Mikey Campbell
Apple on Monday sent out a rare self-promoting iOS push notification regarding the iOS App Store's (RED) campaign to help fight AIDS, though the unsolicited message turned out to be a cause of concern for certain users.
As seen in the screenshot above, Apple pushed out a rather innocuous notification that read, "Get great apps and help (RED) fight AIDS," which linked to a corresponding App Store landing page featuring (RED)-themed content.
The notification caused a small kerfuffle as it plainly contradicted Apple's own developer guidelines, which state push notifications are not to be used for advertisements of any kind. Critics say the notification's content is not in question, but instead that Apple perhaps crossed a line by taking advantage of a tool customers agree to use in good faith. Others argued Apple's push was of no real concern as it promoted a good cause.
Apple, a longtime partner of Bono's PROJECT(RED) initiative to end the propagation of HIV/AIDS in Africa, announced a fundraising campaign last week created in partnership with top app developers. From Nov. 24 through Dec. 7, a number of popular apps, including first-party titles like GarageBand are offering exclusive in-app content to raise money for (RED)'s global fund.
In addition to the App Store campaign, Apple also gave out iTunes gift cards with select hardware purchases on Black Friday, with each card representing an additional donation to (RED), and will donate to (RED) a portion of all Apple Store retail sales taken in today, Cyber Monday.
Earlier today, Apple Stores around the world changed the color of their iconic logos to red in honor of World AIDS Day.
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18 Comments
The problem is that doing this push notification over (Red) fundraising is a bit too culturally Appleish. Apple seems to live in an affluent, coastal California bubble with little outside contact. Almost everyone who got that notification could point to a cause that they feel is in more desperate need of money than (Red) one that long been fashionable among the upscale to super-rich (i.e. Bono). What's Apple going to do about their wishes? Deny them, and they offend. Follow them and they flood us with messages. And it's not like we haven't heard about the (Red) fundraising. I seem to recall several emails from Apple about it along with numerous stories on Mac websites. Notifications like these shouldn't be used to follow up what we have already heard from other sources. If we want to do something, we'll do it. If not, leave us alone. A better criteria for push notifications might be to limit them to rare situations where an large response is needed in a short time, meaning from minutes to a few hours. Longer than that, and other means will serve as well or better. --Michael W. Perry, co-author of Lily's Ride
But it's OK now because Tim Cook is gay (whatever 'gay' means). Personally I think it's odd that AIDS is associated with homosexual sex seeing as it's predominantly a heterosexual disease at its place of origin.
AAPL was quite in red today too;)
But it's OK now because Tim Cook is gay (whatever 'gay' means). Personally I think it's odd that AIDS is associated with homosexual sex seeing as it's predominantly a heterosexual disease at its place of origin.
You don't know what gay means?
And AIDS is associated with homosexuals, because they make up the majority of people infected with HIV in the US.
I'm not even on that list. I guess that I have nothing to worry about, and I also have notifications turned off for the app store, so I didn't get this AIDS RED notification from Apple.
AAPL was quite in red today too;)
The whole damn market was in the red today, and plenty of stocks were down more than AAPL.