Why are Apple fans so crazy?

I think the average Apple fan has shifted in the past few years. I've been using Macs for a while (steady since the G3 was into'ed), and I can definitely say that there're a lot more en vogue now than they were in the past. Given that, it's harder to pinpoint why so many people line up for an iPad (simply given that there are so many more people in the demographic in question).

Speaking to the "old" Apple fan, I think that there's a sense of loyalty and a sense of being on the cutting edge.

As I said, I've been using Apple products exclusively (at home) since '99, and I've grown to feel a sense of attachment to the company. Something about Apple products clicked with me, and I felt the desire to foster a niche provider. This feeling is, I'm sure, compounded by the fact that I felt I was "in" on something and wanted to be even more in by adopting the latest and greatest.

I remember saying, "My voice is my password" over and over to no avail after Steve demoed voice passwords in a version of OS 9 that I promptly purchased. It didn't matter that it didn't work; Steve had shown what it was supposed to be, and I bought in. Even while I was dealing with a faulty product, I still felt like I was part of something great, and at its heart, the feature was cool and innovative, even if the implementation fell far short.

Those are the reasons I feel so much a part of the Mac world, but I guess the author is asking about why Apple clicks with people. That answer's far more complex, and one I definitely can't answer in a general sense. If I think back to when I really jumped on the bandwagon, I'd have to say that I was impressed by Apple's way of doing things differently, focusing on the best and focusing on the consumer.

Apple definitely did things differently than MS in the late 90s and early 2000s, and to me, their differences felt more focused on what I wanted to do. I wanted an easy way to get on the internet, and I wanted an un-compex system for managing my stuff. Apple felt like they wanted to make these things easy for me. And as far as focusing on the best, it seemed like Apple was striving for the best, most of the time. I remember my Apple monitor having a premium Mitsubishi tube in it, and the G3 being a hell of a processor. Maybe there were better components on the market, but Apple tried to put together a really nice package, and I liked it. Since then, I've become a professional programmer, and I question whether I would have liked Apple if I was looking for a development platform back then. I honestly don't know, but I do know that their decision to embrace Unix at the core of their OS has served them well within the more technical community.

So I guess the bottom line is that Apple provides a different experience, and for those of us that buy into it, it's worth a little sacrifice to get to be the first and to ensure that Apple will live to see another day. That wasn't always as sure a thing as it is now.

And if you're looking for an answer to why the cool people want to be the first with an iPad 2 and a leather Smart Cover, look elsewhere.

Two tropes get trotted out whenever that tired old topic comes up:

1. Apple deludes people with great marketing.

2. Apple makes great products.

(How does that relate to Apple fans being crazy? The underlying idea is that if a company’s products are attractive for many people – for whatever reason – there are bound to be at least a few crazies among those who find the product attractive [0]. See also: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Wii, Justin Bieber.)

Any ideas on how to empirically test that? I can only think of two right now but there have to be more:

1. How often and for how long are Apple products actually used after they are bought and how does that compare to other, similar products?

2. How do objective metrics for product quality compare to similar products? (That’s extremely tricky. What matters more and what less? What’s objective? What about all that subjective stuff?)

[0] I think it is rather obvious that not all Apple “fans” are also crazy enough to stand in line for hours. Apple sold 16 million iPads during the last year and only a tiny minority of those 16 million iPads were bought by people who are crazy enough to stand in line for, say, more than two hours. Most Apple customers are very likely neither fans nor crazy.

Waiting in line for half a day for something is a pretty low barrier of entry to measure 'crazy' by.

The one and only time I did this was when I waited in line for the iPhone 3G three years ago. I had along with me one of my best friends, who I wouldn't even call anywhere close to being a technical person even though we both worked for a software company. So it was a little surprising that they were the one suggesting we try to hit the mall at 6 AM to line up.

In the end it was just a nice excuse us to skip out of work and have some fun together, since we both were traveling a lot on business and couldn't catch up for a while. The footnote to the day's story was that we got some new phones.

How on earth did this linkbait make it to front page? I know it's Friday and the editors would like to begin their weekends, but really?

Because shared trauma bonds people into the group that gives them their identity. If you go to some other store, or are indifferent enough about the thing that you can wait a few weeks for it, well then you're not a true believer, are you?

Shared trauma is the reason for hazing new entrants into something and the various painful religious rituals, circumcision being the one that comes to mind. You value something more when it cost you something. That iPad is much more cherished when you had to endure something to get it.

This does not make Apple a cult, just a lifestyle brand that has become a badge of identity. BMW have also just about managed to be seen as "different" and "special", despite being very widely owned, at least in Europe.