I decided to wait.
Despite the enticement and seduction – I decided to wait.
So…although I had planned to review the IPad this week – and despite my having tried one (it is cool…), I’m waiting for round two before I plunge in – review to follow.
And I’m still waiting for a few of you to weigh in!!!
But the IPad did inspire me to recommit to the long-term view of relevance vs. the short-term churn-and-burn faddish coolness of the new and hip. As in the thousands of Apps that get downloaded, make someone’s graph up-tick and then languish in Software Hell as they are forgotten and discarded.
There is a rigidness in thinking that often gets mistaken for vision – sadly mistaken – that puts many people on the defensive – as in you want to be in on “it” – as in you don’t want to be seen as a luddite or old-fashioned – as in you don’t want it said of you – you are of the wrong generation.
I was reminded by a friend (you will see in a moment) of the great Pink Floyd number-one global hit song – immortalized by this lyric:
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall…
The band’s paean to the dangers of rigid and unyielding schooling – actually banned in South Africa at one point, as it became a rallying cry for the underprivileged.
We all somehow related to that notion (many of us anyway) in the pre-digital, no-twitter era of dinosaurs.
Seems to me the sentiment is hotter than ever, but here is the twist – today it is about digital, but it’s still about relevance. And here, courtesy of my friend, is the thought:
“All in all you’re just another click in the wall.” – Gary Laben
And there you have it.
Relevance. IPads…and trust me – every new idea you see for the next few months will be shown on iPads even though only a few hundred thousand are around in a sea of millions upon millions of PCs and Macs – much like most mobile Apps are shown on iPhones, even though most of the world is still “needy”…using smart phones and old-fashioned mobiles.
Relevance. Without it – even our best, most creative thinking is nothing more than just another click in the wall…
What’s your view?
I’m not an early adopter, but will be getting an iPad soon.
I think the strength behind the iPad is that it allows the end user to define relevance. When the buzz started, I, like some others thought, “What would I use it for?” Apple never answered that question for me. I had to. And when I did, the choice whether to iPad or not iPad was pretty clear.
Apple didn’t sell me a product. They sold me on a potential product. Will it deliver what I expect it to? Perhaps. But at least I have the confidence of creating my own expectations before shelling out the money.
GO GARY GO!!!
Let me offer a different word, ‘Meaning’ in evolution of ‘relevance’. Why? Because through the powers of market research and the like we rarely see irrelevant products and services make it to market, as we did in the past. Also most products and serivces are nearly at parity, and that close rate from inventor brand to copier brand becomes shorter with faster technologies. But most importantly in an advanced economy we are fortunate to have most of the things we need to live. What that means in our economies and societies is what most of us are searching for is meaning – in ourselves, in our choices and even in a greater life (whether living an acquisitive or inquisitive lifestyle). The meaningful life – whether it be by choosing the iPad, driving a Mercedes, receiving a Dartmouth diploma or volunteering on a tour of duty with Doctors Without Borders – is what drives us in so many ways. The Greeks called it “Eudaimonia” (and they could not agree on its exact definition – some pretty good thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and so on) but in short it is the pursuit of a life that is good, fulfilled, happy, excellent, etc. And against that backdrop products and services that do offer the above (in their reality and how they are perceieved) are meaningful, and with meaning comes success in the form of consumer demand, advocacy, price premium, loyalty…
Hey David! Are you still waiting??? =) I do not understand the hole hipe about Apple. First it was about the iPod, than the iPhone and now the iPad. All friends you have an iPhone are kinda addicted. Everywhere everytime its in their hands – they annoy all around them…
A full user report soon — Im almost there