Rumors: One More Good Thing for Apple

As most of you are probably aware Apple recently sued unnamed individuals and named a few websites for posting what, at the time, were unsubstantiated rumors. For the folks that missed the story the basic gist is as follows: Three sites incurred the wrath of Apple by posting information on a FireWire device that would work in conjunction with GarageBand codenamed “Asteroid”. The lawsuit, predictably, cemented the rumor as fact (though it should be noted that the mockups presented by the sites varied widely). The easy conclusion to reach is that Apple legal is getting a little over zealous. That notion would ignore the history of Apple, Apple has always frowned on rumors and not infrequently released the legal hounds. In short, Apple hates rumors.

The reasons Apple has for an extreme dislike of rumors are easily guessed (and guessing is the only option available). The conventional thinking is probably based on the fear of people holding off buying decisions waiting for the next big thing or the rationale that by vaguely knowing where Apple is heading competitors can rush a product to market ahead of Apple’s offerings. These lines of thinking do seem logical and well reasoned but they miss on a few points. Products rushed to market are rarely as well thought out and engineered as the products Apple eventually offers (note: the iPod was not the first to market). Additionally the notion that people hold off buying products until the latest innovation is available is also wrongheaded. The majority of Mac users have no idea of when the upgrade cycle is and those that do already tend to wait for the latest product introductions before buying sweet Apple newness. Hence we are faced with a situation wherein the tech savvy buyers are going to wait for the natural product cycle with or without rumors and the average user remains blissfully unaware of rumors in general. This may seem farfetched but on a recent trip I was asked no less than five times which Mac to buy. I opined that I would wait until after MacWorld and in each instance my response was greeted with a “What’s MacWorld?”

Mistakenly or not Apple still detests rumors. They also probably blame the publishers of rumor sites or disgruntled employees without ever realizing the truth of the matter: it is not the websites or NDA violators who are responsible for making Apple rumors so deliciously interesting, the fault can be aimed squarely at the feet of Apple. Why are the rumors Apple’s fault? Many people would blame Apple’s pervasive secrecy. Of course just because a company is close mouthed about internal projects doesn’t automatically mean that the public is frothing at the mouth for a little insider info. Take, for example, M&M Mars. The manufacturers of chocolate based confections are supposedly extremely tight lipped but you don’t see a whole slew of sites devoted to rumors of what the next hard shelled candy might contain. It’s not that people don’t love M&M’s it just that cramming a frosted flake of corn puff inside of an M&M isn’t all that interesting or industry shaking. Apple, on the other hand, has a record of industry shaking, awe inspiring innovations. It is this innovation coupled with the aforementioned silence about unreleased products that make the Apple rumor business such a fertile playground.

Since rumors will abound as long as Apple remains interesting Apple would be wise to stop viewing rumors and rumor sites as flies to be swatted with the heavy hand of the legal department and start viewing such sites as a valuable resource for market research and free publicity. A leak of a questionable innovation and subsequent scanning of the response will serve to tell Apple how the market might respond. For example, if Apple let the two-button mouse idea slip out they could get a good feeling of the reception by the buzz generated. On the other hand if Apple is serious about quashing all rumors for whatever reason it well within their means to do it without resorting to Judge Judy and the legal system. The easiest way to do it is to make the rumor sites so unreliable that they become irrelevant, sure the rumors will still fly but few will care. To accomplish this task all Apple needs to do is hop on the phone and release some truthful tidbits to the rumors sites. After a few months of feeding the rumor mill small flakes of actual info as though it were the family fish they let a huge secret out. Not just any rumor, this bit of subterfuge would have to involve one of the all time super rumors. Something along the lines of a port to Pentium processors or, perhaps, the fabled nirvana that is a full 64 bit operating system. Then when the supposed release date rolls around nothing happens. The credibility of the rumor sites plunges faster than the performance of a spyware ridden Windows box. People stop paying attention and Steve Jobs can sleep easy.

Whatever the final reaction it all adds up to make a very nice problem for Apple computer. They hate the rumors but the rumors fuel speculation and excitement. The frothing madness that surrounds an upcoming MacWorld draws attention to the introductions made and this, in turn, increases product awareness. This is straight from the old marketers handbook that anything that gets people talking is good for business. Like any overused axiom it is not always true, the NCAA Bowl Coalition is looking worse every time someone mentions the National Championship game but in Apple’s case the more people talking about Apple, rumor or fact, the better. So come on Apple, embrace the rumors!