Unclear On The Concept of Marketing

Some people hate the iPod. I think they are unclear on the concept of marketing.

Marketing and personal identity are intimately intertwined. Humans need iconic objects to reinforce their sense of their identity. That's what most people think is most important in life even if they don't know it.

People like to be hip more than they like to be practical. People who have tried to work against this natural tendency are called Maoists. Chairman Mao decided people didn't need fancy stuff, so he made everyone wear the same pyjamas, all dyed indigo blue, and he had most of the people's pets taken away.

The essence of hipness is defined interactively by artist and consumer. Products which are in tune with the zeitgeist succeed, a product's marketing is an integral part of the product.

Of course a high degree of practicality is an absolute necessity, but being the absolutley most practical is not. It's the same with everything, for example, humans are pretty smart as animals go, but compared with the smartest humans, the vast majority are just barely getting by.

Before iPod, there were mp3 players. They were okay, moderately fashionable but not beautiful, somewhat easy to use, but not necessarily pleasurable to use. iPod changed all that and also brought with it a unified marketing concept, and became the ikon of all mp3 players.