Amazon has been busy.
But let’s be clear: this article is in no way intended as an indictment of the retail giant’s latest toys, the sleek and shiny new Kindle models that launched earlier Wednesday morning. I’m as enamored with the new tech as anyone else, and it seems I’m not alone — all the media furor has been appropriately big-picture in scope, standing Amazon’s latest offering up against Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc. in the portable reading arena.
But here’s the funny part: we’ve seen this before.
The new Kindle tablet is being touted as a challenger to Apple’s iPad dominance. Before this, the iPad was called a serious threat to the Kindle’s eBook mastery, and before even that came a lot of discussion about whether Barnes & Noble’s Nook had the chops to dethrone Amazon’s earliest efforts.
Look beyond all this blatant name-dropping and you’ll start to piece together a pretty stale pattern: Big Company Releases New Product, Other Big Companies Scramble to Release One As Well. Call it the nature of technology, if you like, or at least a culture of the Next Big Thing — our endless desire for whatever shiny new gadget lands on the market, and our habitual tendency to turn our brains off whenever they do.
This second installment of Modern (Un)Necessities, then, wants to talk about toys. I want them. You want them. So what can we do, then, to break the endless cycle of buying them?
A Little Bit About Marketing
Let’s be blunt: the Kindle, as a topical example, is cool. Sleek in form and useful in function, it’s not hard to imagine why the mere thought of owning one has so much appeal. Carry your entire library in your pocket! Download books on the go! Read outside without glare!
The success of these products, however, hinges on more than the cool factor alone. They have to be useful. They have to improve our lives in some significant way, and they have to leave our minds afire with the thoughts of every incredible thing they can empower us to do. Whether they actually do that is arguably irrelevant — when they’ve sold us on unlimited potential, the sale is pretty much made.
That’s the power of marketing.
And that, at long last, is the Big Damn Problem with The Next Big Thing — this endless succession of big promises, bigger price tags, and the realization, long after the purchase, that the Next Big Thing really didn’t change much at all.
And the Thing with Technology
This is how technology works.
Every piece of tech is a tool, at the end of the day, meant to enhance our lives. The latest gadgets promise us the capability to do things better, faster, and smarter than ever before, in exchange for our hard-earned coin — a worthy trade in some cases, but a slow-sinking disappointment in most others.
As a self-described tech geek, then, allow me this one simple truth.
The Next Big Thing isn’t special. It’s just new.
The iPad lets you browse the internet — much like your old computer.
The Kindle lets you read books — much like, y’know, a book. Or a library.
The To-Do list application you just bought in the App store is just that — a post-it note and a pen both dressed up and stuck behind a screen.
Again: technology is a tool. The latest version of it, believe it or not, doesn’t dramatically change that fact.
All of the devices above empower you to do one thing better than before — but at the end of the day, it’s that thing that makes all the difference. It’s not the eBook reader, or the slick new tablet device, and nor is it that latest piece of software you bought in the (likely) vain hope of dramatically enhancing your workflow. It’s not the next iWhatever to come crashing out of the gates, capturing the public eye as the Next Big Thing meant to radically transform our lives.
Happiness doesn’t ask for the Next Big Thing.
It asks, instead, that you take one step back and take a serious look at what you need. It asks, instead, that you step out of the mad-cap rush to grab the latest technological gadget, focusing your attention on what can change your life for the better.
Your friends can. Your family can. Books can, movies can, traveling can, food can, etc. Technology can help with all of these things, but here’s the catch: you don’t really need the Next Big Thing to enjoy them properly. You don’t need to shell out big bucks for the latest and greatest gadget, and you don’t need to rush out the door with your wallet in hand whenever the latest marketing blitz promises us a brand-spankin’ new way to live.
You do need to realize that we’ve walked this road before. You do need to remember that the Next Big Thing, for all of its clean, glamorous lines, doesn’t really do anything your old tech can’t do. It’s easy to think otherwise — the iPad I just had to have can attest to that — but still immensely valuable to keep this one truth in mind: the Next Big Thing isn’t all that special.
It’s just new. Keep that in mind whenever the latest torrential marketing wave makes promises it can’t honestly fulfill, and keep that in mind whenever you’re next strolling through the mall — one eye on the new gadgets, and one hand on your rapidly-shrinking wallet.
Why not spend that hard-earned coin on something that genuinely matters instead?
9 Comments
I'm a writer, minimalist, and health dork with three goals in mind: to teach you how to lose weight, move more, and be happier by living a simple, natural life. It works. Like what you read here? Get 3NL delivered straight to your inbox!
And what about the Last Big Thing is that now today’s landfill? All the nasty chemicals (arsenic gallium etc) and the plastics that go into making electronic stuff – Including the cool to be seen with cases, chargers and the rest of the cool stuff. It’s immoral and creates unnecessary pollution. Don’t get me started.
Here in the UK we have just switched over to Digital TV and we now can only buy low energy light bulbs. So all the old analogue tellies, all the dimmer switches and my expensive touch operated table lamps wont work anymore. More landfill?
I’m still using my first digital camera that I bought in 2006, my old Palm Z22 organiser – with apps I bought years ago- every day and I still have my 22 year old microwave oven. Its easier to fix than a (cheap) modern one.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Isn’t that the true spirit of minimalism?
Great blog. Keep writing.
Thanks: Steve.
I used to be an avid library patron. In fact I REFUSED to buy books for the very fact that there was a library (and and amazing library system in my old town of Columbus, Ohio).
And then I bought a Kindle. . .
And the amount I read went up no less than double. Probably quadruple. Of course now I’m dropping $30 – $60 per month on my reading Jones. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m Ok with technology that actually enhances my life, especially when I can quantify (even in loose terms) how the improvement has been made.
That being said, I will not be “upgrading” to the new Kindle Fire for the exact points that you’ve made in this article. Many thanks, Matt.
I completely agree, Vic! This article isn’t anti-technology, and nor is it an all-out attack against Amazon’s eBook readers. I love my Kindle too, especially in the sheer quantity of books it offers to a voracious reader like myself.
To echo what I wrote to Neill above, this is mainly intended to shine a light on our fascination with the Next Big Thing — fascination to the point of purchase, even when our marginally older products function just as well. We do love the new, don’t we?
Thanks for reading and commenting, Vic.
I used to have shelves and shelves of books. Do you know how heavy they are? What a pain it is to lug them around when moving?
The Kindle and iPad are not in the same league.
The Kindle is a tool, iPad is a fashion accessory.
But yeah… I get your point.
Hey, Neill!
I’m not saying the Kindle is useless, and nor am I saying that it’s not worth the coin. I have one myself and use it often, for what that’s worth.
The Kindle isn’t exempt from the point of the article, however, in that we should take a step back and breathe whenever a glamorous new product hits the market. The new Kindles, sparkly though they may be, don’t offer any significant advantage over the old ones, but that won’t stop people from rushing out to upgrade — hence the argument here against the Next Big Thing.
Hell, I’m still tempted to pick up a new Kindle Touch myself, even though the Kindle 2 I have works perfectly and serves the exact same function. That’s the power of marketing, I think, and our innate fascination with every new product that hits the shelves.
Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this! I’ve been spouting off similar ideas from a very young age when I was pushed to get a CD player when I was perfectly happy with my cassettes. I just avoid most technology all together. I have a general cell phone (whatever was cheapest with the plan), an old school 24″ TV, a single laptop (generally get one every other year as they wear out SO quickly), and NO ipod/ipad/kindle/etc. I’d have to say I’m definitely anti-technology for the most part. It just seems so wasteful, and I often feel it keeps us humans from actually interacting with one another face to face.
I find that it helps to tune out all the hype. I don’t read tech blogs much anymore because of that. Like a couple of the other commenters, I also have a kindle. I really like it for reading books, and it’s really nice to have all my books right there in one place. It took me a couple years, and being able to find a good deal on a used one before I could justify the cost though. When I first saw the new kindles I kind of wished I had waited for those to come out, but it passed pretty quick and now I’m not feeling the need to upgrade anymore.
I’m also still rockin’ a flip phone. I had the urge to upgrade to an iPhone earlier this year, but when I thought about the extra cost and the extra distraction of a smart phone, I decided against it.
Love the post Matt as always. But, I will be buying that iPhone 5 when it comes out. No question about it.
Why? I have a 6 year old phone. Yeup! I am one that does NOT get drawn in by flashy things much when I don’t need them. I have a phone that allows me to text, call, send a tweet or a facebook update. I can reply to facebook comments too. But I can’t go on the web! It’s a dream come true almost.
So, why the iPhone 5? Well my flip died on me. I have a sweet camera but why not have one gadget hat is a phone, camera and video camera?
I love the fact that I will be able to take a photo of my food and quickly put it on facebook. This will help my spread my blog and healthy living.
These 2 facts are attracted to me. And, well, 6 years?! I think it’s time.
I’ve been debating with myself about the Kindle. I want one but am not sure I need it. I enjoy focusing on one book at a time. I could save a lot of money if I bought the book on Amazon and then sold it to someone for half price or just gave it away on my blog. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently.
The kindle allows you to have a large library but do we really need that? Why not just buy the book. Well, I guess it could potentially save you money in the long run. Most books are $10 on the kindle right? So if you pay $15 for a physical book that’s $5 per book. But, what if you sold it to someone for $7? That means you paid $8.
I’ll keep debating with myself!
Matt,
Interesting article, but I’m not sure it all comes together around your angle. Some of your points seem contradictory — you speak about the power of technology. but then dismiss whether or not it’s actually useful (perhaps THE critical factor), and then you segue to the pitfalls of product marketing. Marketing, to be sure, is full of bull, but your acceptance of tech as a (potentially) useful presence in our lives, and then your unquestioning rejection of it as simply “something new” is incoherent, and also factually questionable.
So, I think this article could be improved if you do a couple things. First, separate the discussion on product marketing from the discussion on tech as a useful part of our lives. I think what you are trying to do here is focus in on necessity: Does this gadget actually improve my life in a meaningful way compared to older devices, or am I just getting sucked into the marketing? Surely a crucial point — we shouldn’t be duped by snake oil salesmen — but I think you conflate marketing fluff for “un-necessity.”
Second, I think there’s probably a broader picture about tech that you address indirectly, and also probably incorrectly. And that’s the idea that the next device is not special. In many cases, you’re right. What does this new thing do that my old thing couldn’t? The answer might be nothing, or very little, but even incremental change is change. And while you might not need this new thing right away, an improvement is an improvement, and will be built upon. That’s part of the big media frenzy: Not that “the next big thing” needs to be purchased by everyone, but that changes are coming. In your example instance, there are two huge factors at play: Amazon’s challenge to Apple AND Google, and a HUGELY important price point for their tablet, which will make the tech more accessible to more people. That in itself is worth paying attention to.
Ultimately I think the point you are trying to make is valid — that we should not let marketing and fluff rule our wallets and our lives — but your prescriptions don’t really help us get there. You tell us to not worry about the next big thing because it’s nothing new, but that we also need and want tech as a tool, so we’re kind of left with all of the important questions: What makes something useful? When should I buy it? When should I pass on it? Because there ARE new things that are also insanely useful and have big improvements over the way things used to be, those questions can’t be ignored.
Hope you take this as constructive criticism from a fellow writer who knows your work
Cheers!