If a comedian worried about offending people, s/he wouldn't be funny. If Apple worried about alienating large swaths of the marketplace, it wouldn't have a rabid following.

If there weren't a "positive" effect of alienation, people wouldn't consciously cause it. Maybe it's a side-effect of good marketing. Or maybe it props up the sort of us vs. them mentality associated with cult followings. Or maybe I'm getting too philosophical, and everything I'm saying is bullshit.