For a guy that was no fan of social networking sites Myspace or Facebook – or computers in general, once upon a time – Brian Floe sure thinks along those lines.
Floe is the creator of MyAppleSpace.com, a growing social site dedicated to Apple fans.
Why not just create a “Mac Lovers” group on Facebook?
“Why not just buy a PC and put an Apple sticker on it?” Floe says. “Mac users especially always want the next big thing, not the second best thing. We have high standards.”
Good point. That’s why Floe says MyAppleSpace is “a little space for the rest of us.”
The adoption rate has been slow but steady, Floe says, mainly due to word of mouth and blog pieces like mine, but definitely not due to any Mac press.
“I don’t know what that tells you about the Mac press these days,” he says. “Perhaps nothing is interesting unless it’s from big companies who might advertise on their site.”
Despite the lack of attention, however, MyAppleSpacers members have taken to the site like any other social site, posting videos and photos and joining groups like “iMac Users” or “AAPL Investors.”
Some users wonder whether the world needs another networking site. Floe’s point is that as avid as Apple fans are, the world does need a ‘space like this.
“I was never a fan of MySpace, never was a fan of Facebook either,” Floe says. “I guess it was really just at matter of time before I realized what was missing.”
Others have realized what’s missing, too, because membership has jumped just this past weekend – from 77 members on Saturday to 166 on Sunday.
All this from a guy who couldn’t stand computers a few years ago.
“My very first demo tape I ever recorded was ‘Computer Celebration’ which was a very sarcastic song about a man who fell in love with his computer,” Floe says. “It turned out to be me who fell in love with Macs. The irony of life?”
Now Floe uses an Intel white iMac as his everyday machine, but only after selling his Mac Pro (“Had to,” he says).
“It turns out, however, I’m now an iMac guy forever,” he says. “It took me a week to get used to this thing smiling at me from my desk when I walked in the room. It’s pure love, and I’m doing the dishes in this relationship.”
Floe has developers working on future designs and upgrades for the site. He’s also looking for a news partner who will put the MyAppleSpace banner on their frontpage in exchange for their RSS news feed on the front page of MyAppleSpace. It’s all about spreading the good word of Mac.
It’s also about adding members to MyAppleSpace – while still keeping it cozy enough to mimic the Mac’s market share and fan base.
“It feels like the greatest opportunity I’ve ever had to meet a lot of new Mac users,” Floe says. “We are growing all the time. I can see that it’s growing faster and faster now, which is what I expected, really.”