Let’s talk about words that start with the letter I today. Ice-cream. The Incredibles. Immediacy. Oh and how can I forget — iPads!
Lining up for the iPad 2 put a lot of things into context for me.
I don’t even know how to put it in words. But I did notice that the word “immediacy” has the word media in it.
I’m talking about how we braved the lines yesterday, how there were about 200 people ahead of us, and how the line wrapped around the entire block.
About how we stood in line for about 5 hours, and about how the weather was windy and cold. And about how we shivered together. I’m talking about the disappointment that ensued when they ran out of stock.
They weren’t really disappointments at all.
We all got so caught up in the immediacy of things that a handful of us became price insensitive when the “out of stock” annoucements came – we were willing to trade up to a more expensive model just to get one. In Econ lingo, I would say the demand curve just became inelastic, and that goes against my belief system — and my belief system is the textbook. The textbook usually mark things like food and water in that category.
A quick note though — the iPad 2 is fortunately still has an elastic demand in wholistic terms. However in this post, I am talking about the first initial batch of supply. If you truncate for this weekend and observe such behavior in that context, you will see how the immediacy of things affects people. If you’ve taken some Econ courses, it’s the reason why the demand curve is a… curve, instead of a line, with a steeper slope in the beginning. Sorry for the little Econ ramble.
At that moment, I immediately thought about the time in high school when I volunteered at a soup kitchen. I imagined the lines all across the world that would dwarf the iPad 2 launch lines. What Apple has made into a circus event, the world has already made a norm – but under more dire circumstances.
It would be shallow and a obnoxious of me to say that I knew what it felt like to stand in that soup kitchen line, because I don’t. And most of us in that line don’t either.
My friend ran by a nearby Vans store to replace his sandals because it was so cold. And bought food at a nearby coffee stand. The father standing in line in front of us went into a nearby Gap to buy his child a sweater. Others in line sent their friends back to the car to grab blankets and sweaters. I live in a comfy apartment and attend a great school. And I eventually will get my iPad 2 and I will not die even though I say I will, if I don’t get one. But others may not find themselves as lucky.
But at such a crossroad, how are you supposed to feel? The sense of helplessness I get is in a way… different. And that’s when the immediacy of things gets to you.
