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. With Zune fandom: What’s it all about?
Here’s an odd rabbit hole I just fell into and climbed out of: Zune fandom.
An item on Listening Post about Gamestop deciding not to sell Zunes anymore jokily noted that this “could lead to a bunch of the Zune-logo-shaped neon signs that have shown up there becoming available on eBay, much to the delight of Zune freaks everywhere.”
Zune freaks? Are there Zune freaks? The post offered this link, showing a guy with a Zune logo tattoo (I wouldn’t have recognized the Zune logo on a bet prior to this), but the link underneath it went to a site called Zunescene that wouldn’t load.
Still, I Googled a bit and found ZuneLuv.com and ZuneMax.com and ZuneWorld.com and Zunely.com and I stopped.
I didn’t spend enough time at any particular site to gauge the fandom (or suss out to what extent the point seemed to be to aggregate ads). But I guess a million Zunes have been sold, so obviously there is such a thing as Zune fandom, but it suddenly made me curious about the nature of it. Is there a kind of contrarian cachet to Zune ownership? Is there a kind of anti-snob appeal in rejecting Apple, which I guess is basically the conformist choice of portable music devices, given its market share? Do Zune fans get excited when they spot each other on the subway or in a cafe?
Is there … a cult of Zune?
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Reader Comments
i would suspect that this is all manufactured buzz, hype, and love paid for by microsoft
I put a good amount of research into buying an Mp3 player that would NOT be an Ipod. I ended up buying an Insignia device, mostly because it had built in FM radio and the same amount of storage space as the ipod nano, for about the same price. At the time, I was very satisfied that I had secured a good player without buying in to what I saw as the Apple machine.
In the year since that purchase I have (embarassingly) switched camps and actually bought one of the new IMacs for my home office last month. I still love my non-ipod mp3 player, but it doesn’t work with an apple, so I probably won’t be able to hold out much longer.
Just for note, I don’t personally know of anyone besides myself who owns a non-ipod mp3 player.
Well, I use a Zune, and it has nothing to do with my being part of any cult or grassroots contrarian movement. Basically, there were two reasons. First, I wanted an MP3 player primarily for listening to podcasts, and the Zune has superb podcast support. Second, the iPod pretty much forces you to use iTunes, and I don’t care for iTunes. Tried it, didn’t like it.
I’m not aware of any cachet associated with Zune ownership, and I don’t look around cafes to see if other people are using a Zune, because I really don’t care what other people are using. The Zune is simply a tool for a specific purpose, and I chose the tool that I thought was the best fit for me. If huge numbers of other people choose the iPod instead, I don’t mind. Why would I?
I’m a little baffled about why you think an MP3 player has to have a “cult” or “fandom” or “freaks” attached to it.
Pat: “Freaks” was a quote from someone else, and the rest of it was an open question. Thanks for your reply.
E.A.: Good and useful response, thanks much.
jj: I wonder about this too, but I’m not sure…