Mac rumors are boring

I don't mean Apple rumors are conceptually boring -- I enjoy the Mac and iPod rumor mill as much as the next Apple geek -- they're just boring to read. Daring Fireball's John Gruber hit the nail on the head last month when he wrote about his dislike for Mac rumor site Think Secret. At the time he was talking about a rumor suggesting that Aperture was about to bite the dust. Of course, we all know it didn't, as we covered later on, but the inherent poor aim of rumor sites isn't the topic of this post.

What the Mac web really needs, ok, wants, is a rumor site that merges the style of Crazy Apple Rumors with that of Think Secret and AppleInsider. Like Gruber says, the "objective" style of TS and AI apes that of the Associated Press (read: dull) when it should be taking a page out of the much loved, but now-defunct, Mac the Knife column. That fundamental element of gossip, the "we know that you know that this isn't important, but we also know that you know that this is fun" tone is completely missing from sites like Think Secret, AppleInsider and even rumor aggregation site Mac Rumors.

We can understand why these sites pretend to be objective. It certainly *sounds* more legitimate if you write like the NYTimes (coincidentally this style makes it easier for us to pick apart the rumors, as you saw last week). However, this isn't the NYTimes. It's just a bit of gossip about our favorite computer company. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Source: http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/aperture_dirt

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I don't mean Apple rumors are conceptually boring -- I enjoy the Mac and iPod rumor mill as much as the next Apple geek -- they're just...

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Blarry

Trent is a wiener!

May 30 2006 at 5:24 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Trent Lapinski

"We can understand why these sites pretend to be objective." It is kind of hard to "pretend" to be objective. It is typically obvious when reporting is either objective or not. MacRumors for example tells you the credible past of the source, and provides you with links to their wiki concerning past rumors of the product in question. Then they let their users vote and comment on the credibility of the rumor. They are simply monitoring rumors, there is hardly any pretending. I think they do a pretty fair job of presenting rumors. As for AI and TS, they are being professional, something TUAW and the rest of Weblogs Inc. (AOL) should look into. If you've been in the Mac web as long as I have you would know there have been satirical sites in the past, and due to big corporate sites like this, CNET, and Digg, it has made the market impossible to maintain profitability if they aren't professional. Otherwise companies and advertisers will not take you seriously. Funny you would be commenting on this really, consider you are part of the problem.

May 30 2006 at 4:44 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

eggman

not completely on point, but macenstein.com provides some great humor pieces in addition to their very good rumor scouting. at least it's a unique take on everything.

May 30 2006 at 4:42 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

meatmcguffin

I remember a time a few years back when appleinsider used to have a very informal writing style, more formal than a blog but less formal than a proper news site. It was a really good balance of trustworthiness without being too serious.

Soon after the case was filed against O'Grady and thinksecret, appleinsider went from introducing the company as "Apple" to introducing the company as "computer and iPod manufacturer, Apple Computer".

I don't think it was the fact that the rumor sites want to be boring, it just they want to be boring enough to be considered as a legitimate news source and therefore have their sources protected as such. Should be interested if they revert to the old style with the result of the applegate case.

and what the hell happened to AtAT? It rocked!

May 30 2006 at 4:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

harry

You know what is more boring than mac rumors?
People making this same argument over and over again, that they are above reading mac rumors.
There is AtAT2 at http://appleturns.paulosnews.com/

May 30 2006 at 4:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

MacStansbury

There was that site...As the Apple Turns...also defunct...

May 30 2006 at 4:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Nathan Qazi

You nailed it, Conrad.

Excellent post.

May 30 2006 at 4:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply