Apple vs. philanthropy

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> Date: June 4, 2010 11:02:05 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Apple vs. philanthropy

> http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/06/nonprofit-developer-apples-no-donation-policy-is-a-cop-out.ars
>
> Apple's no-donation policy for apps is a cop-out
> By Jake Shapiro
>
> 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 prohibitin 
> g donations in the first place.
>
> The excuse that “Apple doesn't want to be held responsible for ensur 
> ing 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 charit 
> able causes; it is also cutting off nonprofits from the most powerfu 
> l direct-payment platform in the mobile marketplace. 1-Click payment 
> s are transformative for direct giving, and Apple has tens of millio 
> ns of users with stored credit cards already accustomed to instant p 
> urchases—over 100 million if you add in iTunes users worldwide.



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