Niche Views

As my dad continued to insist that he wanted a keyboard for the iPad, I cringed. Nobody types much on an iPad, I said. The iPad is for surfing, viewing mails, watching videos and checking Facebook, I explained (which, by the way, is exactly how my mom uses it). It is not for doing work, I pleaded.

All to no avail. Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave, I thought.

My dad argued that while he may be in the minority on how he wants to use the iPad, surely it can’t be a microscopic minority. Why else were there so many iPad compatible keyboards out there, he asked? Why else does Google throw up so many keyboard options?

Good questions. Ironically, the answer to both questions lies in the existence of the Internet. The surfing of which was the “intended use” of the iPad! In the pre-Internet era, people with non-mainstream tastes in anything (music, movies, topics, and, as it turns out, uses of iPad):

1)      Could not find each other easily;

2)     Could not be found by that type of music composer or movie maker (or iPad keyboard manufacturer).

Now thanks to the Internet, Balaji Srinivasan pointed out Problem #1 is addressed:

“An infinity of subcultures outside the mainstream now blossoms on the Internet — vegans, body modifiers, CrossFitters, Wiccans, DIYers, Pinners, and support groups of all forms. Millions of people are finding their true peers in the cloud, a remedy for the isolation imposed by the anonymous apartment complex or the remote rural location.”

Going further, Jon Evans says:

“Indeed, you can and likely do find yourself part of several or even many distributed communities, one or more for each subject or context that really interests you.”

Problem #2 too is addressed by the Internet. The Flipkart’s and Amazon’s of the world can ship it to us wherever we are enabling even niche products to “catch us as we all swim through the new online oceans”.

In fact, niche is the new normal. As Evans says:

“The Internet isn’t just a home for weirdos; it actually manufactures them.”

Besides, I agree with Evan’s point that:

“A society in which people accept that their personal views generally are and will remain minority perspectives, rather than seeking to impose “normal” beliefs and tastes on any who don’t fit in, is enormously healthier, both culturally and politically.”

So I guess it’s actually desirable that my dad and I disagree on the “intended use” of the iPad…May the Internet continue to impart its infinite wisdom upon me.