AppleSearchAdsmakesiteasytopromoteyourappontheAppStore.AndnowwithnewTodaytabandproductpageadplacements,youcandrivediscoveryofyourappinmoremomentsacrosstheAppStore—whencustomersfirstarrive,searchforsomethingspecific,andbrowseappstodownload.
WithApple’srecentchangestoadsontheAppStore,yourproductpagesmaynowshowadsforgamblingapps.Oneofmyproductpagesjustdidthat
Nowmyapp’sproductpageshowsgamblingads,whichI’mreallynotOKwith.
Appleshouldn’tbeOKwithit,either.
TheAppStorehascorruptedsuchagreatcompanysodeeply.TheymakesomuchfromgamblingandmanipulativeIAPsthattheydon’tevenseetheproblemanymore.
ItisreallysadtomethatAppleneedstostarttakingCasinoGameAdMoneyinordertomaketheirlinegoupfortheshareholders.WhenSteveintroducediAdsandthewholepitchwas,“Theseadsaren’tgarbage,you’llliketheseads.”Thisdepartmentshouldn’texistatall,imho.
Iknowit’snotaseasilyquantifiable,butAppleisutterlyannihilatingbrandvalue,trustandgoodwillwiththeseads.Howistherevenuepossiblyworthit
Asadeveloper,thissucks.Asauser,itsucks.AssomeonewhocaresaboutAppleproductsit’sjustprofoundlysad.
Canyouimaginehaving$48.2billioncashonhandandYETstillthinking“ahyes,thoseHouseofFunCasinoadswillgrowourbottomline,let’sdoit”.
@cabelAndthen,ayearlater,whileintroducingiCloud/MobileMeMail:
“Noads.Webuildproductsthatwewantforourselves,too,andwejustdon’twantads.”
WehavepausedadsrelatedtogamblingandafewothercategoriesonAppStoreproductpages.
“NoadsintheAppStore,period”wouldhavebeenapowerful,appealingmessage.OnethatApplecouldhaveusedtojustifyitscontroloverallsoftwareontheplatformanditsmuch-debatedmandatorycutofallappandgametransactions.“WeselladsintheAppStore,butthey’reOKbecausetheydon’ttrackyou”seemstobethemessageAppleisgoingfor,butthat’sneitherpowerfulnorappealing.Itboilsdownto“Hey,itcouldbeworse.”
In2015,AppStoreemployeespitchedaredesignofthestoretoCuethatrequiredhiringandpayingforalargeeditorialstafftowritestoriesaboutappsandtheirdevelopers.TheredesignwasmeanttoencourageuserstovisittheAppStoreeverydaytodiscovernewapps,ratherthanhavingthestoreactlikeavendingmachinethatexistedmerelytopeddlesoftware.Cuewasn’treceptivetothepitchashedidn’tbelieveitwasworththemoney,giventhattheAppStorewasalreadyperformingwell,accordingtoapersonwithdirectknowledgeofthediscussions.
Schiller,however,approvedtheredesigninhisfirstdaysonthejob,thispersonsaid.HebelievedtheAppStorehadlostalotofthespontaneityandfunassociatedwithdiscoveringnewapps.Hethoughtaneditorialteamcouldhelpbringthosequalitiesback,accordingtoasecondpersonwithdirectknowledgeoftheproject.
In2017,Applelaunchedtheredesign,whichincludednewtabsontheAppStorecalledToday,GamesandApps,highlightingvariousappsanddevelopers.WhilethegeneralperceptionamongusersApplesurveyedaftertheredesignwasthatdevelopershadtopaytobefeaturedontheAppStore,thatwasn’tthecase,accordingtopeoplefamiliarwiththematter.Schillergavetheeditorialteamthepowertoselectwhichgamesandappstopromoteorfeatureonthesetabs,withoutpressuringthemtobasethosedecisionsonbusinessandpartnershipgoals,thosepeoplesaid.
sisco98:“Todaytab,whichuntilnowhasonlydisplayedcontenthandpickedfromtheAppStore’seditorialstaff,withoutanypaidplacement.”Uptonow,Iwasprettysurethesepickswerepaidbydevelopers.
spack12:YeahIalwaysfiguredthosewereadstoo.
rotates-potatoes:Probablywhytheycreatedtheadunit.Ifeveryone’sgoingtoassumeit’spaidads,mightaswellcollectrevenuefromit.ManyyearsagoIhadanappfeaturedintheappstore.Wasawesome,like10×salesovernight.Wasacompletesurprisetomewhenithappened.
Appleisactuallyscrupulousaboutlabelingpaidplacementsas“ads”,andusingdifferentbackgroundcolorsforthem.Onecancertainlyarguethatadsshouldbeevenmoreclearlydemarcated,butifyoulookforit,it’salwaysclear.Butpeopledon’tlook.Ifthemessagewereclear—thattherearenoadsorpaidplacementsintheAppStore,period—peoplemightlearn.Butifthemessageisthatthereareads,butnotmany,butnowtherearemorethanthereusedtobe,andbutifyoulookcloselyyou’llseethattheadshaveabluebackgroundandasmall“ad”label—almosteveryoneisgoingtoassumethatanythingthatmightbeanadisanadandthewholeAppStoreispay-for-playallthewaydown.
Afewyearsago,usersofInternetservicesbegantorealizethatwhenanonlineserviceisfree,you’renotthecustomer.You’retheproduct.ButatApple,webelieveagreatcustomerexperienceshouldn’tcomeattheexpenseofyourprivacy.
Ourbusinessmodelisverystraightforward:Wesellgreatproducts.Wedon’tbuildaprofilebasedonyouremailcontentorwebbrowsinghabitstoselltoadvertisers.Wedon’t“monetize”theinformationyoustoreonyouriPhoneoriniCloud.Andwedon’treadyouremailoryourmessagestogetinformationtomarkettoyou.Oursoftwareandservicesaredesignedtomakeourdevicesbetter.Plainandsimple.
Apple’scommitmenttoprivacyisnolesstodaythanitwasthen.Onecanwellarguethatit’sevenstronger.ButthereareaspectsofApple’spositiononadvertisingeightyearsago,unrelatedtoprivacy,thatdon’tsquarewithApple’spositiontoday.Cookhasrepeatedvariationsofthat“you’renotthecustomer,you’retheproduct”mantraumpteentimessince2014.ButhowaretheseadsintheAppStorenotmakinguserstheproduct,andadvertisersthecustomers
ItremainstruethatAppleisnotmonetizingtheinformationwestoreonourdevicesoriniCloud,butthey’reclearlymonetizingourattentionandtheirexclusiveholdonthatattentionforallappsandgamesforiOS.Apple’sbusinessmodelisnolongerthestraightforwardsellingofgreatproducts,andthesenewadsintheAppStorearenotdesignedtomakeanythingbetterotherthanApple’sServicesbottomline.