Apple now has a Twitter account for support. In the first 25 hours of its existence, it got busy: 2,500 tweets, with some 126,000 followers. Somewhere, several new Apple employees are regretting their new jobs and already worrying about carpal tunnel syndrome.
No word yet on whether FBI agents have surreptitiously reached out regarding the San Bernardino iPhone.
The account is averaging roughly three replies per minute. The bio states that the account will be used for handing out “tips, tricks and helpful information,” and will do so in English from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific, but it seems overrun with support requests. The first and only trick it has shared thus far is, actually, useful: you can turn a note in the Notes app into a checklist. (You can also format your notes — something you’d been able to do for a while, but only on Macbooks — and add photos and doodles.)
Apple Support currently follows 19 Twitter users, 18 of which are verified and Apple-affiliated. Apple Support also follows a Brazilian, @MakeMeGothic, for inexplicable reasons.
Regrettably, the first “support inquiry” was from a user named “ZijZ.” ZijZ’s own bio:
“2000+ subscribers on Youtube. My life is a meme. I drink too much G-FUEL. Professional Vaper.”
And his “inquiry,” which, it turned out, was insipid trolling:
Jack Dorsey, founder and CEO of Twitter, was a big fan of Apple’s move — but also, possibly, a bit jealous. He first reached out to congratulate Apple and do some good ol’ shameless self promotion, then moved on to begin offering Twitter customer support himself. To New York Times writer Mike Isaac, no less. Tim Cook’s got nothing on me, Jack most definitely thought.
Jack Dorsey, ladies and gents:
And a warm introduction and welcome from Cook:
As of this writing, an hour-old DM informational inquiry had been neglected.
