If you found this interview from my twitter link then most of you are probably already following Apple Spotlight… if you’re not, go do that now. Apple Spotlight is one of the most trusted sources of Apple news links, tips and tricks you can find on Twitter. In just under a year an a half he his followers have grown to nearly 14,000 people. Rob is incredibly down to earth. He is a self proclaimed ultimate Apple Fanboy. He loves all things Apple and has taking to sharing it with the world with no direct gain for himself. He’s not making money off of it. He’s not getting anything free for doing it. No hits to sell advertising with. Just a man that loves Apple and wants to pass that love on to other like minded people. I’m going to admit that I have a bit of a fangirl like admiration for him. I not only had the privilege of him agreeing to my interview questions via email, we wrapped it up with a phone interview.

You have become a trusted source on Twitter passing on some of the best Apple news and items out there. How long have you been tweeting as AppleSpotlight and where did the idea come from?
#: I’ve been tweeting as AppleSpotlight since March of 2009. I was trying out Twitter under a personal account, and I quickly realized that most of my tweets were about Apple. So one morning I woke up with the idea to create a separate account, and AppleSpotlight was born. My first tweet was:

I think one of the things that makes you so great is that you are impartial. You don’t have a blog, anything you are selling or even linking to in your Twitter profile. Have you ever thought of doing a blog of your own?
#: Thanks! My goal is to be like a museum curator. Most museums show a fraction of their collections, showing only what they feel is most worthwhile and presenting those pieces in interesting ways. I strive to be a curator of Apple related information. Yes, I have thought about starting a blog. There are times that I would like to be unchained from Twitter’s 140 character limit, and to have a bit more control of how information is presented. If I do so, I hope to “Think Different” and find a way to add additional value to the Apple community.

What Apple product got you hooked?
#: It was an early PowerBook! It’s funny to think back, but one of the breakthrough design features was the keyboard placement. It was pushed back from the front edge, which left room to rest your palms. NOTE- My first laptop was a PowerBook as well but it was a Pismo from 2000. From talking to him we sussed out that it was a PowerBook from the early 90′s.

How long have you been using Mac and what was the first Mac you used as your day to day machine?
#: I’ve been using a Mac since college. I started a company in 2001. At that time I switched to using a Cube I had at home full time. I was the de facto tech guy for the company, and as we grew I slowly switched virtually all our computers to Macs. NOTE- He remained the tech for the company the entire time never having to call in for outside “professional” help. He’s got skills!

What’s your current day to day setup?
#: My current setup is a MacBook Pro with a cinema display, Apple keyboard (wired as I like having a number keypad), and I’m testing out the Magic Trackpad. Of course I also have an iPad, iPhone 4, Apple TV, as well as a variety of old iPods and Macs and an original day one iPhone.

What are your favorite sources of Apple news and information?
#: My favorite source for Apple information is reading the tweets of others that are passionate about or work in the Apple ecosphere. That is where you can find interesting bits of information that you may not find on the major blogs and news sites.

Forbes.com did an interview with you after the “Antenna gate” press conference. This was the first time you were really publicly named. How did they find out who you were and has this changed anything for you.
#: Only a few of my friends knew that I as the guy behind AppleSpotlight. One of those friends happened to be speaking with a reporter at Forbes when they asked if he knew of a good resource for Apple topics. It was hard to pass up “coming out” on Forbes, and I certainly had no idea that the story would make the homepage of Forbes.com, listed at the top next to a picture of Steve Jobs! That was an awesome experience for an Apple fan. By the way, it turns out that thing about 15 minutes of fame is true.

Since your identity wasn’t initially disclosed, do people ever assume you are an official Apple Twitter account?
#: I think some hoped that I has a high level Apple employee Tweeting “under the table” so to speak. Sorry to disappoint those followers, but I’m just an Apple fan with a Twitter addiction. NOTE- I confess I thought for sure he was working for Apple Corp.

Have you had any odd/funny interactions on Twitter or any crazies?
#: I did have a number of people trying to guess my true identify, and that was a fun game. I would usually respond with criptic sounding messages with super hero undertones. I think the AppleSpotlight group is made up of some of the best Apple fans around. NOTE- he did tell me a story about one of my good Twitter friends that was sure she had figured his identity out over an ebay auction

Can you give us a fun fact about you?
#: Played the drums professionally in high school.

What Twitter clients do you use?
#: iPhone- Twitter (formerly Tweetie for iPhone). I’ve tried a few others, but it’s my favorite – mainly due to the great UI and threaded direct messages.

Mac- I’m still using the first client I tried, Tweetie. But since Tweetie was sold to Twitter, it seems that the more effort has been on placed on its iPhone counterpart. I’m afraid Tweetie for Mac has fallen behind, but I haven’t had time to explore other options.

iPad- I’m currently in a love/hate dysfunctional relationship with Twitterrific. NOTE- I can’t strongly enough recommend Osfoora HD for the iPad.

Two of my favorite things from this interview::
-Rob told me his mother was shocked that over 13,000 people followed him and cared about what he had to say.
-We spoke on the phone for one hour and twenty minutes, both on iPhone 4′s and no calls were dropped