Company still sidestepping social networking

The senior VP of iOS software at Apple, Scott Forstall, has joined social networking site Twitter. Though he has made no posts so far, the account has been verified, and he is currently following talk show host Conan O'Brien. Forstall is the first Apple executive known to have an account with a social network, at least one accessible to the public.

The reason for the account is unknown, other than perhaps following O'Brien. Apple has generally resisted personalized social networking for marketing purposes; while the company does have Twitter and Facebook accounts, these are all official ones, largely geared towards highlighting iTunes content. The most direct communication Apple executives have with the public is through CEO Steve Jobs, who will occasionally send brief replies to e-mails.

by MacNN Staff