The Early Adopter Paradox
Dec 7, 07:35 AM“Every now and again, I look at my iPhone and think ‘Really? This technology exists? In my lifetime?’ Then my eyes glaze over and I daydream.”
The other day, I was having lunch with my in-laws and some friends of theirs, when the conversation turned to phones. Specifically, to iPhones. (Surprise, surprise.) My in-laws immediately started showing off their iPhones and all the things they could do with them: browsing the web, sending email, using Google Maps to find phone numbers, showing off pictures of their grandson. The questions followed the usual course — polite at first, and then more excited (and pointed) as they got to play with the actual devices.
I find this behavior fascinating and unique. People who are not “early adopters” — define that how you like — are the best iPhone salespeople I’ve ever seen. My mother has sold dozens of iPhones in the Dallas area. My father-in-law trots his out for complete strangers to help them find businesses in town. This behavior is constantly repeated, and the results are predictable. (More iPhone sales.)
You know what else? This approach convinces others on the merits of the iPhone in a way that my recommendations do not. My position as someone clearly comfortable with technology, coupled with employment in the wireless industry, doesn’t carry as much weight as my mother or mother-in-law telling someone the iPhone is easy to use. My broader perspective on the superiority of the iPhone UI pales to someone saying, “I hate computers, but I love my iPhone.”
And you know what? I’m perfectly okay with this. I’m beyond okay: I’m immensely happy when I see how this little device phone has improved the quality of life for my family. It makes technology easy, and (dare I say it?) fun. Email is no longer a chore — I get more email from my parents than I ever did before. They take and send pictures, because the camera is easy to use. I joke with my dad over SMS.
Heck, even my wife sends me text messages now. (Keep in mind she still uses elm for her mail.)
(Yes, I know how I sound. But it’s hard to not sound like an ad for the iPhone when given the opportunity.)
I’ve enjoyed watching the iPhone launch in Europe, where this joy of using the iPhone is fresh and new, since the wonder of the iPhone has been subsumed into the fabric of my everyday life. When the total fascination fades after the first few days, the iPhone continues to subtly improve the quality of your life.
My point, which I am taking a long time to make, is that iPhone has a broader appeal than you might think. I never thought my wife would use it; now she watches figure skating competitions on it hours after they take place, well before they’re broadcast on TV. My mother runs her entire life off her iPhone, but my father and I had a serious debate about whether she would ever use it. Articles that talk about feature comparisons with other smartphones miss the mark. Honestly, there isn’t anything new in the iPhone, but how it does those things is more important than what it does.
Don’t ask me: ask my family.
