iSociety
Not too long ago I was driving through Atlanta, and I happened to notice a couple of bikers passing each other on the highway. Seeing them, I realized what I had been missing in my life for so long.
Perhaps an explanation is in order.
It wasn’t the need for speed that I was missing, nor the desire for freedom. It wasn’t the drive to be more masculine, or the addiction to manageable danger. No, it was something else.
As the two bikers passed I noticed them waving at each other, although perhaps ‘waving’ is too strong a word. We’ve all seen it before, that gesture where the arm is lowered and ever so slightly turned outward towards the recipient as if to say,
“I’m there brother. I know what your dealing with. However, our gruff exteriors would make a traditional sign of greeting incongruous, therefore we’ll have to settle for this seemingly indifferent salutation.”
The more I paid attention, the more I realized that this seemed to happen every time a biker would pass one of his own. It was this sense of brotherhood and camaraderie that struck me. As I looked back on my life, I realized why this may have been the case. I was injured pretty good in high school, so sports teams weren’t an option (at least that was easier to say than that I sucked). I was never really motivated enough to be on an academic team of any sort. The jobs I held were fairly private affairs despite the desperate attempts of management to make us all team players.
Sure I had friends, but what I lacked, what I yearned for, was to be a part of an organization; a part of a community with shared interests and a common bond. Then, along came the iPhone. It took me a while to jump on the bandwagon (read: Steve Jobs had me at hello, but it took me a while to get out of my current phone contract), but I did eventually get one and I found that ‘need for community’-sized hole in my heart filled.
Now I’m part of something. An elite group of techno-savvy, Apple spoiled, touch screen snobs, and I love it!
I was at a Bill Medley concert and I got to talking to a 70-year-old woman about the joys of being able to take, edit (through apps), and send pictures on your phone.
I was at a restaurant and talked to a waiter about the insane frustration and exultant joy (not mutually exclusive emotions, it turns out) of playing Eliss.
I’ve talked about Gas Cubby with a 30-something mom at the pump.
I’ve debated the control scheme of Sway with a 12-year-old at the supermarket.
I’ve even struck up a conversation with a beautiful girl about Shazaam, for which it will forever have a place on my home screen regardless of how little I actually use it.
It is for this sense of camaraderie, and as an ode to the daily exploits of my fellow iPhone users and me, that this column will be written. There may be technical advice, insider info, and the like. But the core purpose is simply to entertain. You will laugh (at me for the ridiculous amount of involvement this phone has in my life), you will cry (for yourself when you realize you’re probably not so different), and you will sing as together we reminisce and luxuriate in the greatest technological achievement since the iPod.
What about you? Do you feel the love of the iCommunity? Or am I just crazy?
