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My thoughts on the ills of the consumer technology industry...and why GeekyJock.com is the cure!

Technology is such a paradox. It's exciting and frustrating at the same time. The gee whiz factor of new technology draws us (and our pocketbooks), yet bad experiences with products that failed to deliver on promises tend to push us away. Some of us thrive on technology, while others do everything they can to avoid it. Although I spend hours a day working with or reading about technology, I'm definitely empathetic with the latter group.

It's tough to be a technology consumer. The consumer technology industry has a lot going for it. The industry relies on three things: consumer ignorance, obsolecense, and marketing hype.

First, if you're the type of person that just walks into Best Buy to buy a product and makes a purchase based on the box description and the spiel of a sales associate, you are the industry's favorite customer. Why? Because you are uneducated and they can sell you anything because you think you need it. You will be wowed by the claims on the box and the appearance of the product on display, but you will have no idea if what you bought was truly the right product for you. Oh yeah, and then there's a 99% chance you paid too much.

Second, anyone that's ever bought a technology product knows the concept of obsolescense. You buy something one day and within a month that thing you bought is cheaper and a better product has come out. The industry is great at making you think you need the newest product, even if you probably don't. The newest is not necessarily always the best.

The last thing the consumer technology industry relies on is that you will fall for the marketing hype. They will claim that your life will change, that you'll be more productive, that you'll do everything faster and easier, and that you'll will become the hippest person in your neighborhood. They will add new words to the English language like "quantispeed" and "CineMotion". Of course, 90% of products don't live up to the hype, 8% are prohibitively expensive, and 2% are actually worth your hard-earned cash. OK, maybe I'm being a little hard on the industry, but I bet I'm not that far off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against big business (except for the ones that knowingly put out defective products with short warranties and piss poor customer service). These companies are just trying to make a buck like everyone else. They have a lot going for them because people are willing to pay for the coolness factor. Plus, they have the three things mentioned above on their side.

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