MySpace.com and The Apple Store Experience - The other side of the coin

Apple has banned MySpace.com in their retail stores and this has created an interesting debate here at TechnologyEvangelist.com. While Ed Kohler is in the 'this is a good thing' camp, I tend to think this is a bad thing. Blocking MySpace.com is a futile move to try and prevent a problem that can't be solved that easily.

The argument here is that there are those who abuse Apple's generous free Internet access on their machines and by blocking MySpace.com these teens and tweens will go away. By blocking sites that are frequented as such, namely MySpace.com, they will open up the machines for buying customers. Retail space is very, very expensive and every square foot that's in use by a person who has no intent of buying product is costly. If blocking MySpace.com would solve this problem and force these teenagers home then I may agree with Apple's stance.

Blocking MySpace won't change anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

TechnologyEvangelist.com itself is living proof that MySpacers will find ways around the blocks. We have a never ending thread covering different ways to get around MySpace blocks. Even so, watch just about anyone under twenty who is using a computer. They have many, many windows and chat applications open. That minor isn't spending hours only on MySpace, they are doing video chats, audio chats, blogging, surfing, homework and general Internet browsing on the machines. Apple has not deterred the teens from surfing MySpace. No, what Apple has done is put a bitter taste in the mouth of future computer buyers who will remember the computer company that treated them with respect when they were children, and that company is no longer Apple.

Why single out MySpace.com? If Apple wants to really get rid of these youth then they will need to block access to Facebook.com, MySpace.com, YouTube.com, Google Video, heck even Google.com. Why stop there? Block access to Microsoft.com, Ubuntu.com and any other site that could be considered a competitor. Where do they stop the censorship? Where do they draw the line?

Teens will still hang out in the store for hours without buying anything not because it's their only source for MySpace.com but because it's a place to hang out. It's a place to do things, even if they can't play on MySpace anymore. It's a bit ironic that Apple is banning a site geared towards the very same generation that their own iPod marketing targets. Should Apple find a way to get these abusers to go away? Yes, it's costing them a lot of money and as a stock holder in the company I would like to see those machines open for potential buyers, not teens surfing the web. Blocking content is not a means to make this happen.

Apple has taken its first step on its path to becoming Big Brother. I know, I'm being super dramatic here, but it's always the seemingly innocent steps that end up slowly taking our freedoms away. Apple is opening a door for others to follow suit and I fear it will get worse. We have fought to keep the Internet neutral from a bandwidth perspective, but it seems we forgot to fight over the content itself. For shame Apple, for shame.

I think they should make the site blocking a store-specific policy. At the Apple store in Chicago, there's tons of abuse of the Internet. I've seen plenty of people just watching YouTube videos and browsing MySpace profiles (some not that appropriate for the Apple environment) with clearly no intent on buying anything. It's definitely a turn off for potential customers who then don't have anything to play with. I think most people just leave if all the macs are occupied..I know I did. The geniuses at the store should be given the power to figure out which sites hurt their business and block them accordingly.

Have you ever tried browsing Myspace with Safari? go ahead, give it a try. After it barfs on the 2nd page, ask yourself if this is really the kind of advertisement apple is looking for. (perhaps this is something that apple needs to be fix, but myspace has always been a terrible offender.. especially on the more 'enthusiastic' pages)

Also 'HEY GUYS EVERYONE IN THE STORE GETS TO LISTEN TO FALL OUT BOY ON MY FRIEND'S PAGE' had a lot to do with it, I'm guessing.

Uh, yeah. You're being super dramatic. To the point of annoyance and stupidity. You said it yourself.

It's not a conspiracy theory. I don't think Apple is actively engaging in trying to destroy our lives or destroy civilization as we know it. Apple has every right as a private company to do whatever they please with the Internet access they offer.

I don't like that we just accept censorship of sites such as MySpace as an acceptable loss, even from a private company. That's what scares me. Bit by bit we give something up. It happens slowly but it won't take too long before censoring anything we want for any reason is common practice without anyone standing up and saying no. I always thought we were better than that, I thought Apple was better than that.

This isn't the Government trying to swoop in and remove info. This isn't Apple trying to control what you see. This is the first step in a change of society if we allow this to happen across the board. It's not a conspiracy, it's a change, and one that I'm not too fond of. Not all change is good.

Looking beyond the super dramatic point for a moment and to the heart of the message... What good will blocking MySpace really do? Does anyone here really think that it's going to solve anything? I would be interested to see what the results actually are. If there's no improvement, what will Apple block next?

How can it be censorship when it's a private company doing it inside their own stores? I hate it when people so casually throw "censorship" and "first amendment rights" around. They're Apple stores and Apple computers. They have the right to tell you when you can use them and how you can use them. You in turn have the right to not shop there if you so choose.

Personally, I think this policy is a bit too specific. Instead, they should just kick out individuals who are being a problem. Let the store employees use their discretion rather than block a certain site.

Never mentioned first-amendment rights at all, only said it was censorship... I'm not talking about rights or even the constitution here.

I do agree with you on kicking abusers out though. Blocking MySpace.com, in my opinion, won't solve anything. Of course it only takes one blogger with a loud voice and the intent of getting kicked out to write a flaming article about Apple that will get picked up by traditional press, so I have no idea what to do here. Something needs to change, but blocking MySpace.com isn't it.

Many MySpace.com pages are eyesores. Many of them have gaudy designs and tasteless background music. I'm MySpace.com pages clash with the Apple design ethic.

I would much rather just see a No Loitering policy or something that addresses the REAL issue... how to deal with hooligans that are not consumers, but rather punk kids that treat the mall like a daycare for teens.

My wife and I went to the Apple Store here in MN a few weeks ago to shop for a new iMac for my wife. Store employees had to "shoo away" a gaggle of loiterers from the iMac display and close down a handful of screens before we could evaluate the product. Imagine if I was not already a "motivated buyer"? I would have left and had it been my first time to the store I might have left and ended up going to the Dell kiosk (conveniently) located a stones throw from the Apple Store in the mall.

Flip Side: Are the same kids that are loitering and using Apple computers for their mall-surfing future Apple customers once they are old enough to get their own job?

MYSPACE.COM WEBSITE IS NOT OPEN
PLEASE SOLVE THIS PROPLEM
SOME METHOD TO TELL ME

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