Apple Online Store Gets Social Sharing [Updated]

Although many sites had ‘net problems yesterday, the blackout at Apple’s online store seems to have ended with at least one notable change - social sharing features.

So long as you’re accessing store.apple.com on a supported browser (Safari, Firefox, Chrome), the site now offers the ability to share computer configurations on Facebook and Twitter.

The Select button found under each Mac offering now features the down-pointing arrow that Apple uses on the iTunes App Store for linking an app to someone (or for gifting an app).

By clicking on the arrow, the Apple Store presents the user with two options: share on Facebook; share on Twitter.

The purpose of this feature is either to allow Apple fanatics to brag about what they’re planning to buy next, or simply to facilitate spreading the word about an attractive Macintosh configuration.

The function only seems to be active for Mac Pro workstations at the moment, but Cupertino is expected to extend the functionality to other systems (and perhaps all products) in the near future.

Spreading the word on Twitter
Granted, it is unclear whether this change has something to do with Apple taking its store offline yesterday.

In fact, we can’t even be sure whether it was Apple who took down the venue, or whether it was the reported web problems experienced by many parties yesterday.

Equally uncertain is whether this feature was added yesterday, or prior to the Apple Store blackout. However, since we’re only starting to notice it now, it is safe to assume the change occurred very recently.

Interestingly, Apple added the social sharing function to the single Macintosh computer model that is overdue for a refresh.

As noted yesterday, Apple is widely believed to have prepared an enhanced Mac Pro that’s set to replace the Xserve

Non-server configurations for the business / enterprise environment should be in the pipeline as well.

UPDATE #1: It appears that the Mac Pro section is not the only one to use the social sharing feature. The Facebook / Twitter integration is also present for the iPod classic section.

UPDATE #2: According to CNBC, the social links were present before yesterday's downtime. Apple also confirmed to the news agency that the social links were not the reason for the store’s downtime.