Apple's No-Donation Policy For Apps is a Cop-Out

[jayfish]

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/06/nonprofit-developer-apples-no-donation-policy-is-a-cop-out

Ars Technica recently started an interesting conversation on the mixed reaction to This American Life's use of push notifications in its iPhone app (developed at PRX) to encourage donations by its tens of thousands of users (each of whom paid $2.99 to buy the app).

I agree that app developers should use push notifications very sparingly, and they definitely run the risk of negative reactions if the message isn’t clearly tied to the app’s purpose and value. As Seth Lind from This American Life said in the discussion on the post, this was an experiment. Further donation messaging will be in-app, and mostly in the audio itself where Ira Glass can most effectively make the case for why This American Life deserves your support.

But the underlying issue is Apple’s wrongheaded policy of prohibiting donations in the first place.
The excuse that “Apple doesn't want to be held responsible for ensuring that the charitable funds make it to the final destination” is a cop-out. Google Grants has tackled this already, and organizations like TechSoup and Guidestar do a sophisticated job of authenticating nonprofits and charities worldwide. Apple, of all companies, can’t credibly say it’s not up to the technical and logistical challenge.

And Apple is not just preventing app developers from putting “donate” buttons or any language suggesting that users contribute to charitable causes; it is also cutting off nonprofits from the most powerful direct-payment platform in the mobile marketplace. 1-Click payments are transformative for direct giving, and Apple has tens of millions of users with stored credit cards already accustomed to instant purchases—over 100 million if you add in iTunes users worldwide.

The recent rise of Apple is, IMO, one of the worst things to happen in the world of information technology. People can bash Microsoft all they like but at least they don't go around telling you what you can or cannot put in your applications, what you can or cannot use your applications for or what hardware you can or cannot use. Tyranny at it's finest

FSH

[MineralMan]

1. Soon, all restaurants will be Taco Bell, and all computers will

be Apples. And you will enjoy your lack of choice.

[Statistical]

2. Well everyone knows Taco Bell will win the fast food wars. n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. The real problem will be the three shells. -nt

[jayfish]

3. Will We Have To Use The Shells Too? -NT-

FSH

[Omphaloskepsis]

5. Keep in mind..

Apple's no-donation policy for apps is a cop-out
By Jake Shapiro | Last updated about 2 hours ago


Jake Shapiro is CEO of PRX, Public Radio Exchange, developers of the Public Radio Player and This American Life iPhone apps.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. That does not make him wrong

I used to teach an Apple development seminar. After they included their lock down on the Ipad its being dropped.