News & Views

Heading in the Direction of Buying a Mac
One of the ways I earn a living is teaching guitar to teens in the Washington DC metro-area. Since I enjoy including technology within the guitar lessons, I often inquire what computer(s) are available in the teen's home.

Within the past month I've heard several teens tell me, "I currently own a Windows computer, but my family is heading in the direction of buying a Mac." When you notice this kind of trend, you can't help but think a golden opportunity awaits Apple.

If a family is "heading in that direction," that means within the next 6 months to a year a Mac will be coming in the front door of that house. The moment of conception has occurred and now the gestation period has begun. Pray tell, what kind of pre-natal care is Apple involved with? Does Apple allow the gestation to continue without any further involvement?

Here is what Apple could be doing. When you win a future customer's mindshare, it doesn't take much time or effort to expand that mindshare.

Every family "heading in that direction" ought to be nurtured and moved along gently towards that very special day. You can do that in several ways. You could offer a one-way email list for the youth and another one-way email list for parents/guardians. Families can sign up for either or both.

These one-way lists could be used to send practical information once or twice a week. What kind of practical information? Information that would helpful for a new Mac owner to know about. The information might be sent in text form, but also as narrated QuickTime screencasts (created using Snapz Pro X) that explain various facets of the Mac -- including the DotMac (.Mac) service.

If a family is heading in the direction of buying a Mac, it behooves them to tap into free trainings of this kind. These trainings would expand the value of their purchase. With more than 50 percent of American households using broadband at home, Apple should seize the opportunity to distribute rich media right into people's homes.

And how about if those rich media offerings included QuickTimes made by Mac-savvy teens? Such offerings could showcase the realm of the possible. Is there a middle school student who likes using Adobe After Effects or Final Cut Pro? Have them submit some of their best QuickTimes to Apple -- and Apple could redistribute these to those youth "heading in that direction."

Is there a teen who loves building web sites using Macromedia Dreamweaver or the free Nvu web site creation software? Have that teen create some narrated screencasts with useful tips and techniques. Have that same teen give a narrated tour of a web site he or she built for a charitable organization.

Find the teen music wizard who composes more than 30 songs each weekend using Garageband. Have that teen describe the creative fervor that Garageband unleashes and how they best get into a creative groove.

Locate that teen in New Jersey who has mastered the art form of podcasting -- and have him or her share podcasting tips and techniques.

Apple can create value by connecting existing elements of the Apple ecosystem with prospective members of the Apple ecosystem. How about if Apple offered to reimburse half the annual user group dues for any family that signs up as "heading in that direction?" If a teen or adult attends several user group meetings before bringing home their first Mac, would that be helpful to them? How about if a section of the user group meeting were specially planned to explain something to these newcomers to the Mac family, while answering any questions they might have? Showing segments of Terry White's top-notch new DVD, "Mac OS Training for Windows Users," would be excellent for newbies. This DVD is very well made and explains introductory Mac concepts in a very clear fashion. And guess what? The DVD is available at a $10 discount for Apple user group members. (It sells to the public for $35 and to Apple user group members for $25.)

On the user group side of things, would there be a benefit to having young members joining the club, bringing fresh ideas and youthful energy? What user group wouldn't be thrilled to have 5, 10 or 20 new members -- all of whom can draw benefit from the club while bringing renewed energy and ideas to the club? A computer user group is like an airplane whose engines are human beings. When your plane has more engines, it can fly higher and farther.

Imagine if Apple signed up 500, 1000 or 2000 families in a particular metro area who are all "heading in that direction." During the gestation period, Apple could hold 3 or 4 Apple weekend festivals at area high schools or community colleges. These events could be coordinated with Apple enthusiasts at that high school or community college, involving local Apple user groups in the area. These learning festivals could open up people's eyes. Prospective customers who attended one or more of these festivals would be able to hit the ground running when they brought home their first Mac. They may even find a suitable Mac buddy at these events -- someone to show them the ropes.

Knowledge is power. When you give people knowledge, you make them powerful. Apple is not in the business of selling electronic tools. It's in the business of making people powerful.

Try visualizing this television commercial titled, "Nine Months." Narrator: "It's been nine months since the Smiths decided they were heading in the direction of buying a Mac. They are now on their way to an Apple store. The excitement is palpable. They've already made all the necessary preparations at home. They have visualized and talked about this moment for months. And what's that we see? An Apples sales rep is cradling their new iBook in her arms. The bouncing baby iBook is gently handed over to the proud parents. This is a day nobody in the family will ever forget."

And the family whips out a digital camera to take a photo of this very special moment. The sales rep is included within the photo. Why not? The relationship had been nurtured for a full nine months.

Time and again we've seen Apple unafraid of walking into the realm of the possible. Of doing things differently and doing things right. Of innovating beyond engineering. Any company can hire very smart engineers. The smartest companies engineer the sales experience -- from before the moment of conception, to beyond the moment of conception -- into eternity.

Is there anything more precious than eternity?

Phil Shapiro

The author was recently hired by the Takoma Park Public Library, in Maryland, to run the 20 station GNU/Linux computer lab in the new Takoma Park Community Center. He can be reached at http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/pshapiro

His blog, which includes links to new articles he has written, is at http://www.digitaldivide.net/blog/pshapiro

The RSS feed for this blog can be found on the right side of the blog, underneath the Creative Commons license.

Phil Shapiro formerly served as the president of the Virginia Macintosh Users Group, and is still actively involved in supporting that group. He is also involved as co-founder and leader of the iLife special interest group in the Washington Apple Pi user group. (http://www.wap.org/imovie)