Kim launched his independent blog MacRumors.com on Feb. 24, 2000 during his fourth year in medical school. His Apple enthusiasm eventually outweighed his passion for nephrology.
The medicine stuff, even as much as you enjoy the job, its a lot of stress, a lot of responsibility and certainly isnt what I would choose to do on my free time, said Kim, now 35. MacRumors was my fun time, my vacation from work, and eventually [when it made enough money], it eliminated the financial obligation of working.
As the creator and lead writer of MacRumors.com, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary on Wednesday, Kim takes a scientific approach to analyzing and reporting Apple rumors. Every day, he filters out bogus news tips in search of seemingly truthful gems while sniffing up clues hinting at Apples future plans.
With the help of a catchy domain name, a solid track record and clever sleuthing, the soft-spoken blogger now owns an empire built out of whispers, attracting an average of 7 million unique visitors a month one of the highest-traffic Apple-centric blogs to date.
Also advantageous for MacRumors traffic, of course, is the sites focus on a company that operates on a level of secrecy comparable to the CIA. Apple takes extreme measures to prevent leaks for the purpose of generating maximum buzz and excitement about new products prior to their official unveiling. At Apple headquarters, the company reportedly spreads disinformation to its own employees about product plans to track down leakers. Former employees have said workers in product-testing rooms have had to cover up gadgets theyre working on with black cloaks and flip on a red warning switch when they were unmasked to tell everyone to be extra careful.
Apple has also in some instances taken action against the press, filing cease-and-desist letters demanding removal of leaked information. For example, Apple in 2005 sued Nick Ciarelli, independent owner of the Apple rumor blog Think Secret, alleging violation of trade secret law by encouraging and inducing people to provide product information in breach of agreements. Three years later, Ciarelli reached a settlement with Apple, in which no sources were revealed and Think Secret ceased publishing.
More shielded from Apples legal sharks, MacRumors operates as an aggregator of rumors from other websites and message boards rather than posting exclusive leaks from loose-lipped employees. (Though there was a time several years ago when Apple accidentally posted details about a Power Mac G5, which Kim screengrabbed and published. Apples legal team phoned Kim, and he complied to a takedown request but by that time, the news had already spread.)
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