority of twitter’s staff were Mac users.
just got that vibe (no fanboy)
Whatever. I linked to this profile on Twitter (naturally) but in my opinion it’s complete BS.
Apple is highlighting Twitter because it makes Apple look good. Apple doesn’t do anything for anyone out of the kindness of its heart. The game Apple plays is, “how can this benefit us?”
Therefore, they’ll talk to Twitter for a while, get some quotes and ask, ‘do you use keynote?” and when someone says “yes” they take it and run with it.
I’m betting some Twitter employees use Skype for video but Apple isn’t going to print that.
It’s ridiculous that Apple does this crap but it’s not surprising at all. Twitter uses Mac and Apple products and that’s not why I’m upset, it’s the fact that Apple is so ridiculously evil that it’s not even funny and people fall for their BS.
Good to see some people can see through all this. Apple is master of marketing and propaganda.
Errr
Why?
How is been good at hardware/software/marketing/visionary evil?
Ain’t all companies should be like that or at least trying?
So Apple is secretive & closed, is that evil? Or just don’t fit in your narrow minded version of good?
.
/\ fanboy radar. BEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
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If you have some thing beside fanboy bigotry to contribute.
I’d like to hear.
“So Apple is secretive & closed, is that evil? Or just don’t fit in your narrow minded version of good?”
Regarding that I’d like to say that Apple’s efforts to maintain secrecy begins to fall into the realm of insanity. Telling their employees that they can’t read WSJ or Engadget today because there are Apple rumors posted there or saying you can’t smoke cigarettes or eat steak while wearing an apple shirt because you’ll give them a bad image. Other tactics like saying you can’t talk about Apple online if you work for them. I have a 300 page policy and procedure manual from Apple that outlines everything you CAN’T do when you work for them. I’ve worked in many corporate environments and never seen anything like what Apple puts their employees through.
See for yourself what employees are saying on GlassDoor.com http://www.glas...aries-E1138.htm
“you’ll make a lot of money but it comes with a price” and other negative reviews.
Additionally, Apple is constantly lying about statistics and numbers to make themselves look good. Fudging things and doing tactics like only firing x number of employees per month so they don’t have to officially announce layoffs under some California labor law.
Apple is also one of the last tech companies that announced an initiative for going green and only after Greenpeace rode their ass for a few years about their blatant disregard for recycling programs and use of harmful chemicals.
Let’s discuss Apple’s monitoring of everything you do on your computer and how they’re tracking usage statistics of TextEdit and Calculator. Install LittleSnitch for Mac and you’ll see hundreds of notifications about pointless Apple included apps that are phoning home to apple.com at every single launch.
Apple’s products are great because they’re always spying on you and tracking what you do online and with their apps.
I’d like to say that I’ve been an Apple User since 2001. But I’ve happily been a Windows user since 2006 and have operated Windows software on my Apple hardware. I run Apple hardware because I get to belong to a cutesy little San Francisco club of Apple users and feel like one of the cool kids but deep inside Apple’s practices and approach to nearly everything is evil, wrong and every fanboy is just too blind to realize it.
I’m not saying that Microsoft isn’t evil but at least they’re honest and upfront and when they release software updates, they always include very in depth kbase links that show exactly what changed in the software update and Apple still gets away with putting out a 50 megabyte iLife Update that says, “bug fixes”.
Open your eyes and realize that Apple doesn’t give a crap about you and is only here to please shareholders just like every other public company but Apple pretends that it’s just a company that employs thousands of hip and edgy employees but Apple is no different from Microsoft, Dell, Oracle and HP and they’ve brainwashed their install base to believe that it’s something better but at the end of the day when you launch Firefox and open Gmail, it doesn’t effing matter what computer or operating system you have because we’re all living in a web OS / cloud OS world so just chill the eff out.
Re read the full post on Apple’s website about Twitter and you’ll realize that Apple is full of crap throughout the entire post. Oh and why didn’t they mention that Twitter runs on Apache web servers running on Linux? Because that’s just not “apple-y”
Adam: “I’m not saying that Microsoft isn’t evil but at least they’re honest and upfront”
Wow. You should watch the DOJ deposition tapes where Bill Gates tried to redefine simple English words. As for the draconian monitoring of what people do at work, I’m not condoning it, but it’s what many large companies do, and they ask people to accept the terms in the Employee Code of Conduct. Me: PC user since 1983, Mac user since 1987, Windows user since 1992. Next up: Linux, but without the RMS fanaticism.
I have watched the tape but Bill Gates is no longer at Microsoft so I pardon him from the tongue lashing for the sake of this argument.
Besides, that wasn’t a “microsoft” statement those were Bill Gates statements which I feel are completely different. A Bill Gates or Steve Jobs Keynote compared to Bill testifying in front of a grand jury are completely different cases.
You can’t argue the fact that Microsoft is sometimes TOO HONEST and TOO OPEN about saying out loud that their products suck and that they make mistakes and being honest with their community at least in the past 5 years just as Apple has become more private and more secretive.
Adam: “in the past 5 years just as Apple has become more private and more secretive”
They publicly admitted that MobileMe sucked rocks shortly after launch, as I recall.
Sorry I still don’t get your point.
Every google app phone home a lot, it don’t bother me either.
“Bug fixes” release note do get me LOL sometimes.
Of course company will wanna make itself look good, is that news to you?
The secrecy & control freak part is also not newly discovered. I find it quite amusing actually.
Is it hysterical? Yes. Is it evil? Not to me.
The greenpeace incident was mainly because Apple refuse to reveal its oem allies’ process to the NGO. Nintendo ranks pretty low for the same reason. Not because Apple products were particularly environmental unfriendly. The dramatic grade improve after cooperating with Greenpeace to me seems almost comical.
I still feel Apple cares about user experience more than any other tech company. Individually I also enjoy Apple’s service more. Both Apple Store & iTMS’s stuff provided several sessions of service I can describe as attentive & timely.
Anyway thanks for your anecdotes, though I wish for more detailed trivia. It could be so much fun!
Where can we see a copy of Apple’s P&P Manual?
Could Twitter kiss up anymore than they have. Apple is so invoiromently friendly, it saves us so much money in engery. You guys sound like a bunch of Hippies………OH your in SF home of the hippie…….
breaking News: Twitter valuation raised to 13.65 billion from 13.6 billion due to yet another mention on techcrunch
Interesting that they are reciprocating ads on branding terms
No problem with Twitter and/or Mac here. I just hope Apple doesn’t go the direction of closed standard like they have been doing lately. Under the leadership of Jobs, they will try to control what you do on their systems. Maybe they will start charging for how many hours a day you use your Max OS X.
@Adam: “Apple is so ridiculously evil”
Evidence? Hate much?
(Disclaimer: I’ve worked for IBM, Compaq, Shell, and Fujitsu, don’t have any stock in any of them or in Apple)
Disclaimer: I’ve worked for a bunch of people too including Apple. Who cares?
I wouldn’t call it “hate” and I’d call it realism. Apple is evil and it’s amazing that people fall for their BS. Apple is always about the spin and I’m always jaw droppingly amazed at how good Apple is at spinning the truth and fueling the buzz around their name.
Can you name something that Apple has done that isn’t evil from a business standpoint?
They contributed improvements in WebKit back to the KHTML community.
Because they had to. It’s part of the GPL. Apple was at a crossroads with their 10 year agreement with Microsoft coming to a close so they did two things in the event that Microsoft decided to ditch them.
They released Keynote and revamped AppleWorks (remember this is 2003) and they released Safari Beta (January 2003).
The following year they introduced Pages.
If Microsoft puled out and decided to not support Apple anymore, that would mean no more MS Office and no more Internet Explorer for Mac. Apple was also, at that time, still pretty broke as a company.
What’s the best way to build a browser on the cheap with little R&D? Webkit was the best option. What other browser that was released in a hurry to push a companies agenda that was also built on webkit? Google Chrome!
Apple needed a browser and fast so webkit was the best option for them and just because under GPL that they have to contribute code back isn’t such a big deal.
But, aside from WebObjects, that’s Apple’s only charitable act in the last 10 years. Every other freebie or kindness out of the goodness of their heart has somehow benefited them because at the end of the day, they’re still a company that has to turn a profit.
Adam: “Apple needed a browser and fast so webkit was the best option for them and just because under GPL that they have to contribute code back isn’t such a big deal.”
Wrong chronology. They built on top of KHTML. WebKit is their own fork, which they in turn open sourced – see http://en.wikip...org/wiki/WebKit
@Adam: “Apple is evil and it’s amazing that people fall for their BS. Apple is always about the spin”
Name ONE large company that doesn’t do ANY spin.
Every company has their spin but if you read my disgustingly long comment a quarter of the page up, you’ll see a bit more about where I’m coming from on this.
I’m not an apple hater, just a realist to the tactics that they use.
@Adam Jackson: “Can you name something that Apple has done that isn’t evil from a business standpoint?”
1) They have provided me with a very simple purchase option: OS X (no crippled Home Edition, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate… just OS X)
2) OS X just works out of the box … rarely any problems compared to daily crashes of Windows.
3) Given me an OS that does not require me to fear viruses and their ilk, and does not require me to purchase a subscription to a CPU resource crippling virus protection program. The CPU cycles are mine to use as I wish on the applications I wish to use.
4) Gives me applications that I actually enjoy using.
5) On the rare occasions I need service, they bend over backwards to help.
6) Gives me a personal computing device I can carry around just about anywhere that is not only useful, but gosh darn it… the thing is so incredibly fun to play with… (um, the iPhone)
I could go on… but I don’t think any evil company could care so much about customers that they actually give them what they want. Apple has done a great job giving me what I want. Every friend has “secrets”, that doesn’t stop them from being friends.
Ciao!
Barf.
After all of the stroking, I still don’t see how using Mac actually benefits Twitter. Everything mentioned in the profile could be accomplished on a Win machine, and at around half the cost. I would think a company with no revenue stream and which is operating during a recession, would consider becoming more lean. The only companies that should be Mac shops are creative agencies, and that’s only because designers are too stupid to work on an OS other than Mac.
“designers are too stupid to work on an OS other than Mac”
Including, say, Tim Berners-Lee? Les Vadasz? Bill Joy? David Heinemeier Hansson?
FANBOY-O-METER [========> ] (80%)
Google Les Vadasz. He’s a fanboy.
http://www.flic...tson/383414278/
Haters: tough sh*t.
Typing this on a MacBook on the desk. On my lap, configuring a Dell notebook running Win7 Ultimate. Home server: Win2K3 Enterprise Edition. Still to add: Ubuntu 9. Fanboy? Sure — of tech.
Dude he’s making good points please ST*U
So who are you defending? My loyalty lies with tech as well and I also rant all day about Microsoft products because everyone deserves fair treatment but I don’t see any side to your argument other than “apple rules”
Adam: “I don’t see any side to your argument other than “apple rules”
Read more carefully. The reason I stated my former company affiliations was to provide context for my statements. You dismissed this with “who cares” – which suggests that you don’t understand where I’m coming from. Take a chill pill, dude.
That was just a funny jab I threw in at the end, it wasn’t supposed to be taken so seriously.
What was to be taken seriously was my comment about cost. How can a startup like Twitter justify paying the premium that comes with Mac? I know they have a lot of startup capital, but it is a wasted expense. They have no revenue.
Well, it’s not their money!
It’s the operating system, not the hardware. I work for a startup. 90% of the employees and 99% of the developers use OSX. It’s just a lot better.
Oh, now if Apple would just buy Twitter that would solve everything. I hear they a few billion lying around?
Sorry, _what_ would it solve?
Errr, Ersatz, it would solve Ev’s “revenue” model. Which would be one large flow of cash from Apple to Ev’s pockets. Such is the word of Sanjay.
Another Twitter post and I will resort to Twittorism.
TwApple – its just not working for me….
The BS flows thick in Cupertino.
Twitter Twitter …. every where…
How to Deal with Suspicious Links in Messenger IMs
Sounds like two star actors engaged in romance to hype up their profile some more.
Twitter is using Numbers and Pages instead of Google Docs? I doubt it. Keynote? That seems plausible.
You doubt it? They (twitter people) said it in the vid…How do you doubt what they say? They said it.
Awwwwwwww
Really easy to picture twitter founders compose their ideas on a Mac.
Guess my guts tell me right.
Get a room. He screams hatefully.
Get a room!!!!!!!
Twitter is a Triumph of Humanity? Oh my lord. Did no one else throw up in their mouth a little bit when reading that headline? Creating a vaccine against polio: that’s a triumph of humanity. Freeing slaves en masse: that’s a triumph of humanity. Not destroying our frigging environment due to monumental greed, perhaps that’d be a triumph of humanity.
But a bleepin’ short message service? Are people off their rocker?
You think that’s impressive? Let me tell you, boy, FLUTTER is the Next Coming of Christ. It’s the sign of the Messiah! Move over Mary, hop to it humanity, a new miracle of the world is at hand! You heard it here first!
RTA. The context of “humanity” is in the sense of wanting something simple, accessible, and useful.
Your reaction (and anonymity) suggests something about your character and reading comprehension.
Wow, Victor, defend Apple much?
. And methinks you’re applying a bit of wishful interp to the title. It was not “Simplicity, Accessibility: A Triumph of Humanity.” It was “[companyname]: Triumph of Humanity.” Even if they meant what you think it meant, do you not see how some could find it gag-worthy and laughable?
You know those little paper numbers you pull off the machine at the ice cream parlour? The ones created so that the clerks can control queuing? That’s a godsend for organization, accessibility, etc. Scalable, too! Bet it’s used by 10000x more people than use Twitter. Can you imagine a headline, “Tear-off Number Thingies: Triumph of Humanity.” Pretty silly, isn’t it? Well, isn’t it? :>
Frank: “Wow, Victor, defend Apple much”
I use whatever gets the job done best. Today I ran into a friend in the line at the bank, and she needed to figure out the best route to a park where she was to pick up her daughter. I used Maps on my iPhone, then wrote directions on a Post-It. So, if tech can solve a problem, I use it. If dead tree-based data transfer solves a problem, I use that. What about you? Hate much?
Victor, simplicity rocks. Accessibility is awesome. Hipster PDAs? Cool! I’m not denigrating simplicity, nor hating on Apple or Twitter as companies. As I noted in another reply, many of us use both of ‘em. I was just rolling my eyes at marketing gone amok. There’s no visceral hatred here. No one need die. But maybe some copyeditor should be held back from promotion for a bit :>
“Twitter” was inspired by the chirps that birds use to communicate. Applied to human communication, brevity can be put to good use (see Say It All in Six Words, http://bit.ly/6nkle). The Mumbai attacks? CDC swine flu updates? US Airways in the Hudson? Grain prices in Africa?
Anything that helps people communicate is a good thing IMO. If it works well on cheap mobile phones, even better.
Frank: “maybe some copyeditor should be held back from promotion for a bit”
Agree. Quite a few of them haven’t read the Cluetrain Manifesto just yet, which is surprising, given that it was written over ten years ago.
A bit sad to see so many frustrated “Laptop Hunters” on this page:)
Some of us quite like (and use!) Apple and Twitter both. Doesn’t mean we don’t find the whole situation rather humorous and groan inducing.
I hate fanboys.
I hate hate. It’s so stupid.
am testing. sorry TC readers.
Who from Apple is on Twitter?
COME ON TWITTER WHAT ARE U THINKING!!
U know i really love twitter. Why O Why would U do something like this. Now U have the fanboys laughing at us Pc & lex Ppl. Twitter was the only place where U can be any opt system & not deal with the trash talking about who’s better. BUT U HAD TO FU*K UP A GOOD THING RIGHT!!!
Apple… was this necessary? Now I feel all dirty when I touch my Iphone. You don’t do a shared marketing gig with a company whose big addition to Internet memes is the fail whale.
Get a room.
If you feel dirty whenever you touch your iPhone, compare this with how I feel whenever I help people with Windows, knowing that I indirectly helped the Gates Foundation contribute tens of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the USA.
Ok. Now I’m done debating with you. Apples to Oranges chat is one thing but now saying you have a stigma toward Microsoft products because you’re indirectly contributing to the death of unborn children?
Wow.
Adam: “you have a stigma toward Microsoft products because you’re indirectly contributing to the death of unborn children?”
It leaves me in an awkward position, given that I have to deal with Microsoft products everyday as part of my job. See
http://www.thea...ndex.php?id=648
Wow – if they are one of the largest contributors to Planned Parenthood, perhaps I’ll reconsider using Macs and start using Windows based machines. Or just go buy some MS software and stick it on the shelf.
Nobody wants to have an abortion, nobody wants to suffer through the decisions and emotional pain that comes with having one, and nobody who is in that position wants to hear sermons from people not in their position about how evil what they are doing is.
I know 3 people who would now be dead if the organizations who oppose abortion had their way and outlawed all abortion. I’ve had to sit with them before and after the procedures and support them in their grief, but was also glad to know that my friends were still alive and not dead due to some small minded individuals who think that they know what is best for everyone in every situation.
People who support organizations like Planned Parenthood which provide options for people to avoid unwanted pregnancies in the first place and help for women who have no one else to turn to for prenatal care are worth supporting too. Especially compared to supporting organizations who support those who would kill healthcare providers to prove their point.
I could go on for a long time about this, but in the knowledge that I’ve had my say, and that this contributes nothing to a technical & technical business site I’ll stop here.
Hope everyone has a good day.
sheesh you all really know how to go off on the comments. WTF?! Abortion…. Apple…. Twitter… Microsoft…
Again WTF?
I’m a Mac and I use Twitter, get a room….
“Get a room.”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just kidding! Seriously, why this animousity against Apple? If you do not like their TOS do not work for them.
Apple is the best at marketing and their competitors should step up! I do not use a Mac because i cannot afford it. If a Mac was $500 today, a whole bunch of ‘haters’ will be lining up to buy one. It is no secret that Apple makes the coolest products that are also expensive. I am still waiting for the IKEA of computers that will provide relatively cheap computers with very good design.
Get a room.
I don’t like PC or Mac fanboys. Both are annoying.
It is funny to profile a company, known pre-oprah mostly for outages. I certainly wouldn’t bother to read the profile goofiness no matter who was pushing it but I’m wondering – do they show the moment the fail whale was designed?
ahahahaha.. no wonder Twitter goes down all the time. it runs on apples, lol!
LoL LOL turn trun
I knew there was a reason that Twitter couldn’t handle a standard popular web load, I guess the advent of using apple technology in combination with any form of java would limit scalability and performance significantly.. if only someone would have told them that ahead of time! I digress, most lack common sense.
Just to keep the facts straight… Twitter is a Ruby on Rails application. Not that facts really matter here
“This is to the delight of some people, and the absolute horror of others”
absolute horror.. sorry I dont think people take your shit so seriously. what a ass hole.. dont take yourself so seriously.. your just a “blogger”.
Interesting to see all the fanboys having a death-match here.
Personally, I don’t like either of those companies. Twitter is not particularly useful for me, while Apple just has the “OOOOOO, shiiiinyyy” factor.
Also, lol @snapster. Techcruch, although not always right, and sometimes really douches [sorry Mike], is one of the most influential blogs: ergo they are not “just” bloggers.
BTW: Your means that the other person has something while you’re means you are.
Peace
Using both iPhones combined with twitter make for a great combination.
You can’t POSSIBLY compare Twitter to Facebook
I could go on for a long time about this, but in the knowledge that I’ve had my say, and that this contributes nothing to a technical & technical business site I’ll stop here.
“Twitter is now driving a lot of development for both the Mac and iPhone with third-party clients.”-MG Siegler
While Twitter may in fact be a “minimalist communication device” when compared to the iPhone, it is a creative well for the creation of new apps to be designed based off the basic journal entries that people keep online. I actually just read a twitter post about someone wondering when his wife’s plane would land. Coincidentally I was recently introduced to a new iPhone app designed to track flight status. The trends are strikingly similar.