Commodity Fetishism

I am taking part in a minor tech new product stampede right now, and it's fascinating from a sociological perspective. The new T-Mobile G1 Android phone* is now shipping. I found a forum in which hundreds of people were posting the results from their UPS tracking pages. This was odd in and of itself. It became hilarious when I came across one post that began "There are so many emotions flowing right now..."

Yes, the panoply of human emotions that center around getting a new gadget. And the enthusiasts want to share them with you. A search for "iphone unboxing" on youtube returns 2260 matches. Over two thousand people filmed themselves opening the iphone packaging and posted the results to youtube. "Unboxing" by itself gives over 36000 matches. So you can share the excitement of opening the box, the joy of tearing off shrinkwrap, the rapture of examining the marketing collateral.

* It can't match the Millennial atmosphere surrounding an iPhone launch, but there is no real Google cult as yet. Give it time.

Kila!!!

Finally, something to keep living for. Something to validate my pointless existence. Something to bring me fulfilment and new friends and hair regrowth. A cool new cell phone! Not to mention one running google technology. And it might be...hold on...keep your seat...stop trembling...available in white! Or tan, it's hard to tell.

A couple of notes to self:

* Countdown calendar? Definitely!
* Start greeting everyone by pumping fist in air and shouting Kila!!!
* Start planning for the unboxing! Youtube, here I come!
* Think about conspicuous public places where I can use the phone.
* Budget 4 figures for therapy and pharmaceuticals if these rumors don't pan out.