Apple wants your money to help Huricane Harvey survivors

[AlTech]

Apple Inc, the government loving Tax Evader, wants your money. This time, they want to use it to help Huricane Harvey Survivors.

 

And yes, my business tinfoil hat is firmly planted on my head.

I've got to admit that this is an interesting Business tactic...  Apple could get customers so used to donating money to Apple that they could possibly develop a habit of spending money on Apple products.

 

So, how does Apple plan on letting you donate money to Huricane Harvey Survivors? Through that program everybody loves to hate, iTunes and App Store........

 

Image originally from The Verge.

 

Quote

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas yesterday, and while the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, it’s expected to drop up to 40 inches of rain in the area, which is leading to catastrophic flooding in the area. To help with the coming relief efforts, Apple has begun accepting donations for the Red Cross through iTunes.

 

I will continue to be cynical and say that when a for profit company allows you to pay money through a storefront they own, it's usually for their benefit and not yours. At the very least, this is good PR for Apple and isn't surprising considering the iPhone market share in the US versus other countries.

 

It would have been nice to have a more official way to donate rather than donating through Apple.

 

Source:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/27/16211048/apple-tropical-storm-harvey-donations-relief-relief-itunes

[Sauron]

As if I couldn't just donate directly to the red cross if I wanted to... all apple is doing here is providing a popup that does the same in itunes. Big whoop. Why don't they donate part of their ludicrous profit margins instead if they really care and are not just in it for the sake of marketing?

[AlTech]

Just now, Sauron said:

As if I couldn't just donate directly to the red cross if I wanted to... all apple is doing here is providing a popup that does the same in itunes. Big whoop. Why don't they donate part of their ludicrous profit margins instead if they really care and are not just in it for the sake of marketing?

That's one reason why i see this more as PR and Publicity rather than actually trying to genuinely help people.

[Changis]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

That's one reason why i see this more as PR and Publicity rather than actually trying to genuinely help people.

"look how much we care! and buy our products"

[mr moose]

I don't mind it,  It's just another way to get the digital donation cup shaking in front of more people,  don't like it press the home button and move on.

 

It's not like they are taking a cut and I am sure there are costs involved in running the transaction.

[Bouzoo]

I don't mind if they are sending all the money they receive, which I'm pretty sure they do. All promotion for red cross is welcoms.

But one question, did Apple donate anything? We're talking about a company that could donate billions amd not even feel it. And they are promoting donations.

[Trik'Stari]

29 minutes ago, Sauron said:

As if I couldn't just donate directly to the red cross if I wanted to... all apple is doing here is providing a popup that does the same in itunes. Big whoop. Why don't they donate part of their ludicrous profit margins instead if they really care and are not just in it for the sake of marketing?

Obligatory: "We already pay taxes that provide government services to help these people" etc.

 

Just sayin.... Although they do avoid taxes like fucking crazy.

[lieder1987]

11 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Just sayin.... Although they do avoid taxes like fucking crazy.

So does almost every large company because that is how business works...

[Teddy07]

fuck donations. I never donate to anybody. It is a scam in my eyes because they often keep part of the donation.

[LAwLz]

57 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

So, how does Apple plan on letting you donate money to Huricane Harvey Survivors? Through that program everybody loves to hate, iTunes and App Store........

I didn't know people hated the app store.

 

58 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

It would have been nice to have a more official way to donate rather than donating through Apple.

There are several ways of donating, including the red cross' official website.

 

55 minutes ago, Sauron said:

As if I couldn't just donate directly to the red cross if I wanted to... all apple is doing here is providing a popup that does the same in itunes. Big whoop.

It might actually be a big deal. Friction is a big reason why people don't donate. Finding the organization, finding their donation page, adding your credit card details, and then donating is a lot more friction than just using the same store they already have figured out and set up.

It's more likely that people will donate if it is a 30 second process rather than a 10 minute process.

That's the entire reason why text message donations got invented.

 

58 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Why don't they donate part of their ludicrous profit margins instead if they really care and are not just in it for the sake of marketing?

Because they are probably doing it for marketing? I'd say it's a win-win situation.

Apple gets marketing, and people in need gets help.

Good deeds does not have to be selfless in order to be good.

 

 

23 minutes ago, lieder1987 said:

So does almost every large company because that is how business works...

"All the cool kids are doing it" is not an excuse for bad behavior.

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, LAwLz said:

Because they are probably doing it for marketing? I'd say it's a win-win situation.

Apple gets marketing, and people in need gets help.

Good deeds does not have to be selfless in order to be good.

Sure, it just sounds a little hypocritical and makes it seem like they're trying to profit off of the victims' misfortunes... it's good to donate and I'm not complaining that the donation button is there. It's also good not to fall for the marketing bait though, so I think it's appropriate to call apple out for what they're really trying to achieve here. I don't want them to take it down or anything, I just want people to know the underlying motives.

[Tiz]

Meh you know what it's not worth it.

[Notional]

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/10/apple-becomes-first-company-worth-800bn

 

Fuck you Apple. How about you quadruple EVERY single dollar donated.

[suicidalfranco]

imagine the tone of the article if i was MS

[NvidiaIntelAMDLoveTriangle]

Meanwhile https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/15/bill-gates-charity-donation-microsoft-shares-foundation

 

[mr moose]

21 minutes ago, Notional said:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/10/apple-becomes-first-company-worth-800bn

 

Fuck you Apple. How about you quadruple EVERY single dollar donated.

only in capitalisation

 

http://www.therichest.com/business/companies-business/the-10-richest-corporations-on-earth/

 

not even close to the first company worth that though.

 

53 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

 

 

 

It might actually be a big deal. Friction is a big reason why people don't donate. Finding the organization, finding their donation page, adding your credit card details, and then donating is a lot more friction than just using the same store they already have figured out and set up.

It's more likely that people will donate if it is a 30 second process rather than a 10 minute process.

That's the entire reason why text message donations got invented.

 

 

 

 

Pretty much this, 1 click, put in your password and done. 

 

It's convenient, easy and already a trusted site (no new accounts, passwords/verification's, etc).

[System Error Message]

apple wants your money regardless

[Tech_Dreamer]

But either ways good for publicity & good for awareness , it's just business at the end of the day.  pretty much like those show off ads done by overpaid celebrities in their $1000+ suits & fashion attires advising regular people so naively to their faces that your money is what they needed to keep poor people safe .

[AlTech]

19 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

imagine the tone of the article if i was MS

It could be literally anybody else and I'd be happy to inform people about how this is just a PR move and Apple isn't being terribly genuine.

[SCHISCHKA]

It is PR but its not bad. They have made it convenient to pay through your apple account, much faster and secure than going to some random web site and entering a cc. I bet there will be a ton of fraudulent red cross sites and emails tricking people.

[The Benjamins]

3 hours ago, Sauron said:

As if I couldn't just donate directly to the red cross if I wanted to... all apple is doing here is providing a popup that does the same in itunes. Big whoop. Why don't they donate part of their ludicrous profit margins instead if they really care and are not just in it for the sake of marketing?

US companies get tax breaks for donating, and these campaigns help them hit targets to get big tax cuts.

[RedRound2]

I hate the fact that this is a stupid fanboy shit article is on and seemingly allowed the forums. These are the ones moderators are supposed to keep in check, yet they don't. You guys should flag the OP for spreading misinformation and this would certainly be different if it ever was google or Microsoft, etc

 

Apple has been doing this for a long fucking time. Whenever there has been a major natural disaster, Apple has always added an option to donate money for the unfortunate. WHY DO THEY DO THIS? Because people aren't jobless enough to visit redcross website every now and then and go through a lot of hoop holes to donate money. Sure in US probably everyone knows about this, but a dude in Russia, China, middle east. All Apple is doing is adding another channel for donation and making a billion people around the world aware of the fact. 

 

Also, I'm not sure what marketing benefit they get from this. The fact that they offered to accept and pay donations for a cause doesn't change my purchasing decisions. It's just pure fanboy excuse

 

Apple has been reportedly been donating to charity with the undisclosed amount with product red products and more. And here's an article about Tim Cook donating his entire fortune to charity. Other companies do publicly reveal the amount they donated and that's what is called marketing, in a sheer attempt to make headlines. Not that I'm complaining, nor anyone should, but the stupid shit die hard hater cook up here is just cancer

 

UPDATE:

 

Guess what, Apple collected 1 million dollars from their donation channel and Apple is willing to donate twice (2 million dollars) from their side.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/30/tim-cook-harvey-email/

Quote

As Harvey was making landfall, we put in motion critical donation programs. Apple is making it easy for customers to donate directly to the American Red Cross through the App Store, iTunes and apple.com, and we’re matching employee donations two-for-one.

Thanks to your generosity and that of our users, Apple has helped raise more than $1 million in just the past few days. That’s in addition to the $2 million Apple pledged to the Red Cross over the weekend.

1

 

[79wjd]

2 hours ago, Sauron said:

I just want people to know the underlying motives.

I'd be willing to bet that most of the donations and help that companies offer throughout the year are for their own benefit in one way or another. Either for marketing purposes or monetary purposes in the form of tax write offs/deductions. 

 

It's really ridiculous to be giving Apple flack for offering people a way to donate. 

[plsno]

I really don't understand what there is to hate about this. What's wrong with Apple using their platform to try to get people to donate to an organization helping flood victims?

 

This really just seems like shitting on Apple because it's Apple instead of any real reason. Pretty fucking pathetic. 

 

 

 

 

[JoseGuya]

And who the fuck cares why they do it while the thing they're doing is, in the end, something good?