Once a hapless bystander in the face of an ever-growing social media-centric world, Apple is continuing its expansion into the scene with the launch of @AppleSupport, a new Twitter account focused on answering general questions about a bevy of Apple product-related questions.
Apple still doesn't have a central Twitter account, but it's been making strides to at least have a stronger presence on social media through accounts such as @AppleMusicHelp, @Beats1 and @iTunes, however this account is the tech giant's first to provide a help hotline that doesn't focus on software.
"We're here to provide tips, tricks and helpful information when you need it most, and if you have a question, well-we're here to help with that too," its bio reads.
The account helps customers through two ways: regular messaging and direct. Regular messaging is the generic tweets that users on Twitter send to one another everyday. On the other hand, direct messages allows users to be more precise about their problems, sending Apple specific details about the device or private information they wouldn't want other users to see. For the most part, the staff of @AppleSupport appear to prefer the DM route anyway since it allows them to receive better information, thus giving better answers, but it also avoids clogging up the tweets section.
Apple got the ball rolling with its newest account by providing a tutorial on how to turn lists into checklists using the Notes app.
Though definitely a step forward as far as Apple is concerned, the move is hardly unprecedented. Many major companies utilize Twitter accounts to act as a digital customer service hotline, and Twitter recently has been making moves to facilitate these activities. In mid-Feburary, Twitter made it easier for businesses to initiate a direct message with a customer - a move preceded by Twitter dropping the 140-character limit from direct messages and allowing links and photos to be sent.