• Apple Exec Phil Schiller Now Active On Twitter — And Instagram Too!

    Monday, November 22nd, 2010

    MG Siegler is a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch, where he has been writing since 2009. His focus is on Apple. Prior to TechCrunch, MG covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in... → Learn More

    Two years ago, Apple executive Phil Schiller apparently signed up for Twitter and started tweeting. But he didn’t tweet often, and few people followed him, probably assuming it was a fake account. But if Twitter’s verification process is to be believed, the account is real. And further, Schiller has gotten a lot more active in recent weeks on the service. And he’s active on the hot photo sharing app Instagram too!

    What’s a bit odd about all of this is that Twitter had said they were suspending their account verification process while they came up with a better system. But Schiller just became verified, as 9 to 5 Mac noticed tonight. I’ve reached out to Twitter about it, but have yet to hear back. But I also reached out to Instagram when I noticed that a few of Schiller’s tweets this month were sending out Instagram pictures. Sure enough, it’s him, says co-founder Kevin Systrom.

    Here’s what else is odd about this: Apple has so far been reluctant to join up with the whole Twitter phenomenon. While plenty of employees use the service for private means, no high-profile figures at the company are — or at least not publicly or actively. Apple exec Eddie Cue also apparently has an account (which Schiller follows), but it’s protected. Meanwhile, we know exec Scott Forstall has one too, but he has never tweeted with it (and he only follows one person, Conan O’Brien).

    But Schiller, who is one of the most public figures at Apple, has a history of public outreach. You’ll recall that he was personally handling some of the developer backlash in August of 2009.

    At first Schiller was using his Twitter account sporadically to root on the Boston College Eagles, acknowledge on some Apple milestones, and lament the end of Battlestar Galactica (nice). But the past month he’s been sharing up a storm (for him), sending links to his pictures and tweeting out iTunes links with the new iTunes/Twitter integration.

    He has about 800 followers right now. Expect that to skyrocket. Meanwhile, this is a nice piece of publicity for the young Instagram service. Welcome, Phil!

    Update from Twitter:

    If an account is verified, it’s definitely fair to say it’s actually him/her.

    Company: Twitter
    Website: twitter.com
    Launch Date: March 21, 2006
    Funding: $1.16B

    Twitter, founded by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March 2006 (launched publicly in July 2006), is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to post updates 140 characters long. Twitter “is a real-time information network that connects [users] to the latest stories, ideas, opinions, and news.” The service can be accessed through a variety of methods, including Twitter’s website; text messaging; instant messaging; and third-party desktop, mobile, and web applications. Twitter is currently available in...

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    Company: Instagram
    Website: instagram.com
    Launch Date: March 2010
    Funding: $57.5M

    Instagram is a free photo sharing application that allows users to take photos, apply a filter, and share it on the service or a variety of other social networking services, including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, and Posterous. The application is compatible with any iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 3.1.2 or above or any Android device running Android 2.2 or above. In an homage to both the Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid cameras, Instagram confines photos into a square...

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    Person: Philip Schiller
    Companies: Apple

    Philip Schiller is Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing and reports to Apple’s CEO. Schiller is a member of Apple’s Executive Team and is responsible for the company’s Product Marketing, Developer Relations, and Business Marketing programs. Since rejoining Apple in April 1997, Schiller has helped the company return to its role as a technology innovator, delivering breakthrough products such as the iMac, MacBook, Airport, Xserve, Mac OS X, Safari, AppleTV, iPod and iPhone. Schiller has over twenty four...

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