Introducing This Day in Apple History

At the beginning of last year I was ruminating on what Apple Matters should do next. What about great daily content? Thanks to our wonderful team of writers we have that covered, publishing unique perspectives on Apple computer and its influence on the culture at large that are hard to find elsewhere. News? Too many other very good sites do this already. And while, like Steve Jobs, we reserve the right to change our minds at some future point, it didn’t seem like the place to go.

Personally, I’ve always been interested in the stories and personalities behind the products Apple makes. I wanted to do something historical, then, I thought, why not something historical on Apple every day.

And thus was born the inspiration behind Apple Matters latest attempt at bringing you well-written and interesting original content about Apple. When I first approached Chris Seibold about the project he had the same reaction I had; would there be enough content for a story every day? Indeed, our first exercise was discovering that yes, there was. And, like the company itself each day’s story is varied and will find you remembering moments in Apple’s history (eworld anyone?) that you thought you’d never think of again.

While I conceived of the project it would not exist were it not for the efforts of many wonderful people, especially the often too-humble Chris Seibold. Chris has meticulously researched each day, and, as evident in his writing, is as nuttily fascinated about Apple as I and the rest of the Apple Matters staff are. Chris’s words were edited and proofread by the detailed Judy Holz, who also brought consistency to all words that only exist in the Apple lexicon (firewire, Firewire, FireWire, etc.)

Doug Adams provides the voice for the Podcast, lending his tremendous voice to the content. I wanted to produce a podcast that was professional and Doug is a pro! It also helps that he has the Apple bug too, and his enthusiasm for the content comes across in the podcast.

Daily content with a theme seemed perfect fodder for a fun widget. To give the widget some historical oomph I designed it with three GUIs, OS X, Classic, and Newton. A tall task for any developer, Judd Gledhill tackled the project with technical flexibility. The result: A widget I am very proud of. Download it and you’ll see why.

The site itself runs on Expression Engine, and the software was up to the task of integrating yet another feature, including a podcast. Solspace provided development support that helped to get the new section up and running and tied all the pieces, gallery, story, and podcast together.

Thanks to the fine people at MAKE magazine for sponsoring the contest, and to Phillip Torrone in particular for being so helpful throughout the project.

Finally a big thank you to Dave Hamilton and the BackBeat Media crew for their help and support.

Without further adieu, here is the press release. Now go ahead and sign up for the email, subscribe to the podcast, download the widget and bookmark applematters.com/thisday.

Apple Matters to Produce Daily “This Day In Apple History” Podcast
Podcast and Related Programming to Offer Unique History of Apple Computers

Boston, MA – January 3, 2006 - Apple Matters, an online publication covering all things Apple, today launched “This Day In Apple History” a daily multimedia production – including a podcast – offering perspective on what happened on that day in the storied and diverse history of Apple computer. The stories will cover such topics as the founding of Apple computer, the launching of some its most famous products, and even the birthday of its infamous founder, Steve Jobs.

The story will be distributed through a variety of channels including the web site – http://www.applematters.com/thisday, a daily opt-in email, a daily podcast, and through a new Apple Matters desktop widget that features three interfaces from Apple’s history.

“Apple is a fascinating company from so many aspects. Its products and personalities have produced a great number of stories over the years,” said Hadley Stern, publisher and editor-in-chief of Apple Matters and executive producer of “This Day in Apple History.”  “With this project we hope to provide people with interesting and enjoyable nuggets of Apple history. No such content exists either on the web or in print and I am very excited to bring Apple’s story alive in this way.”

To kick off the project Apple Matters in partnership with O’Reilly and Associates’ MAKE Magazine is giving away products from Apple’s history, including an Apple II, a Newton, and a 5th generation iPod laser engraved in the MAKE labs with the original Apple logo . To enter readers just have to sign up for the daily This Day in Apple History email. Details can be found at http://www.applematters.com/thisday

Chris Seibold is the author of the project having been a staff writer for Apple Matters as well as contributor to the O’Reilly Media book, iPod and iTunes Hacks. Chris brings his extensive knowledge of Apple to bear on the project. “Working on this project has made me realize how much has changed since the original Apple computers were introduced more than 20 years ago,” said Chris. “This ongoing series will present Apple Computer’s rich history in such a way that even the most dedicated Apple aficionado will find something he or she didn’t know.”

About Apple Matters
Apple Matters provides original commentary on topics including the impact of Apple on our culture, exclusive profiles of people in Apple’s storied history such as Herbie Hancock and Guy Kawasaki, and product reviews.  Its talented, and somewhat-eccentric, editorial team include founder/publisher and editor-in-chief, Hadley Stern, Senior Contributing Editor Gregory Ng, Senior Writer Chris Seibold, and Writers Chris Howard and James R. Stoup. Apple Matters has been publishing online since 2002. It has received numerous awards including being included in the recent cNET Blog 100, a prestigious listing of the 100 most influential blogs on the web. Apple Matters is a part of the BackBeat Media network, and can be seen at http://www.applematters.com