> Your phone is your personal property. It’s a public expression of who you are and what you stand for.
No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
I'm curious, wouldn't that imply you're not the demographic they're seeking? So are you basically saying, "I'm not in their demographic"? Or is there another point to your comment that I'm missing. I ask because often I see people get pissy about statements like this, almost as if they think the web page was curated for them.
I could make a webpage targeted at guitarists with something like "Your guitar is something you cherish", and clearly that statement isn't true for someone who neither owns a guitar nor plays. So what purpose is a statement like this?
I don't make snarky comments at bra commercials on TV about how I don't have breasts and therefor am not concerned with support. Do you (assuming you're male, of course haha)?
"This product stands for freedom! You stand for freedom don't you?"
The guitar analogy is not accurate - your statement about cherishing the guitar is evaluated internally and is true or false. It's not the same as saying the guitar publicly and externally (and deliberately!) defines you and what you stand for.
"There goes lolsal - now there's a guy that really stands for non-branded personal compute devices!" Give me a break.
For someone buying a mainstream product like a Samsung or Apple phone, I'd agree that it doesn't mean very much. To someone buying a niche product like this though, it definitely says something about the person's values.
People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.
That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems)
It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores.
In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual.
It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.
- I'm currently buying a new ThinkPad.
- I have never owned an Apple TV. My iPhone integrates just fine with my Sony TV.
- I have never bought anything in iTunes.
- My phone plan costs 10€ per month.
Seems like stereotypes aren't that simple.
WRT iPhone integrating with Sony TV - how? Not something I've ever heard of before.
And somewhat off. My phone is two generations old, so the amortized per-month cost of the phone is rather lower. Cheap, last-gen macbook Air[1], but no Apple TV. I've bought exactly one album from iTunes, but yes, apps. You've basically caught me mid-migration away from the ecosystem. It takes a while.
[1] At this point, the only things keeping me from switching entirely to Linux are backing up the iPhone and running OmniFocus. And when I have time to noodle with it, I'm liking orgmode.
Somehow, I still manage to write free software that I care about, release it for free, and contribute to other FOSS projects. Caring about free software doesn't mean I have to use ONLY free software.
What you're doing with that argument is called gatekeeping http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gatekeeping
J'interdis aux marchands de vanter trop leur marchandises. Car ils se font vite pédagogues et t'enseignent comme but ce qui n'est par essence qu'un moyen, et te trompant ainsi sur la route à suivre les voilà bientôt qui te dégradent, car si leur musique est vulgaire ils te fabriquent pour te la vendre une âme vulgaire. Or, s'il est bon que les objets soient fondés pour servir les hommes il serait monstrueux que les hommes fussent fondés pour servir de poubelles aux objets.
edit to clarify: What statements can you (anyone, not just personally you) make about the expression I'm making with any degree of accuracy or confidence?
If you were to get this phone, I'd hazard that you're interested in supporting this kind of brand and what it stands for, even if only a small aspect of it.
edit: Actually you could only assert that I have a cigar. I could have purchased it as a gift for someone else, or am currently being asked to transport it, or maybe I found it on the ground... etc. It certainly does not with any certainty make a 'public expression' about me.
I think I can safely say that offering a variety of colors would not be an appealing feature to you. I also feel safe guessing battery life is a bigger factor in your purchasing decision than the brand of the phone. You're probably not very influenced by which celebrities use which phone. You also probably don't buy new phones on release day.
- Maybe it's a work phone and I had no choice in the matter? - Maybe I have a specific requirement (like a specific app I need) which requires a specific platform? - Maybe my preferred phone recently broke and I could only immediately afford the phone in my hand? - Maybe the phone was a gift and I had no say in the matter?
There are lots of not-unlikely scenarios like the above which mean any conclusion you might try to draw would have a very low level of accuracy.
I'm not interested in defending/participating in your particular evaluation of whatever phone you think I might have, I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless, except for making internal musings and assumptions about me (which you could do about anything).
But it sounds like all my conclusions are still accurate in all your hypothetical scenarios. I never tried to guess which phone you had. Only a few basic things that would be prime targets for advertising. Such as in every hypothetical you mention, the fact that <pick a celebrity> uses a certain phone has no influence on the purchase. Except maybe the gift, but then it's not about your thoughts on phones, but the one purchasing the gift (hopefully they know you well enough that you prefer function over form).
> I'm just making generic points that those guesses are essentially worthless
Not at all. They may not 100% apply to your directly, but a company isn't selling to you. They're selling to a statistical distribution including you.
The guesses are only worthless now that you're offering hypothetical scenarios. Your earlier comment is definitely telling about your decisions in using and purchasing a phone.
I guess I'm just complaining out loud because I don't like the idea of every product that is pushed at me trying to claim that it somehow defines me as a person and what I stand for.
> Devices are your personal property. We won’t force you to have anything you don’t want.
So that it doesn't break as easily if it falls down? At least that's my reason.
For example, you have a good chance of wearing boots rather than sneakers, because they can deal with mud puddles or snow or whatever. They cost more, but they are simple and reliable in all environments.
You are expressing those values, other people pick up on it. just because you don't cultivate an image, you still have an image.
It's a statement a large share of poeple would say, so it doesn't mean much.
In other words, if he states that's why he got a particular phone, then yes. However, just by having a particular phone, nobody can draw any significant information from it other than he owns a phone.
There is always the significant chance that the person did not choose their phone (e.g. work phone).
I like functional black slabs that don't try to be "trendy"
Ie, if OP uses a flip phone from the 90s, s/he may clearly not care about their phone and may not use it as a form of expression. Nevertheless, I'll be damned if it doesn't express something about that person. That person is deviating from the norm, which is always an expression of something - knowingly or otherwise.
So I'd argue that even if they wanted to be needlessly pissy in these comments about how untrue the statement is to their own personal self - I'd argue it's still accurate. It may not be an intended form of personal expression, but it's definitely one of many things that informs the nearby public. Everyone makes external "book cover" readings, after all - to one degree or another.