5 ms·

The Age of Unjustifiable Consumerism

31 points by design7 10y ago

curun1r 10y ago
> It goes beyond filling a need or desire and exists purely as evidence of the power of advertising to convince us to buy almost anything. No, it exists as evidence of trying to be happy by craving material possessions. We believe that they'll make us happy, but all they really provide is temporary relief from our cravings and then more misery once the craving reasserts itself. It's a cycle that never leads to actual happiness. Advertising does create demand, but it plays upon people's existing dissatisfaction with their lives. It only works because so many people are so unhappy. If more people were better connected with other people and able to live in the moment, advertising would be less effective.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  > Advertising does create demand, but it plays upon people's existing dissatisfaction with their lives. It only works because so many people are so unhappy. It's not just that. It amplifies peoples' dissatisfaction. Brings it to focus, in order to convince them that the advertised product will help. It keeps telling people that they will be happier if they buy, and then it tells them what to buy. > If more people were better connected with other people and able to live in the moment, advertising would be less effective. Yeah, if more people would be able to resist the impact of huge armies of highly trained, highly paid professionals, with access to state-of-the-art research in psychology, sociology and economics, who also can leverage resources of huge multinational corporations... Yeah, if each of one individually could only resist that, we'd all be fine.
- golemotron 10y ago
  > No, it exists as evidence of trying to be happy by craving material possessions. We believe that they'll make us happy, but all they really provide is temporary relief from our cravings and then more misery once the craving reasserts itself. It's a cycle that never leads to actual happiness. It's more than that. It's an evolved behavior for status signaling. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4B2TC0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4B2TC0
jamra 10y ago
IPhone7 comes with wired headphones that connect through the charger's port.
tumbas 10y ago
this sound like something famous communist "monk" from Russia preches. it stinks of communism and he is also notorious for being wolf in sheep skin. falsifier of history and not christian at all. persecutor of christians. his name is mitropolite Ilarion. that scumbag says one on tv then goes around Russia when people are not watching and says the other. he has ties with free masons and is propagating genocidical vatican herecy
pmyjavec 10y ago
Funnily enough I was in Berlin not so long ago, and I stayed with some students who don't even own smart phones and they live very happy, healthy lives. They believe smart phones are a major threat to their privacy and wallet so they just don't bother with them at all. They just don't actually need them. It's had me thinking for sometime now whether or not I actually needed a AUD $1000+ smart phone, when I first purchased one it was only society that told me I needed one, no one else. Food for thought.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  That's interesting about the students. Were they geeks? Also was it definitely a case of 'we don't want them' or was that just a cover for 'we can't afford them'?
  - paulasmuth 10y ago
    Speaking for myself: Berlin has a special kind of poor-is-sexy culture and this would not be too unusual. Lived there for 4yrs, most of them without a smartphone (had a 20eur burner phone for communication and to receive monitoring alerts). Had an absolute blast and didn't feel like I was missing a thing.
    - k-mcgrady 10y ago
      Interesting. I've only spent a few days in Berlin (about a year ago) and I definitely got that anti-consumerism vibe. I quite enjoyed it and people seemed pretty happy just hanging out and having a drink and some conversation in grimy bars that probably wouldn't survive in London. I'm generalising probably as it's a big city but in the area I was in I definitely got that impression.
    - yodsanklai 10y ago
      I had the opposite experience when I moved to the US (coming from Europe). It struck me how people consumed more of everything. Tech gadgets, food... I think in Europe we are a bit more defiant toward consumerism, esp. in more educated environments (but we're catching up!). It reminds me of a cool classic sci-fi movie about consumerism. John Carpenter's "They Live". I watched it as a kid but it started to make sense later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live "Nada quickly discovers the sunglasses have unique properties: they reduce the colors of the world around him to black and white and allow him to see that media and advertising hide omnipresent subliminal totalitarian commands to obey, consume, reproduce, and conform. They also make clear that many people in positions of wealth and power are actually humanoid aliens with skull-like faces."
k-mcgrady 10y ago
Seriously? More shit on the iPhone headphone jack? >> What brings this to mind is the introduction of the Apple iPhone 7. One of its highly touted 'features' is the elimination of a headphone jack. Taking advantage of this 'feature' requires the purchase of optional wireless earbuds (AirPods) that retail for an additional $159.00. Plus, the AirPods need their batteries charged independent of your smartphone on a dedicated charger (each charge lasts a maximum of five hours) . 1. The elimination of the headphone jack is not touted as a 'feature'. The bluetooth alternative using the W1 chip is and that's not actually related to the phone. 2. AirPod's are an optional accessory. Just like a case. Or any other pair of wireless headphones. Standard headphones still ship in the box as always and connect to your phone with a wire. Complaining that they are 'required' to use a feature of the phone (which again, they are not) is like complaining you need to buy a Car to use the 'CarPlay' feature or that you need to buy a lightbulb to use the 'HomeKit' feature. 3. Of course they need charging. Just like most other wireless headphones. In fact charging AirPods is more convenient than most because the carrying case doubles as a charger and stores 24hours power. So when they're in your pocket not being used they can be charging. When is this circle jerk going to stop? If you're going to waste time keeping it going at least get the basic facts right.
- Apocryphon 10y ago
  It seems less of a critique of the headphone jack, than of $160 AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears. As the article concludes, the saving grace is the lack of a jack will lead to the proliferation of cheaper alternatives from other manufacturers.
  - k-mcgrady 10y ago
    >> "AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears" Fine, but they haven't even been released yet. EarPods are the best fitting earphones for me. However I'm sure for others they fall out all the time. My point is that a paragraph based on the assertion that these 'expensive' earphones will fall out is ridiculous when the author hasn't tried them and their fit will differ from person to person.
mestrejr 10y ago
The author talks about Bluetooth headphones as if it was an invention of the evil Apple... I've been exclusively using Bluetooth headphones/earphones, with my phones, since 2009, when the NOKIA BH-905 came out. And its price was around $300. The liberty of movement a Bluetooth pair gives you, either running, around the house, or in your commute, made me never go back... I'm already on my 7th different Bluetooth headphone/earphone. You can critique the design that Apple chose for its Bluetooth hearbuds, but don't say Bluetooth headphones/earphones in general are unjustifiable consumerism and that wired is the way to go...
- extra88 10y ago
  You've bought 7 sets of Bluetooth headphones in 7 years, for ~$300 each. I get that there are advantages to not having that wire but spending hundreds a year would be enough to keep me away. Plus the nuisance of having to charge them and the lower audio fidelity (though I'm far from an audiophile so my bar is set low, reliability and call quality more important).
  - majewsky 10y ago
    Later models most likely cost less because the technology became more commoditized.
    - extra88 10y ago
      That's true, though I wouldn't expect such a fan to opt for the cheapest available. If someone's buying an average of one a year, that could be due to poor durability or each iteration has clear room for improvement, addressed by another model. http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wireless-exercise-headphones/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wireless-exercise-head... My understanding are the AirPods are a relative bargain when compared to other models that use independent pieces in each ear.
- curun1r 10y ago
  You're arguing against a strawman. No one is saying Bluetooth headphones aren't good...there's no need to defend them. The critique of Apple is that they're only offering Bluetooth headphones. Bluetooth headphones work great on iPhones that have a headphone jack. If Apple introduced these headphones and kept the traditional headphone jack, there'd be no criticism.
Pica_soO 10y ago
Consumerism is good, if it binds for limited ressources great amounts of consumer time.In this time, the consumer does not spend, the consumer does not buy, the consumer does not destroy. Minecraft is a great example for destructive consumerism. Selling a game for 10 $ which would take a large part of the audience for up to five years partially out of the game industry market.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
dougmwne 10y ago
Look past the airpod hate train in this post and I think you'll see a valid point. Post-Jobs Apple is shifting towards being a technology fashion company. It was always in their DNA, but if you look at the Apple Watch as well, the trend is clear. Since fashion is practically the platonic ideal of a marketing induced want, Apple fashion products will be useful examples of marketing's power to change our behavior.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  Just by entering the Watch market you're doing fashion though. As more tech becomes 'wearable' won't all tech companies become fashion companies in some sense? Technically you could argue Google Glass was a fashion product (just not a very fashionable one).
  - Balgair 10y ago
    Damn good point! I never really realized that before, but you are totally right. Watches and glasses are (maybe due to Luxotica) in the fashion category, you can't hide them in a pocket like you can with a phone. You want to show them off. Other items include bracelets, earrings, teeth/braces, anklets/armlets, and rings. Many of these are female specific though, at least in the US. I would not be surprised to find that these fit-bit things are aimed towards being a 'smart' replacement for bracelets, as a way to 'signal' that you are wealthy. The new earbuds for Apple may be a foray into replacing earrings with 'smart' earrings. The next things to look out for are then 'smart' versions of rings, anklets, and (somehow) braces, though I imagine only the braces for Asian countries where braces are seen as a luxury good and not a medical one. Other far-future things would then be hand-bags, clutches, wallets or belts, shoes, and dresses, possibly even 'smart' make-up like lipsticks and mascara holders. Basically, Apple is maybe deciding to become a techy fashion and signaling mechanism for wealthy and upper middle class people. The price is very high, but the quality is also very good too, though maybe not enough for the price. If this is true, expect more things that are 'exclusive' and tied towards appearance.
yodsanklai 10y ago
I find it crazy that so many people are willing to pay so much for iphones. There are much cheaper phones that offer pretty much the same features, certainly a little less polished but very usable. I know people for whom an iphone is a huge expense but they didn't consider the cheaper alternatives. Apple really did an awesome job marketing their phones.
- majewsky 10y ago
  It's basically the same as brand vs. no-name products, albeit with larger absolute values. I can buy an Android smartphone that's largely equivalent to an iPhone for half the price, and I can buy most processed food from no-name brands at half the price (or less) than brands. To add insult to injury, at least here in Germany, no-name products are usually produced by the same companies making the brand product, so it's not even a quality compromise (usually they only add some extra flavor to the brand product).
  - yodsanklai 10y ago
    An other example is bottled water that can cost about 1000 times more than tap water.
    - majewsky 10y ago
      Especially ironic since tap water is the most strictly regulated beverage in Germany.
pipio21 10y ago
As an engineer and business owner one of my main concerns is how to bring value to my customers. But making anything new or innovative is incredible expensive. For me expending 159 USD in those earbuds in VERY CHEAP considering that making one pair of those myself will cost me some tens of millions of dollars. Try it yourself to put accelerometers and gyroscopes, microphones a battery, a digital to analog converter, infrared sensors in such a small space and then tell me this is expensive. There are professional people who could spend wisely on something so lightweight like this and 160 dollars is no money. For example we have some robots controlled by voice and the current wireless headphones we use weight too much. Cables are dangerous in this environment. Some people believe that the world and the Universe rules around them. If they have not use for wireless earpods, or they don't have money for it, then nobody in the world has use for it, it it so expensive and "Unjustifiable consumerism". Apple has a history of bringing things to market that "nobody will use" by the critics and then when they sell like crazy it is marketing and people being stupid. If you consider people stupid, you should consider that maybe you are the stupid one and marketting in the real sense actually means understanding the market so well you create the thing that people needs before they know. After someone lent me a Gopro camera, I realize I needed one. That was marketing? Yeah, it was someone who had the same needs I have creating the product I needed before I knew.
- makomk 10y ago
  That upfront cost of tens of millions of dollars is spread across tens of millions of units sold. That's why you won't see devices like this aimed at niche markets like "robots controlled by voice and the current wireless headphones we use weight too much".
- davidivadavid 10y ago
  Yes, I personally find the (recurrent) dismissals of "marketing" posted on Hacker News are getting a little bit long in the tooth. It's either criticized as some magical tool that can flip a switch in people's mind and make them buy anything, or something completely useless because people should be able to educate themselves about the objective qualities of products before they make a decision. Every discussion gets muddled between people who a) have no experience in the field b) mix up marketing with advertising, with sales, or with anything they feel like criticizing c) do not seem to like the idea of commerce itself.
galfarragem 10y ago
I live very frugal and I'm happier like that. However, I'm mature enough to understand that the world needs some consumerism to keep an healthy job market. The easier it is to get a job, the easier it is to correct your mistakes/misfortune during life.
gonvaled 10y ago
Consumerism is great. You just have to try to be on the selling side, not the buying side. Even if it is as an employee of a company selling useless stuff to easily suggested consumers. As it is, there is a limitless supply of consumers. Society does not need you to play too.
gjvc 10y ago
see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good """ In an economy, the consumption of Veblen goods is a function of the Veblen effect (goods desired for being over-priced) that is named after the American economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified conspicuous consumption as a mode of status-seeking in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). """
mark_l_watson 10y ago
My Note 4 was part of a batch of phones with no earphone jack. I buy pretty nice Bluetooth headphones for $15. They would work fine on the new iPhones, right? $159 earphones seems like a sucker purchase.
Spooky23 10y ago
If they hate consumerism so much, why are they using Apple products and product pictures as a click bait hook? I buy these products because they are the tools I use to earn my living. The EarPods are just another accessory that may or may not make sense to you.

31 points by design7 10y ago

> It goes beyond filling a need or desire and exists purely as evidence of the power of advertising to convince us to buy almost anything. No, it exists as evidence of trying to be happy by craving material possessions. We believe that they'll make us happy, but all they really provide is temporary relief from our cravings and then more misery once the craving reasserts itself. It's a cycle that never leads to actual happiness. Advertising does create demand, but it plays upon people's existing dissatisfaction with their lives. It only works because so many people are so unhappy. If more people were better connected with other people and able to live in the moment, advertising would be less effective.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> Advertising does create demand, but it plays upon people's existing dissatisfaction with their lives. It only works because so many people are so unhappy. It's not just that. It amplifies peoples' dissatisfaction. Brings it to focus, in order to convince them that the advertised product will help. It keeps telling people that they will be happier if they buy, and then it tells them what to buy. > If more people were better connected with other people and able to live in the moment, advertising would be less effective. Yeah, if more people would be able to resist the impact of huge armies of highly trained, highly paid professionals, with access to state-of-the-art research in psychology, sociology and economics, who also can leverage resources of huge multinational corporations... Yeah, if each of one individually could only resist that, we'd all be fine.
golemotron 10y ago
> No, it exists as evidence of trying to be happy by craving material possessions. We believe that they'll make us happy, but all they really provide is temporary relief from our cravings and then more misery once the craving reasserts itself. It's a cycle that never leads to actual happiness. It's more than that. It's an evolved behavior for status signaling. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4B2TC0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4B2TC0

jamra 10y ago

IPhone7 comes with wired headphones that connect through the charger's port.

tumbas 10y ago

this sound like something famous communist "monk" from Russia preches. it stinks of communism and he is also notorious for being wolf in sheep skin. falsifier of history and not christian at all. persecutor of christians. his name is mitropolite Ilarion. that scumbag says one on tv then goes around Russia when people are not watching and says the other. he has ties with free masons and is propagating genocidical vatican herecy

pmyjavec 10y ago

Funnily enough I was in Berlin not so long ago, and I stayed with some students who don't even own smart phones and they live very happy, healthy lives. They believe smart phones are a major threat to their privacy and wallet so they just don't bother with them at all. They just don't actually need them. It's had me thinking for sometime now whether or not I actually needed a AUD $1000+ smart phone, when I first purchased one it was only society that told me I needed one, no one else. Food for thought.

k-mcgrady 10y ago
That's interesting about the students. Were they geeks? Also was it definitely a case of 'we don't want them' or was that just a cover for 'we can't afford them'?
- paulasmuth 10y ago
  Speaking for myself: Berlin has a special kind of poor-is-sexy culture and this would not be too unusual. Lived there for 4yrs, most of them without a smartphone (had a 20eur burner phone for communication and to receive monitoring alerts). Had an absolute blast and didn't feel like I was missing a thing.
  - k-mcgrady 10y ago
    Interesting. I've only spent a few days in Berlin (about a year ago) and I definitely got that anti-consumerism vibe. I quite enjoyed it and people seemed pretty happy just hanging out and having a drink and some conversation in grimy bars that probably wouldn't survive in London. I'm generalising probably as it's a big city but in the area I was in I definitely got that impression.
  - yodsanklai 10y ago
    I had the opposite experience when I moved to the US (coming from Europe). It struck me how people consumed more of everything. Tech gadgets, food... I think in Europe we are a bit more defiant toward consumerism, esp. in more educated environments (but we're catching up!). It reminds me of a cool classic sci-fi movie about consumerism. John Carpenter's "They Live". I watched it as a kid but it started to make sense later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live "Nada quickly discovers the sunglasses have unique properties: they reduce the colors of the world around him to black and white and allow him to see that media and advertising hide omnipresent subliminal totalitarian commands to obey, consume, reproduce, and conform. They also make clear that many people in positions of wealth and power are actually humanoid aliens with skull-like faces."

k-mcgrady 10y ago

Seriously? More shit on the iPhone headphone jack? >> What brings this to mind is the introduction of the Apple iPhone 7. One of its highly touted 'features' is the elimination of a headphone jack. Taking advantage of this 'feature' requires the purchase of optional wireless earbuds (AirPods) that retail for an additional $159.00. Plus, the AirPods need their batteries charged independent of your smartphone on a dedicated charger (each charge lasts a maximum of five hours) . 1. The elimination of the headphone jack is not touted as a 'feature'. The bluetooth alternative using the W1 chip is and that's not actually related to the phone. 2. AirPod's are an optional accessory. Just like a case. Or any other pair of wireless headphones. Standard headphones still ship in the box as always and connect to your phone with a wire. Complaining that they are 'required' to use a feature of the phone (which again, they are not) is like complaining you need to buy a Car to use the 'CarPlay' feature or that you need to buy a lightbulb to use the 'HomeKit' feature. 3. Of course they need charging. Just like most other wireless headphones. In fact charging AirPods is more convenient than most because the carrying case doubles as a charger and stores 24hours power. So when they're in your pocket not being used they can be charging. When is this circle jerk going to stop? If you're going to waste time keeping it going at least get the basic facts right.

Apocryphon 10y ago
It seems less of a critique of the headphone jack, than of $160 AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears. As the article concludes, the saving grace is the lack of a jack will lead to the proliferation of cheaper alternatives from other manufacturers.
- k-mcgrady 10y ago
  >> "AirPods that easily fall out of one's ears" Fine, but they haven't even been released yet. EarPods are the best fitting earphones for me. However I'm sure for others they fall out all the time. My point is that a paragraph based on the assertion that these 'expensive' earphones will fall out is ridiculous when the author hasn't tried them and their fit will differ from person to person.

mestrejr 10y ago

The author talks about Bluetooth headphones as if it was an invention of the evil Apple... I've been exclusively using Bluetooth headphones/earphones, with my phones, since 2009, when the NOKIA BH-905 came out. And its price was around $300. The liberty of movement a Bluetooth pair gives you, either running, around the house, or in your commute, made me never go back... I'm already on my 7th different Bluetooth headphone/earphone. You can critique the design that Apple chose for its Bluetooth hearbuds, but don't say Bluetooth headphones/earphones in general are unjustifiable consumerism and that wired is the way to go...

extra88 10y ago
You've bought 7 sets of Bluetooth headphones in 7 years, for ~$300 each. I get that there are advantages to not having that wire but spending hundreds a year would be enough to keep me away. Plus the nuisance of having to charge them and the lower audio fidelity (though I'm far from an audiophile so my bar is set low, reliability and call quality more important).
- majewsky 10y ago
  Later models most likely cost less because the technology became more commoditized.
  - extra88 10y ago
    That's true, though I wouldn't expect such a fan to opt for the cheapest available. If someone's buying an average of one a year, that could be due to poor durability or each iteration has clear room for improvement, addressed by another model. http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wireless-exercise-headphones/ http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wireless-exercise-head... My understanding are the AirPods are a relative bargain when compared to other models that use independent pieces in each ear.
curun1r 10y ago
You're arguing against a strawman. No one is saying Bluetooth headphones aren't good...there's no need to defend them. The critique of Apple is that they're only offering Bluetooth headphones. Bluetooth headphones work great on iPhones that have a headphone jack. If Apple introduced these headphones and kept the traditional headphone jack, there'd be no criticism.

Pica_soO 10y ago

Consumerism is good, if it binds for limited ressources great amounts of consumer time.In this time, the consumer does not spend, the consumer does not buy, the consumer does not destroy. Minecraft is a great example for destructive consumerism. Selling a game for 10 $ which would take a large part of the audience for up to five years partially out of the game industry market.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

dougmwne 10y ago

Look past the airpod hate train in this post and I think you'll see a valid point. Post-Jobs Apple is shifting towards being a technology fashion company. It was always in their DNA, but if you look at the Apple Watch as well, the trend is clear. Since fashion is practically the platonic ideal of a marketing induced want, Apple fashion products will be useful examples of marketing's power to change our behavior.

k-mcgrady 10y ago
Just by entering the Watch market you're doing fashion though. As more tech becomes 'wearable' won't all tech companies become fashion companies in some sense? Technically you could argue Google Glass was a fashion product (just not a very fashionable one).
- Balgair 10y ago
  Damn good point! I never really realized that before, but you are totally right. Watches and glasses are (maybe due to Luxotica) in the fashion category, you can't hide them in a pocket like you can with a phone. You want to show them off. Other items include bracelets, earrings, teeth/braces, anklets/armlets, and rings. Many of these are female specific though, at least in the US. I would not be surprised to find that these fit-bit things are aimed towards being a 'smart' replacement for bracelets, as a way to 'signal' that you are wealthy. The new earbuds for Apple may be a foray into replacing earrings with 'smart' earrings. The next things to look out for are then 'smart' versions of rings, anklets, and (somehow) braces, though I imagine only the braces for Asian countries where braces are seen as a luxury good and not a medical one. Other far-future things would then be hand-bags, clutches, wallets or belts, shoes, and dresses, possibly even 'smart' make-up like lipsticks and mascara holders. Basically, Apple is maybe deciding to become a techy fashion and signaling mechanism for wealthy and upper middle class people. The price is very high, but the quality is also very good too, though maybe not enough for the price. If this is true, expect more things that are 'exclusive' and tied towards appearance.

yodsanklai 10y ago

I find it crazy that so many people are willing to pay so much for iphones. There are much cheaper phones that offer pretty much the same features, certainly a little less polished but very usable. I know people for whom an iphone is a huge expense but they didn't consider the cheaper alternatives. Apple really did an awesome job marketing their phones.

majewsky 10y ago
It's basically the same as brand vs. no-name products, albeit with larger absolute values. I can buy an Android smartphone that's largely equivalent to an iPhone for half the price, and I can buy most processed food from no-name brands at half the price (or less) than brands. To add insult to injury, at least here in Germany, no-name products are usually produced by the same companies making the brand product, so it's not even a quality compromise (usually they only add some extra flavor to the brand product).
- yodsanklai 10y ago
  An other example is bottled water that can cost about 1000 times more than tap water.
  - majewsky 10y ago
    Especially ironic since tap water is the most strictly regulated beverage in Germany.

pipio21 10y ago

As an engineer and business owner one of my main concerns is how to bring value to my customers. But making anything new or innovative is incredible expensive. For me expending 159 USD in those earbuds in VERY CHEAP considering that making one pair of those myself will cost me some tens of millions of dollars. Try it yourself to put accelerometers and gyroscopes, microphones a battery, a digital to analog converter, infrared sensors in such a small space and then tell me this is expensive. There are professional people who could spend wisely on something so lightweight like this and 160 dollars is no money. For example we have some robots controlled by voice and the current wireless headphones we use weight too much. Cables are dangerous in this environment. Some people believe that the world and the Universe rules around them. If they have not use for wireless earpods, or they don't have money for it, then nobody in the world has use for it, it it so expensive and "Unjustifiable consumerism". Apple has a history of bringing things to market that "nobody will use" by the critics and then when they sell like crazy it is marketing and people being stupid. If you consider people stupid, you should consider that maybe you are the stupid one and marketting in the real sense actually means understanding the market so well you create the thing that people needs before they know. After someone lent me a Gopro camera, I realize I needed one. That was marketing? Yeah, it was someone who had the same needs I have creating the product I needed before I knew.

makomk 10y ago
That upfront cost of tens of millions of dollars is spread across tens of millions of units sold. That's why you won't see devices like this aimed at niche markets like "robots controlled by voice and the current wireless headphones we use weight too much".
davidivadavid 10y ago
Yes, I personally find the (recurrent) dismissals of "marketing" posted on Hacker News are getting a little bit long in the tooth. It's either criticized as some magical tool that can flip a switch in people's mind and make them buy anything, or something completely useless because people should be able to educate themselves about the objective qualities of products before they make a decision. Every discussion gets muddled between people who a) have no experience in the field b) mix up marketing with advertising, with sales, or with anything they feel like criticizing c) do not seem to like the idea of commerce itself.

galfarragem 10y ago

I live very frugal and I'm happier like that. However, I'm mature enough to understand that the world needs some consumerism to keep an healthy job market. The easier it is to get a job, the easier it is to correct your mistakes/misfortune during life.

gonvaled 10y ago

Consumerism is great. You just have to try to be on the selling side, not the buying side. Even if it is as an employee of a company selling useless stuff to easily suggested consumers. As it is, there is a limitless supply of consumers. Society does not need you to play too.

gjvc 10y ago

see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good """ In an economy, the consumption of Veblen goods is a function of the Veblen effect (goods desired for being over-priced) that is named after the American economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified conspicuous consumption as a mode of status-seeking in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). """

mark_l_watson 10y ago

My Note 4 was part of a batch of phones with no earphone jack. I buy pretty nice Bluetooth headphones for $15. They would work fine on the new iPhones, right? $159 earphones seems like a sucker purchase.

Spooky23 10y ago

If they hate consumerism so much, why are they using Apple products and product pictures as a click bait hook? I buy these products because they are the tools I use to earn my living. The EarPods are just another accessory that may or may not make sense to you.