Why Do Bloggers Use Mac?
We’ve all been there. We go to a tech conference of some kind. If, for some reason, you wander up to the front of the room and look back, you see a sea of fruit. A bunch of Apple laptops looking back at you with their signature apple logo glowing on the back of the monitor.
When I was at Gnomedex last year, it seems Apple notebooks were the rule, not the exception. And I expect it will be even more so this year.
I, myself, joined the ranks this year. In October, I bought a big Mac Pro. Then, this year, I bought a Mac Mini (for my Ustream live feed) and a MacBook Pro for portability. I am now using all Mac.
Even before I bought one, though, I was intrigued by the following Apple has among techies. From my point of view, the reason was one of the following:
- Apple was indeed a better machine and all these bloggers knew it and I didn’t.
- These bloggers THINK they’re on top of everything, but in reality are just pawns of Apple marketing (which is admittedly top notch).
- These bloggers want to fit into their blogger clique and they see an Apple notebook as a kind of status symbol.
I’m sure, if I had bothered to ask, each of these guys would have picked #1 above. However, face it, Apple marketing is good and I know FULL WELL that many of these techies went Mac because it was what the cool kids do.
Speaking for myself, I ultimately went to Mac because I was frustrated when all Microsoft could give me was Vista. It was a buggy piece of shit and I didn’t want to use it as my primary work operating system. At the time, Apple was pimping OS X Leopard like crazy. Compared to Vista, Leopard looked to be everything I wanted. Aside from that, YES, I most definitely did allow the fact that I’d seen so many other techies using Macs influence my own purchase.
I am a pro blogger, so now I can comment on usage of the Mac in terms of being a blogger. In all seriousness, I do now view the Mac as a better option for a blogger. Let me see if I can put this into words…
Bloggers are big on communication. We like technology, but don’t want to have to work it very hard. The whole “it just works” mantra of Apple speaks right to a blogger’s heart. Our emphasis is on quick publishing of content. OS X happens to have software available for it which seems like it was designed by people with that same mode of thought. The interface design of many OS X titles is great for quick workflow. Windows titles, in my experience, do not have the same level of interface design. You’re either dealing with a clunky interface or a program which is too big for the job you need to accomplish.
Of course, the most ironic exception to this is Windows Live Writer. It is a Microsoft program which makes posting to a blog child’s play. It is only available for Windows and beats the ever-loving crap out of any Mac alternative.
So, if you’re using Mac and you’re a blogger, why? And be honest. Are you doing it because it is a better machine? Or is there, perhaps, just a little bit of “me too”-ism here? Or perhaps you bought it for the “me too” reason, then ultimately found that it was indeed a better machine.
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Comments
I encountered the Lisa, later the Mac, at work. I have only felt that Mac was a better machine, technically, for very brief windows in the computer market place.
However, I have always felt that the Mac has almost always been the best choice for getting work done. It fits, it is built and intended to get work done.
The PC never was. The PC was invented to extend IBM’s monopolies in business computing. Later clones followed in the concept of hyping improved hardware and marketing benchmarks - and only rarely focused on getting work done. The way PC-Dos and later Windows emphasized programming and tailoring hardware as ends in themselves are part and parcel of the difference between a Mac and PC - the PC is a machine you can use for work. The Mac is a work appliance you can use. Different philosophies.
And Apple wrote the book (all five volumes) on interface standards. Just ask me who established default fonts (like Helvetica) and 72 dpi (dots per inch) displays on a 9 inch screen.
The popularity of a Mac with people wanting to get their work done, reliably, is no surprise to me.
I’m a PC girl myself - having been immersed in I.T. for years, I know just what to do on a PC. Plus, I love WLW for blogging! 
I would like to have a Mac, too, but it would be a luxury purchase. With 4 computers, I can’t justify spending the $$$. But if I could, I’d love a MacBook Air for when I’m out and about.
I am in a camp that is not part of your three reasons. I have used Apple computers ever since my parent’s Apple IIe back in the early 80s. I almost gave up on the Mac in the mid nineties when their operating system sucked and the company was left for dead. The comeback since then at the leadership of steve jobs is a story for the ages. The mac is back to being on par with the PC in every way and in some areas, surpasses it.
So - one big reason why I stick with the Mac is that “underdog” story. I was a Mac loyalist back when it was not cool at all to be a Mac user. It’s like being a diehard red sox or patriots fan - and you loved them back when they were terrible.