COM 207.3: The iPod Revolution

(Originally posted at http://georgiehoon.blogspot.com/2011/06/com-2571-ipod-revolution.html dated June 26, 2011)

For my second blog entry on our Creativity and Problem Awareness Class, I would reflect on Discovery Channel's documentary: "The iPod Revolution" and correlate "The Medici Effect" by Frans Johansson, along with Sir Ken Robinson's "The Arts and Education: Changing Track." 

First of all, I've never had an iPod (as of this writing). Whether it's shuffle, nano, classic or touch, I've never owned one. Most of my friends, classmates and colleagues have it. When I go to malls, I see many people from all walks of life, shapes and sizes, wearing white earbuds and listening to music from their colorful and stylish iPods that fit right into their pockets. When I watch TV, several celebrities look cool with it. It seems like iPod's the next best thing since Play Station.

The only time I'm able to use the iPod is when I'm with someone I know who has one. During get-togethers with friends, I sometimes borrow theirs and start exploring this tiny gadget. The three major things I've noticed are: 1.) when you're listening music from an iPod, it's like you have your own world - distinct, separate and uniquely yours at your own space and time; 2.) carrying and wearing the iPod gives you that feeling of being part of the "IT" crowd and you tend to act differently like you're in a higher social strata; and 3.) most iPod users I've known, like my friends, usually say that they can't live without an iPod (apart from their cell phones, netbooks and other gizmos).

As the eldest son, owning an iPod, and any expensive technological device for the matter, is not part of my shortlist of priorities. I was not born with a silver spoon on the mouth nor am I raking a huge salary on my present job. If I want to have one, I would have to work harder or spare extra money over a long period because as a sort-of breadwinner, one of my responsibilities is to support my family's financial needs. The good thing though is that I have high tolerance over the matter and do not easily succumb to peer pressure or envy. In my mind, I know that certain sacrifices have to be made in order to support the people important to you.

Okay, enough with the drama. Regardless of why I'm not buying an iPod, if you ask me if I still want an iPod, I'll quickly answer, "YES, I WANT TO HAVE AN IPOD!"

Sir Ken Robinson in his The Arts and Education: Changing Track says that "the world is engulfed in an economic revolution driven by two main forces: technology and demography." Furthermore, "children and teenagers are living now in a different world from their parents. They network, communicate, and create online in ways that many adults don't really understand and often fear..."

Image from: http://www.podcast.eusd4kids.org/

And yes, as a young adult, I fear that I may not keep up with the times if I don't keep track of the trends and technology at present. Hence, even if buying an iPod is not my priority, I still plan to purchase one, maybe in the near future but not exactly now.

Awhile ago, I mentioned about three major things I've noticed with iPod users I know. Let me just recall the second and third one.

You see, carrying an iPod and showcasing it in public is like buying your own Starbucks coffee. It gives you a share on its intrinsic value. You're paying for the brand (much more I suppose than the actual use or benefit of the product). Clearly, commercialism and commoditization of values have creeped in with iPod users. This is supported by Robinson's claim that "this global revolution is not only economic: it is also cultural... it raises profound questions of identity, values and purposes."

Next, I was able to compare myself with my iPod user friends. When they said that they can't live without it, I say "come on! you were able to live before without an iPod... as if it's a God-given object that you were born with that you have only discovered lately."

Speaking of iPod and how it revolutionized our lives, I can't help but feel amazed and proud of  the creativity and innovativeness of its creator, Steve Jobs, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. His vision of the future and how the world will be are simply outstanding.

Image from: http://www.haykin.net/

Taking light from Frans Johansson's "The Medici Effect," I realized that we can, like Steve Jobs, be creative if we come up with an idea that is original, new, have relevance and valuable. To cap it off, the idea must be realized by making it happen.

For those who would be reading this that don't know what the "Medici Effect" means, Johansson says that it is "the explosion of new breakthrough ideas."

It goes something like this: there are several fields in the world like science, mathematics, arts and so forth. Under those general fields, surely, there are many other fields or sub-fields under such as business, law, psychology, linguistics and all other courses you may think of in college. Definitely, some have mastered their own respective fields in the course of history. Their goal is to "evolve an established idea by using refinements and adjustments" says Johansson.

However, Johansson states that when concepts between multiple fields are combined, it creates an intersection that generates ideas that leap in new directions.

Image from http://www.gizmowatch.com/

This is exactly what Steve Jobs did. We all know for a fact that music is a primal thing. It has been there for ages as a form of communication or entertainment among its many other uses or purposes. In "The iPod Revolution" documentary, Jeffrey S. Young, author of iCon, says "music was the perfect synthesis for Apple... Steve understood that music is part of our DNA..."

Music is a basic human need and Apple Inc. had the technology that would let people access it at any given place or time. What came out? No less than the revoultionary iPod! Indeed, the intersection of different fields have created a breakthrough product that has, since its launching, changed the cultural landscape of the world in ways we've never expected.

Remember, innovation can only be achieved if an idea has been implemented or realized. Steve Jobs had the vision on how to do so and remembering him in Malcolm Gladwell's highly-acclaimed book "The Tipping Point," the "Law of the Few" mentioned that "the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts."

If our dream or goal is not only to enjoy what is offered to us but to become innovators like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg and etc., in our own little ways, perhaps Robinsson says it best that "we live in an interconnected world, but there is someone making the connections... it could be you."