Sep
11
Mac’n it in a Windows World: Perpetuating Us vs. Them
September 11, 2006 |
I was attending a conference with my trusty Macintosh Powerbook and, at one point in the proceedings, a new software technology was being presented. “Does the software work with this?� I asked lofting my Powerbook so that the presenter might see it. Of all the possible responses, the one I least expected from this particular community was; “Why don’t you get a real computer�.
While I am used to a certain amount of Windows-centric behavior, I am usually able to predict the situations in which it will most likely occur. The fact that I had not anticipated this particular response in this particular situation, made it all the more disappointing. “But aren’t we just talking about a computer?�, you might ask. In the same way that Harley Davidson is just another motorcycle, Coke is just another cola, and Starbucks is just a cup of coffee you are correct, but ask members of the Mac, Harley, Coke, or Starbucks brand communities and the answer will be a resounding “No!�.
Two distinct, yet complementary answers come from studies of postmodern consumerism. One school of thought asserts that individuals are creating their own “social identity� through their choices in consumer goods. You are what you eat, what you wear, what you drive, where you live, and whatever other products, ideas, or services that you publicly consume. The other school of thought, based on the idea of neo-tribalism, says that we consume what we consume in order to become ‘one’ with others who are also consuming those same products.
Therefore, when I was told to “get a real computer� I was affected on both the individual and social level. On the individual level my identity as a Mac user was being impugned. My reasons for choosing to use a computer that uses the Macintosh operating system are numerous and not relevant to this part of the discussion. Suffice it to say, on some level, I felt that the rejection of my Powerbook was, by extension, a rejection of me.
The comment was also problematic from a social perspective. Over the years that I have used Mac products I have felt a certain kinship with other Mac users. Using a Mac differentiates me (us) from the crowd of Windows users. Certain attributes such as “creativity� and “individuality� mark our outnumbered band of loyal Mac users.
Muniz and O’Guinn 2001 call this “consciousness of kind”. “Members feel that they “sort of know each other” at some level, even if they have never met.”
“Members also frequently note a critical demarcation between users of their brand and users of other brands. There is some important quality, not always easily verbalized, that sets them apart from others and makes them similar to one another. Such a demarcation usually includes a reference to brand users being “different” or “special” in comparison to users of other brands.”
Now I find myself amongst a group of people (some of them laughing and snickering at the “get a real computer� remark) whom I also identify with. We share ideas, goals, and paradigms.
This creates another sort of conflict. Here are two communities, of which I feel a part, and they are suddenly in conflict. Am I now forced to choose between communities? Will this, heretofore, unknown attribute of the second community change my opinion of one or the other communities?
To be continued…
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