The iPod is Coming: the Story of a Vicitim
I deliberated for a long time over which totally awesome portable music player to purchase. My initial reaction was the video iPod. Clearly I am a victim of Apple's awesome marketing tactics, because I had no reason to want it other than it's the only one I'd really heard much about. Good things about it, too.
Ben asked my why I wanted the iPod more than its competitors. "What competitors?" I asked (only partially sarcastically). So then I started researching.
30G is enough for me, I said to myself. That's the max on all brands besides the 60G iPod video right now, anyway. Most of the competitors weren't really competitors, and it came down to the iPod and the Creative Zen M. This morning when I woke up, I was ready to buy the Creative Zen. Better display, supposedly better battery life (though many disputes were made in everything online), more versatility with music downloads/file transfer, plus it has a built-in FM receiver and a voice recorder. It still has proprietary software, though... and I'm already using iTunes to play my music. Don't worry, when I rip my CDs they import at MP3s, not AAC files.
The geek inside screamed "don't go with what everyone else has just because they are the majority!"
The victim of marketing inside screamed "it'll just be easier with the iPod, and you'll never use the FM receiver. I know you! You're a vicitim of marketing so of course you want that extra feature! And you know that a lot of those reviews were from people who are anti-Apple!"
In truth, I want to be the cool Apple guy, not the chode monkey PC guy from the commercials. And I'm not even a guy. So is there some underlying penis envy to go along with the serious Mac envy I have of the Art Department at work? Who knows.
I bought the 30G Video iPod and it will arrive on Tuesday.
A victim of marketing? Perhaps. At least I did some homework to know about my options. I will never know if I made the best decision unless I buy both (not likely) or until I actually talk with someone who has a player besides an iPod... and you'd think that some of my geek friends would have a different kind of player. But they don't. They all have iPods. Even the Linux users.
Dude.
Hi there,
Yes, I listed your site 88th. However, since you didn't read the review, you should have, perhaps, have reserved judgement over whether this was a bad thing.
Part of what makes a website bad, according to my article, can also be what makes it well worth visiting and enjoying. Let's be honest, being a geek has both negative and positive connotations. I'm a computer programmer and contributor to a computer magazine. I'm clearly a geek. I like Sci-Fi TV programmes and I have written programs in binary.
Conversely, I would also like to think that there's a world away from the computer screen and that aspiring to be the uncommunicative, studious-but-poorly-social-skilled character is probably not a good thing. So, I both celebrate my geekiness and also look at it with some sense of perspective. Being non-geeky is good too... right?
My own website would probably have gone into my World's Worst 100 list, according to my own scoring system, and the limited review I was able to do of the world's websites. However, I don't write in Micro Mart to publicise my own site. Instead, I write in order to be able to give readers some enjoyment. Hopefully, people went along and explored your site and enjoyed it for what it is. I hope you continue to provide the service you provide and I apologise if you have taken offence at what was a light-hearted article.
Contact me if you would like to discuss this further.
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Hi Yvette,
Sure, I'll send you the review. I can't actually remember what I wrote, but it was intended to be humorous more than anything else. The whole article was a light-hearted look at the net, and the fact that you were included should be taken more as a compliment. The majority of the sites on the list are, in fact, worth a visit.
I understand that embracing one's inner geek is something worth doing and I applaud you for running your site and its associated community. Given that I'm currently sitting at a computer with various windows open, some of which I'm using to write code, and given that I also write for a computer magazine... and wear glasses... I think I'm fairly comfortable with my own brand of geekiness.
I'm also a stand-up comedian, hence the irreverent nature of what I write.
www.ashleyfrieze.co.uk
Thanks for getting back to me.
Ashley
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Ashley,
One of the biggest problems of writing is that it is often difficult to ascertain the author's intended meaning or mood. I would definitely appreciate seeing the actual review so I get a better feel for your light-heartedness.
Thanks again,
Yvette
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