Apple blocks donation apps on iPhone & iPad
07:39, 14 June 2010
.. Posted in techculture and tech to help.. Link
Apple has stunned the nonprofit world by prohibiting developers of nonprofit-themed iPhone and iPad applications from including links and language about donations. And blog world is abuzz.
Jake Shapiro, the chief executive of Public Radio Exchange, is leading the charge against Apple. Mr. Shapiro, who develops applications for public radio and for the popular show This American Life (of which I am a huge fan), says in his blog about Apple's stance that it allows the company to benefit from hosting public-radio products without giving public-radio outlets such as NPR the ability to collect donations. "Apple is effectively blocking a major revenue stream to public media while enthusiastically featuring public-media content and apps that enhance value for its devices," Mr. Shapiro writes.
In fact, he accuses the company of cannibalizing nonprofit groups in pursuit of its own bottom line.
"I suspect the deeper reasons for Apple's uncharitable stance is that the nonprofit and education markets are just that — "markets" that represent hundreds of millions of dollars of annual revenue to Apple in the form of computer, software, iPod, and now iPhone and iPad sales," he writes. "There is no financial upside for Apple to enable a direct path for nonprofit and charitable support. And note that there is no 'Apple Foundation,' no 'Apple Grants."
I'm really disappointed in Apple. Nonprofits not only cannot survive without donations, people want to support nonprofits with financial donations, and more and more, they want to do it with the immediacy that the iPhone and iPad provide.
It's important that your thoughts on this Apple policy get out on the Internet (or as we are calling it now, the blogosphere. Remember when we called it the information superhighway? Anyway...). Comments and discussions are happening at Shapiro's original blog, as well as at The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Beth Kanter's blog. Post a comment and share your thoughts on any of these three blogs -- and anywhere else you see discussions happening!
