July 29th, 2008
I Miss My iPod Nano
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I miss my iPod Nano.
Before I lost it two weeks back, my iPod was inseparable from me, like a part of my own body.
I would wake up and pick up my iPod from its JBL dock to listen to a podcast or two on the pot. I would take it along to office, so that I could slip on the earplugs when nobody was looking and cocoon myself from the noise of phones ringing all around me (my own phones are always on slient mode). On my walk back from office, I would listen to another podcast or two, or some songs, if it was a particularly tiring day. On the evenings when I ventured out again for an evening walk, I would connect my iPod to my Nike Plus shoes and take it along. Finally, as soon as I stepped back into my house, I would plug my iPod into its dock and listen to it until I fell asleep.
So, over the last six months or so, listening to podcasts — instead of reading blogs — became my preferred way to stay in touch with the technology/ marketing blogosphere. As for music, I don’t even remember the last time I had listened to a CD on my home theatre system. My iPod even became my preferred training partner for the marathon I want to run before I’m thirty.
But my connection to my iPod went beyond functionality. My iPod was a lovemark (1) for me, and I miss it like I would miss a lover.
What’s worse is how I lost it: someone took it, from my house, along with the other stuff I was giving away on my going away party.
It was right there in its dock, in the living room, where my guests were playing with it all day, changing music to suit the changing mood in the room. It was there, at half past midnight, when Mohan started singing in the room inside. I think that it was still there, at one, after all but a dozen guests had left, when I came out to pour myself a glass of wine. It wasn’t there anymore, when I woke up next morning.
For a day or two, I told myself that someone had taken it by mistake, under a drunken assumption that I was giving it away too, and hoped that I’ll get it back when they realized their mistake.
Two weeks later, I’m telling myself that I’ll get an iPod Nano free, when I buy my MacBook Pro, so, maybe, I wasn’t meant to have two.
But, I know that I’m telling a lie to myself now, as I was telling a lie to myself two weeks back.
Even though I’m off consumption, even though I’m giving away almost everything I own, I miss my iPod Nano, more than you can imagine.
The Love/ Respect matrix is a powerful way to visually differentiate between products, fads, brands and lovemarks. Commodity-like products command neither love nor respect. Fads attract love, but no respect, and so this love is really mere infatuation. Brands command respect, even lasting respect, but not love. Lovemarks attract both respect and love.
Also read Grant McCracken’s scathing review of Kevin Roberts’ book ‘Lovemarks’.
