Hello there.
Not that you asked, but yes – I did have a good birthday thank you very much.
I didn’t get anything stupid [which for me, means awesome] but it was lovely.
Jesus, how old do I sound!
Talking of old, I recently came across this …
Believe it or not, this photo is not all that old.
But what I love about it is that huge sticker declaring it to ‘never be obsolete’.
That’s some big claim.
It’s also a massive pile of bollocks.
Given the alleged breakthrough by Canadian company, D:Wave, all computers may soon be obsolete so for some company to suggest their 90’s PC Tower would be able to withstand decades of focused innovation and technological breakthrough is both massively misguided and massively misleading and anyone who fell for it deserves all they got.
But the other thing this photo did was remind me of the ‘stickers’.
Oh my god, back in the day, every computer had them.
Little logos explaining either what the machine claimed to do or the manufacturer of some of its components.
And people fell for it, because we didn’t know better and we were looking for some reassurance we weren’t being taken for a ride.
Even when they put a massive fucking sticker on it claiming ‘NEVER OBSOLETE’.
God we were gullible fools weren’t we and while I’d hope we have got past that, the fact is I know we haven’t.
Sure, the tech industry have started moving away from sticker pollution, but there’s a whole host of brands in a whole host of categories that have started taking it on. Just look at any car ad these days and it seems they have more logos on the page than words… which is why it seems this video is the perfect way to sign off this post.
Microsoft may no longer as bad as they once were, but it seems a lot of brands are still forgetting that confidence in your product is about what you don’t say, rather than what you do. By all means use channels to explain the benefits of your product … hell, you can even talk about who has been part of it’s development … but when it comes to the actual product, be focused and make it glorious.
I will go and lie down now.