The Great Product

I’ve been involved in numerous discussions, debates, and arguments regarding social change. The biggest sticking point comes when discussing what entities inside a country initiates change. Some of my friends (who are very active politically) insist that the major political parties of a nation always initate the biggest social change. I beg to differ. I believe that the great product can and has already initiated the biggest changes in America and other nations (not to mention the least painful changes).

Political entities suffer from too much politics many times to initiate great change. And when great change is initiated by political parties, frequently war is involved. When the great product is developed in the private and/or educational sector and released to the public, it hits like freight train and ingrains itself in our national psyche. Look at the iPod for example. A simple device really. But what makes it so special that it has defined a generation, immersed people in a “musical universe”, turned owners into instant music researchers and collectors, and spawned an entire industry? Simply put it holds alot, accesses easily, and delivers elegantly. As Dr. Michael Bull, a lecturer in media and culture at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, said in a Wired article in Feb. 2004:

…In terms of usage, Apple got it intuitively right. People use (the iPod) as an alarm clock, and when they listen to it at night, they like the fact it can turn itself off. It’s how people like to use music. I don’t think Apple did much research into how people would use their players, but they got most of it right.

For example, a lot of people use it to go to work, for commuting. I found that they use the same music on a regular basis. They will often play the same half-dozen tunes for three months, and each part of the journey has its own tune.

It gives them control of the journey, the timing of the journey and the space they are moving through. It’s a generalization, but the main use (of the iPod) is control. People like to be in control. They are controlling their space, their time and their interaction … and they’re having a good time. That can’t be understated — it gives them a lot of pleasure.

So, for example, music allows people to use their eyes when they’re listening in public. I call it nonreciprocal looking. Listening to music lets you look at someone but don’t look at them when they look back. The earplugs tell them you’re otherwise engaged. It’s a great urban strategy for controlling interaction.

A lot of people don’t like where they’re going in the day. If you can delay thinking about that until the last minute…. People don’t take off their earplugs until the very last minute, until they’re inside the door at work. It’s a great way to control mood and equilibrium.

Dr. Bull isn’t just spitting out a bunch of rhetoric. The iPod has made escape the everyday norm. I don’t know how many people I have seen listening to their iPod with the faraway stare in their eyes. Ever have a person looking right at you while listening to their iPod. They see you yet they don’t. Scary some may say. I say that the great product has changed society.

So in the spirit of future think, I’m going to be throwing out a series of great product posts (mixed in with my usual banter) that either haven’t been invented yet or is still in the early R&D stages. I’m going to postulate about their potential impact to our society and the world at large. Just remember my dear readers, this is futuristics. Calling someone stupid for their thoughts just defeats the whole purpose. If you want to engage in flaming, there are plently of political blogs out there that can use your expertise. Can they count on ya?

Comments are closed.