All in the Brand
Chapter: Random
Enjoy a bonus PC Weenies strip, hot off the presses!
I use Apple products, but the level of zeal I’m seeing for anything and everything Apple produces created a sort of knee jerk response inside me. I’m sure the iPad is nice, but we’ve gotta do something about this fanboi zeal.
Curious: What’s the motivation for folks buying stuff on the first day of a product launch?
Thoughts?
-Krishna
Update: PC Weenies on the iPad. Thanks, Victor!
These beautiful and intelligent people wrote
Tell me what you think!
Aaron
April 3, 2010 at 7:07 pmI would have said a combination of two things, in varying levels for each person; a sense of belonging (to a clique) and a sense of superiority (above everyone in and out of the clique) in having the latest product.
David McElroy
April 3, 2010 at 8:22 pmFirst, I’m eager to have an iPad, but I’m waiting for the 3G model in a few weeks. With that said, if the model I wanted had been available, I would have pre-ordered or waited in line. It has nothing to do with absurd and stereotypical notions of wanting to belong to a clique or feeling a sense of superiority. That’s insultingly stupid, even as a guess. For a product such as the iPad or the iPhone, it’s a belief that it’s a product that will change things in a very major way. When the iPhone was announced, everybody and his brother (tech pundits and execs from other phone makers) rushed to talk about what a flop it was going to be. Some of us, though, “got” what was going to be huge. We were right.
The iPad is the same way. It is the first device that uses an entirely different paradigm. Others have written eloquently and extensively to explain it, if you have any interest in following their logic. Whether Apple remains the leader in that paradigm or markets the first consumer product featuring it (but then loses the market) is yet to be seen. It is going to be huge. Even those who don’t “get it” right now will think it was a brilliant and obvious advance 10 years from now.
Next, it’s silly and inaccurate to pretend that every Apple product generates this level of support or excitement, much less sales. For instance, I find the Apple TV to be fairly worthless from my point of view. The vast majority of people agree, since it’s not a big-selling product. Various other Apple products (even in the era of Steve Jobs 2.0) have failed to find eager audiences. Remember how poorly the Mac Cube sold, for instance.
The truth is that no other company is showing the kind of innovation that Apple is showing right now. If other companies were delivering things that excited me, I’d happily look at them and possibly buy them. But what’s out there? Where is the vision for innovation coming from right now? Apple seems pretty much alone among big companies with that sense of vision right now. As long as it keeps producing things that are this good, I’ll keep being excited about them, whether Aaron and people like him understand or not.
MasterMacNikon
April 3, 2010 at 11:08 pmFor me the Addiction/Devotion/Obsession I have for all things Apple stems from the past. I have grown up with the trials of System 6, System 7, OS 8 & 9. All the while being repressed to the point of racism.
Best quote: “oh. You’re a ‘Mac’ guy!” And all the stigma that comes with such “phrases”.
I am hardcore in my passion due to such negative/opposite hardcore-ness **against** anything Apple. It can be equated to the love of a family pet, but more so. Maybe even loving a child; but since I don’t have one, I cannot make a fair comparison.
But I will say this, I will kill anyone who fracks with any of my Macs; and I will take a bullet to defend my collection.
– – – –
MasterMacNikon
Addicted/Devoted/Obsessed
with Macintosh
timelawd
April 4, 2010 at 1:56 am“Curious: What’s the motivation for folks buying stuff on the first day of a product launch?”; that was the question and you did not answer it.
I’d say that Aaron answered it well and I can only add that those people got no life. Happy for Apple that they’ve got that heard filling their pockets, because I like Apple and somebody has to pay for research, isn’t it?
Cheers.
krishna
April 4, 2010 at 9:18 amI posed the question, because I was *looking* for answers, TL.
But, since you asked… here are my guesses:
1) Journalists / reputed tech bloggers / podcasters and anyone else who’s in new media would want one to test / optimize their content for the new device
2) Casual web users (my mom, for example). A gen 2 is probably what I’ll get her, as she needs a webcam
3) People that want to look cool and say that they have the latest and greatest.
These are the only reasons I can think of for someone wanting to buy a product on the VERY first day.
hari
April 4, 2010 at 10:08 pmI’m almost sure that timelawd’s comment was directed at David McElroy, not your comic. :)
timelawd
April 4, 2010 at 11:39 pmI meant David McElroy did not answer it.
thanks for yours.
timelawd
April 4, 2010 at 11:40 pmright, thanks.
David McElroy
April 4, 2010 at 11:54 pm@timelawd: If you’d made your question a reply to me in some way, it might have gotten an answer. You know the little “reply” link at the top of my post. Please either click that or reply by name. I’m remarkably poor at reading minds. ;-)
My post DOES answer your question. It’s a product that we’re excited about. I went to lengths to explain why Apple’s products excite people and make many of us want to buy them. If something excites you and you know you want it, why not get it on Day 1 instead of Day X? Why wait?
When a movie comes out, a HUGE percentage of its business is going to come on opening weekend. Why? Because people are EXCITED and eager to see it. For the same reasons that I’ve already outlined, some of us are excited and eager to get a product that we think is worth owning. To ask “Why Day 1?” begs the question of “Why not?” What’s better about buying on Day 5 of Day 23 or Day 127 or whatever?
Rene
April 4, 2010 at 2:27 pmThe world needs better engineered products for the littlest room in our homes. We don’t want crap to get rid of our crap!
Bartimaeus
April 5, 2010 at 4:35 amI left off my ‘devotion’ phase when Apple made it out of their slump. Back then, it was something to do with the triumph of the underdog, I think.
Now, I just think that Apple is the better brand (vs Windows). I don’t obsess, though— and maybe it’s just me, but the people who do obsess seem kinda weird.
Rob Cottingham
April 5, 2010 at 1:23 pmI think the “it’s a clique” and “they oughta get a life” (translation: “Since it’s an interest I don’t share or understand, it must be worthless”) crowd are missing one big element of geek lineup culture.
Whether it’s for a new product, a movie or a Steve Jobs keynote, a lot of what people get out of lineups is community. Drop by those lines sometime, and you’ll find they’re a lot different from the lineups at a grocery store checkout, bank or amusement park ride. My wife, who lined up on Saturday at 5:30 am, brought a book with her; she never opened it. Instead, she spent her time talking with the other folks in line.
And not just about Apple, or Macs, or the iPad. When I joined her later that morning, I found myself in conversations about the joys and heartaches of parenting, the challenges of business, and the ups and downs of island living.
There are other motivations, of course – probably the most compelling being to quell the pain of anticipation. And for a few, there’s something to the cliquishness… but my experience is that that’s the exception, not the rule.