I haven’t linked to much from Horace Dediu much on this site, mostly because I haven’t been following him until a few days ago.[1] He had some great thoughts on Apple’s historical approach to technology in culture.
He takes us through the 80’s/90’s:
Apple brand at the time as an appeal to the intellect via a humanistic argument. A more emotive positioning of a tool, but a tool nonetheless.
And then, the 2000’s:
[With] the ascent of iPod, the conversation shifted to prioritizing the emotions more than the intellect. The products had to appeal to those who wished to express and enjoy products of emotional value. Products like music and videos and the output of the arts rather than the sciences. The brand became emotional rather than intellectual. It created an aesthetic, and become culturally iconic.
And for today:
[With] […] iPhone and the emergence of the Watch, the brand speaks a language of instinct, leaving intellect and emotion as secondary or tertiary voices. Instinct is visceral, lust-inducing. It seems to short-circuit any of the rational. Non-rationalism does not mean irrational. It just skips right over the head and heart and hits the gut.
Here’s the take-away message:
[Apple] has managed to move from a rational, to a neurological, to an endocrine response.
For me, Ben Thompson has been fulfilling that corner of the Apple bloggosphere that deals with how Apple, culture, business, and the market all collide together. ↩