And if your friends and online communities are like you, reading a usability blog, then most likely you fall into the demographic of middle class wage earners. You are probably skilled, tech savvy, have a decent paying job, and are not apart of the financial ruin demograhics that I have oh so simplistically just noted.

I freely admit this is all a gross generalization but also I think that people who would read this blog are perhaps are not the sampling of people who would be the ideal candidates for people on the brink of financial ruin. I think they might be more biased and actually be the long tail audience for Apple products.

It’s an interesting and thought provoking inquery though Mr. Snarky Firepants!
And I thank you for that.

I’ve been having a few holy-shit-that-is-so-cool moments with my wife’s iPod touch. So much so that I’m buying my own iPhone this week. Finally.

My question came from reading the national media’s dire predictions of worldwide financial ruin.Most people I talk to online (Yuko included) seem to be doing pretty well for themselves, so I was wondering what the deal was?

People are feeling the freedom (there’s a slogan) to buy a product because it’s cool and solves a minor inconvenience – not because it’s a necessity. That’s a good thing, but it’s juxtaposed with financial crisis, so it struck me as odd and interesting.

Nathan, I apologize for taking this off your original topic. I see the cool factor in your Shazam experience, it just sparked some thoughts of the economic persuasion.

And to answer your question Snarky Firepants, I am not in debt, make a decent living, will not feel the repercussions on this week’s national financial crisis, and have no mortgage to speak of. The only thing truly holding me back is trying to figure out how much it will cost me to cancel my Verizon contract, that I have one more year left to go on.

Besides, technology should be exciting and fun, which to Nathan’s point is sometimes about discovering solutions to minor inconveniences, and that ultimately is worth the price for me. If it can do this small thing what else can it do that will make my life of multi-gadgets more streamlined and filled with holy-shit-that-is-so-cool moments?

I think we’re in a mild slump because of oil and housing/credit. Keep in mind that the entertainment and vice industries often do *better* in a recession.

Supposedly we’re in this major slump, unemployment rising, Feds taking over Freddie & Fannie… and people will shell out the bucks just to find a cool song they heard.

I’m not debating the choice here(I admit that would be handy and fun for me), I’m just contemplating the conflicting media message that nobody’s buying anything right now.

I recently blogged about why I don’t have an iPhone even though I want one. My mind is befuddled by these little conveniences that motivate people to spend the bucks.

So I guess my real question to those people is; Are you in better financial state than the economy suggests, or are you willing to go into debt for a little fun?

I’m not being snarky, I genuinely want to know. Curious.