Sep 9, 2009
Rumor Season
It’s rumor season. That time when consumer electronics companies, and even a not-so-consumer, not-so-electronic firm, especially those with rabid fans, release new products for Christmas.
These firms possible, probable, and completely improbable product releases are anticipated with tremendous fervor, dissected in excruciating detail, debated, praised, panned, and, having been ground, the rumor mill churns on, looking for the next big release.
The big question: why? If you think, it doesn’t make much sense. Reading the countless rumor threads won’t make a highly anticipated product appear any sooner. Your gadgets, which were formerly cutting edge, and the envy (or so you think) of everyone you knew, will soon be made to seem hopelessly outdated by the latest microscopic change to the crease of the case.
This week, really thin may become a little thinner. Really expensive may become even more so. You were happy before. Now? Why do this to yourself?
Some reasons, any or all of which might be correct:
Wonder: Progress is great. My phone now has 16x more memory and 3x more processing power than the top of the line desktop I purchased 13 years ago when I left for college. And it’s screen is nicer. Awe-inspiring, isn’t it?
Economy: new product releases lower the price of used gear. In some cases, selling a used item for a higher price, and upgrading, can lower an enthusiasts’ total cost of ownership.
Signaling: When anyone can purchase (well, okay, not anyone, but you get my meaning) the totems of tribe, how do you separate true members from poseurs? Easy. Ask about the new “m” and if the conversation is about cars, move on. Or ask what about the latest happenings Foxconn.
Status seeking: Message boards seem populated by … But when anyone can buy status, does it (whatever it is) really grant status? Information (read: wild predictions that if right seem prescient), especially ultra-secret, impossible to obtain information, now that is status-conferring.
Worship: this is might be an age without religion, but we are religious beings. So we honor new gods, temples, and faiths.
Psychosis: Fanatics. Need I say more?
The development of rumors online, and the subculture of people devoted to them, also contains a number of lessons for marketers. More on that later.