Daniel Eran DilgerThe new AppStore account lets Twitter users subscribe to regular update tweets posted by the company. In its first few hours, the company has posted a welcome message and a tweet recommending the free Nike Training Club app.
Both tweets include the #appstore hash tag, which allows Twitter users to track any tweets by anyone including the same subject. The recommended app also includes a link to the web page version of the app, via a URL using the appstore.com domain.
Apple now owns that domain, although it currently just forwards to a 'page not found' messages on Apple's main site. Specific product links, like the Nike app, direct users to the web version of the iTunes App Store, which links to the app within iTunes for further review or to download it.
Lots of Twitter followers, likes on Facebook
Apple also operates five other official Twitter accounts: iTunes Trailers, which posts updates on new movie trailers available in iTunes; iTunes Podcasts, which links to a daily episode recommendation; as well as iTunes TV, iTunes Movies and iTunes Music, each of which links to featured content and posts exclusive offers and information about pre-orders and new releases.
Each of Apple's Twitter accounts has roughly 40-50,000 followers apart from Music, which currently has more than 687,000 followers, and Trailers, which has over 1,577,000 followers.
The company also manages nine regional iTunes pages on Facebook, with the US page getting over 10 million 'likes' from Facebook users, as well as a relatively new App Store page on Facebook with nearly a million 'likes.' That page has similarly recommended a few different individual apps each day since being set up January 6.
Apple integrated Twitter into its new Ping social recommendation network within iTunes 10 last November, enabling Ping users to tweet their iTunes comments, likes, recommendations and reviews to Twitter followers, and to find other Ping users among users they are already connected to via Twitter.
Fighting with Facebook
The company reportedly worked for a year and a half to integrate Ping with Facebook, but failed to reach an agreement by the time Ping was launched last fall. Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs said Facebook demanded "onerous terms" that killed an official deal.
Ping launched using Facebook's Connect API to allow users to look up their friends on Facebook and invite them to Ping, but Facebook blocked API calls from Ping to prevent this from working.
Facebook has also fought with Google over data connectivity issues, with Google insisting that Facebook should allow its users to import their data from Facebook if the social network wants its users to be able to access contact data from Google.
Facebook has signed deals with Yahoo and Microsoft's Hotmail services, but remains at odds with Apple, Google, and Twitter in allowing users of those companies' to discover their Facebook friends.
Readers can follow AppleInsider and Daniel Eran Dilger on Twitter.
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
6 Comments
Everybody keeps talking about facebook being "a platform," and we all know they have 600 M users - with a high percentage active, and with pretensions to extend and monetize this incredible asset.
Everybody keeps saying that social and cloud are phenomena in their infancy.
Everybody knows that Apple's been trying to make social happen with not that much success for some years now - and that facebook felt strong enough to rebuff Apple and Google over cross-data access.
Everybody keeps talking about what Apple should buy.
Goldman Sachs just valued facebook at $50B. Apple has as it happens, $50B.
Just a thought.....
Everybody keeps talking about what Apple should buy.
Goldman Sachs just valued facebook at $50B. Apple has as it happens, $50B.
Just a thought.....
I'm not so sure. There is something about the idea of Apple buying out Facebook that makes me think it would put Facebook into a downward spiral. In any case I've got a feeling Zuckerberg wouldn't sell
Apple could probably invest heavily in Facebook though and create some kind of solid partnership.
I still think they should look at Sony. An Apple games division, console, TVs, audio equipment, cameras and the rights to Sony's movie and music catalog.
Evernote would be a good purchase as well.
I'm not sure what Apple can do about their cloud offering as the big players in the cloud aren't up for sale or are out of reach. However if the North Carolina datacenter is anything to go by they might be working their entire cloud strategy out in-house.
I'm not so sure. There is something about the idea of Apple buying out Facebook that makes me think it would put Facebook into a downward spiral. In any case I've got a feeling Zuckerberg wouldn't sell
Apple could probably invest heavily in Facebook though and create some kind of solid partnership.
I still think they should look at Sony. An Apple games division, console, TVs, audio equipment, cameras and the rights to Sony's movie and music catalog.
Evernote would be a good purchase as well.
I'm not sure what Apple can do about their cloud offering as the big players in the cloud aren't up for sale or are out of reach. However if the North Carolina datacenter is anything to go by they might be working their entire cloud strategy out in-house.
Like your line of thinking re Apple and facebook. But facebook is going public reasonably soon I think. And 20-33% of the stock should give that stockholder considerable influence over corporate governance and seats on the board. Without, I think any anti-trust issues. The questions then are how they'd use that influence and what technologies might be shared or leveraged to improve both companies' development and revenues. And Apple and facebook together have cloud potential. Whatever the new new data center's gonna be for. People are storing 100 M photos a day on fb. Combine that with iPhoto tech and..... ...start to merge iChat, Apple Mail, fb Messaging and chat, iOS Facetime.... ...(just as with iTunes, equal opportunity hooks for Win/Android/etc. would have to be provided)... .."in facebook" app purchasing (and reviewing and forums)... ...ping cubed.... ...a Lala type streaming service within fb.... ...which iTunes users would also have thru iTunes (if this is truly in the works anyway)... ...hey, I see all kinds of synergies...
You also make Sony sound more attractive than I usually think. But there are issues. E.g., the other studios might freak if Apple owned one of the majors while being a major distributor of the content of the rest. They might have to divest that asset - and I feel it's also out of their competence range. And certainly the Win PC division would have to be sold immediately, maybe as part of a three or more company transaction. But it would put the best of iOS and Playstation on a convergence path (assuming consoles are not an endangered species). And I can totally see the synergy with cameras. But Apple as a full line TV/electronics retailer in all kinds of outlets and price points and a proliferation of SKU's (assuming, say, iOS was integrated across the line in time) to support? Dual HQ's in Japan and America/Corporate and national culture clash? (On the other hand, selling Sony full standard ATV guts for its Bravia TV's could be a mutually beneficial venture.)
Everybody keeps talking about facebook being "a platform," and we all know they have 600 M users - with a high percentage active, and with pretensions to extend and monetize this incredible asset.
Everybody keeps saying that social and cloud are phenomena in their infancy.
Everybody knows that Apple's been trying to make social happen with not that much success for some years now - and that facebook felt strong enough to rebuff Apple and Google over cross-data access.
Everybody keeps talking about what Apple should buy.
Goldman Sachs just valued facebook at $50B. Apple has as it happens, $50B.
Just a thought.....
This would be a horrible investment. Not only is FB is way over-valued by the shysters at Goldman, there is a great chance it will be replaced in a few years by the social network de-jour. Fail!
I just don't understand how there is any value in Facebook. I get that there are a ton of users (bigpics referenced 600 million) but how do you monetize those users? Am I just ignorant on the way Facebook makes money or will their eventual purchasers understand how to make that company profitable?