Nettmøtet med Dr. Michael Bull er midlertidig stoppet. Kom innom litt senere for å få med deg resten av svarene.

Changes

Do you believe that the iPod generation will differ from other people in the same generation when it comes to social behavior and do these two groups make the same choices concerning their lives?
Innsendt av: iPodFaNx10

Good question - difficult to answer -the 'hyper individualistic iPodder and the reality show consumer? My guess is that more of us will like to filter what we consume in the future whilst undustry will try and find ways to annoy us.

michael bull
 

I use my iPod every day, and never go anywhere without it, does this mean that I am addicted to it?
Beacuse that would be a little worrying!
Innsendt av: Silje Helene

There's a lot more dangerous addictions to be worried about!

michael bull
 

Podcasting

Hi Michael

Apple will implement podcasts in it's next version of iTunes. What do you think about podcasting? Will it be the next big thing, or is it a hype?

Do you see any negative in the iPod phenomena?
Innsendt av: Oddbjørn Sjøgren

No, podcasting fits in with the ethic of consuming when and where you want - mostly it will be in the domain of professional broadcasters - but a good avenue for up and coming creative people to show what they can do.

We tend to get the technologies we deserve!

michael bull
 

Why iPod?

Hi,

I'm wondering why you have specifically chosen to study iPod owners. Surely they are no different than owners of other portable mp3 devices.

Of course, I'm sure Apple is delighted about the media exposure resulting from your work. Have they remembered to send you your cheque?
Innsendt av: Henning

If only!

michael bull
 

Teenagers

What I've read is mainly about people who go to work every day, but what about teenagers?
I'm 14 years myself and my iPod is the best thing that's ever happened to me, but we're not allowed to listen to music during our class and such. Does that do anything with our attitude or how we're thinking?
Innsendt av: Merete Kulset

No but only with the authority of class teacher!

michael bull
 

A new treath?

Do you think that cell phones with built in harddrive (eg. 4GB) will pose a threat to the mp3 player market?
Futher on, how will this innfluence the market share of the iPod?
I know this might be a wee bit outside your area of expertise, but what I want to know is: Are iPod owners more prowd of their mp3 player than others so that when cell phones becomes the defacto standard in mp3 players, they are the last ones to swich?
Innsendt av: Martin Andresen

Not at the moment - you can't speak and listen at the same time with phones -
They are inevitably proud of their ipods but then so may other MP3 users.

michael bull
 

subculture identity?

is the "love of" the iPod a refection of identifying oneself with and showing off that one is amongst the modern "few select"?
Innsendt av: Tom E. Johansen

Maybe - a problem when more people have them.

michael bull
 

iPodist

How do these iPodists react when their iPod gets broken? Notice how I do not say "if", I say when because it is inevitable, the product gets broken, fast. I have cared for my iPod, taken good care of my 20GB, but still, it froze, a cold shoulder, didn't matter what I said, where I touched, she was still silent...
Innsendt av: Magnus Berner

I have afriend who throws hers on the ground when it doesn't work - and for some reason it starts working again!

michael bull
 

Negative effects?

Hi,

You seem to focus a lot on all the positive aspects of using an iPod, are there nothing negative to be told? Are you in any way sponsored by Apple?

Best regards,

mads, "another iPod user"
Innsendt av: Mads H. Haugen

It's not in the technology but how we use them - technologies like this tell us a lot about the social world in which we live -

michael bull
 

Ipod - U.S.A

Do you think that if Ipod was from Japan (sony, Creative.. and so on), that it would be as big hit as it is now?
Innsendt av: daniel

Sony had the traditional market with their trademark Walkman and lost it to a computer company - so no - it's not that's it american - it was about the first good machine to come onto the market.

michael bull
 

Soundtrack of your life

Dear Dr. Bull
First of all, congratulations on completing your research of iPod-lovers.

What, if any, is the soundtrack of your life at the moment? Do you have a favorite song for stressful commuting hours?

Do you mainly purchase or download music?

Finally, when and where will your book be available for purchase?

best regards
Martin Paulson
Innsendt av: Martin Paulson

Lots actually - mostly classical.
The book is out next march.

michael bull
 

ipod joy

i often take my ipod with me when bicycling out in the country with fields and natural beauty. i do feel like i'm in a perfect little bubble where no one can reach me. it's like a meditation and it gives me a pause to reflect and feel. and the ipod is really the best thing i ever had- a friend to soothe me or cheer me up when travelling or anywhere i go. doesn't mean i'm anti social though, because it gives me energy to socialize and be a happier, more balanced person!?
Innsendt av: helle lund

I agree - we increasingly like to experience things medeated through our own soundworld - it means we like to take some control, not that users are anti-social.

michael bull
 

Oppdating your ipod on a new computer

Hello!

I have one computer wich all my music on the ipod matches in itunes, but i have now bought a new computer and i can't copy all my music and stuff over to the new computer. Is there any tips on how to do it? I have tried, but the ipod deletes everything as soon as i plug in the ipod and i don't know how to solves this problem. Please send me with some tips, i'm desperate here and the use of my ipod is no longer as playfull as i thougt it would be
Innsendt av: Cathrine

I'm not that technological - but it's a problem that shouldn't exist in my opinion.

michael bull
 

Hi!

Hi! I have an iPod, and my friend will buy an iPod photo tomorrow.
I Just wonder, do you use the Music Store? Or do you download music?

Jakob and Thomas!
Innsendt av: Jakob Lade Stenvaag

Only very rarely as I've got such a large music collection already - also I still like buying CDs (oops!)

michael bull
 

question

Out of the 1000 that participated in your research, how many were ipodists? The fenomen sounds strange to me cause none of my friends go under that term.
Innsendt av: Snoops

All of them although i did get non ipod users telling me hoew stupid they were!

michael bull
 

iPod vs. other players

Hello Dr. Bull

The web article accompanying this QA session indicates that your research has been oriented towards iPod users in the exact meaning of the term (as opposed to "iPod" sometimes being used as a general term for portable music players, like "MP3" has been). It further states that in your research you have interviewed 1000 iPod users (enthusiasts) worldwide. Did you also interview users of other brands of portable music players, and/or people not using any kind of portable music player? If so, how many?

My actual question is this:
Is your research a comparison between iPod users and users of other brands of portable music players, or is it a comparison between iPod users and people who do not use any kind of portable music player?

While it seems very plausible to me that iPod users are more interested in control of their space, time and interaction than people who do not use any kind of portable music player, I find it hard to believe that iPod users differ significantly from users of other brands in this respect. I would expect all users of portable music players to be equally interested in controlled seclusion. Of course, iPod users may in general be more happy with their choice of means to obtain this (I know I am), but that would be a separate issue from the trend itself.
Innsendt av: Trond

Yes Trond - initially as iPod users constiuted the majority of the new MP3 market it was just easier to study them - there's no reason to believe they're different from others - maybe more interested in style?

michael bull
 

Ipod

Well, first of all: What do you mean by the quote "Just look at other mp3 players, and you will see why apple has come this far"? I have a creative zen jukebox 80gb, and it kicks my ipod's ass. My ipod had to walk the green mile, when i lost it by the lake.

Yeah, sure it's handy. But most of the mp3 players out there are really easy to operate. They come with more and more handy operating systems\software and larger and larger storage. So i can totally agree with you.. if apple don't make som serious improvements: The ipod will die in the competition. I think it's a matter of trend. "Everybody talks about it, so why don't i just buy one right away"

Just like the jeans. When people startet wearing those in the 60s. The typical denim clothing. I think the ipod is the digital musical jeans clothing of the 21th century.

But over to your research. I admire your courage to make just the very idea of a large worldwide survey into a fact. I can't imagine having the brainpower to do something in that scale. We need people who can give us a little outlook on the digital daily life. How did it all start? I'm not very into apple's history on the electronic market. But i'll stick to my taste. I like creative zen better. But i still wouldn't say that i hate the ipod.. i just hate apple cause i swore to the PC when i started getting into the business
Innsendt av: Danny

Yes Danny - I think the iPod was the first easy to use MP3 player - there's lots of others now - but you're right -I'm actually interested in what these technologies tell us about how we negotiate our everyday world and what that world means for us.

michael bull
 

It taught me to view my record collection in a new light

I agree with your findings to som extent. I got my Ipod only last week after wanting one for ages. I suspected that it would change the way I look at my record collection, and I was right! I have discovered new songs and connections between songs I never knew existed!
I use my Ipod every day, mostly when I travel to and from work (by bike... it makes the jouney much more fun).
Innsendt av:

It's good to see that my sample is representative!

michael bull
 

Qui bono

As a social scientist, aren't you serving commerical interests in your celebration of an "individualist culture", insofar as this culture heavily relies on one type of gadgets?
Innsendt av: Dagfinn Karlsen

I hope not - you'll have to read the book, or if not read my last one "Sounding Out the City" (Berg 2000)

michael bull
 

Saying no to garbage

Hi. I strongly identify with a lot of the points in the article (though i'm not used to "retracting" socially). The article quotes you saying something like "it's about turning down garbage, fighting back at marketers and that many people do not wish to have products coming in their face, but would rather seek them out". Do you think we will see a time when marketing becomes more informing than today's in-your-face way of advertising?
Innsendt av: Martin

If they're sensible - yes - the question is - are iPod users typical of the consumers of the future?

michael bull
 

Sound quality is going downhill

The sad thing about iPods is the poor sound quality. I recently got one and I'm amazed at how bad it sounds. Although I love the conviency of it, I think it's sad that people are getting used to listening to music that sounds terrible.

People don't seem to care how music sounds anymore.


Innsendt av: Sound engineer

Yes, i'd have to say that almost no user mentioned sound quality - it is a question of compression rates as well - plus headphones.

michael bull
 

Other people's reactions?

While you were doing this research, did you also look at other people's reactions towards the iPodders? I use my MP3 player daily myself, and people seem to find it legitimate to interrupt me for the most trivial of reasons. You say in brief that the iPodders don't want to be interrupted, they want to choose themselves whether or not to communicate with the outside world. Maybe something for your next study, find out how other people respond to iPodders, and what reasons they have to interrupt them.
Innsendt av: PJ

good idea!

michael bull
 

Battery fu**d

I used my iPOD photo one day for 3 hours and the next day for another 3 hours and i didnt use it the third day. The battery was over half full when i was done using it. on the 4th day i was going to use it again, then the battery was empty. Why did this happend? And its not the first time it happends
Innsendt av: Jan Tore

Send it back!

michael bull
 

Implications

Why are your research important? What implications (from your work) can one expect?
Innsendt av: Lars

You'll have to buy the book! - the question is too complicated for me to answer in this medium!

michael bull
 

Difficult question :/

First; my idea of iPod users is that the majority of them mostly listen to electronica and trance. Do you know if this tally?
Also, I would like to say that your findings on the personality of an average iPod user are indeed correct. But I also think the average iPod user is a sometimes difficult person to be with. He/she doesn't want to be interrupted, seems a bit preserved etc. I have a boyfriend who is an iPod and music fanatic, and he can sometimes be very difficult to have conversations with (not only when he¿s listening to music on his iPod). I have a few other friends who also own iPods and have the same tendencies of seeming preserved and sometimes difficult to have conversations with. This, of course, has nothing to do with the iPod, but could it be that people with this personality use their iPod as ¿shields¿? They withdraw themselves and use the iPod as some kind of repository or hiding-place.
I¿m thinking that a big part of the average ¿iPoder¿ could have troubles with their social life, and maybe also find it difficult to be in long-lasting relationships because they tend to withdraw themselves from things that are difficult. Am I all abroad now?
I don't know if you have done any research on this, but maybe you still have an answer? I¿ve been wondering about this for a while, so I really hope you'll answer this :)

Hilde :)

Innsendt av: Hilde

No they listen to lots of different music -
my advice to you is get another boyfriend!

michael bull
 

What's new?

Is there a difference between between people who use iPods and, say, a cassette player like a Walkman? And if so, why?
Innsendt av: Audun

iPods give them much more choice.

michael bull
 

Portable Video Players - a shortlived fad?

Steve Jobs have rejected the idea of portable video players becoming a success like IPod.

Based on your study and experience, do you share this view?
Innsendt av: John

probably - its hard to watch a video walking down the street or whilst driving - but also videos play a very different role than music in peoples consumption patterns.

michael bull
 

itms & training

Does ipod owners usaly buy theire music, or do they tend to pirat-copy most of theire music?

Do people with ipod's exorcice more then people without ipod's?
Innsendt av: christian

Most say they buy it - but they would wouldn't they - but there's not a lot of evidence to suggest that even if people download illegally that thery don't also buy music.

michael bull
 

Not only iPod users?

Dear Dr. Bull,
You say that iPod users are introvert and like to take control of their own daily life. I am sure this is right, but does this apply only to users of iPod (or of MP3 players in general)? How about the "old-fashioned" walkman/discman users? Wouldn't you say that they also "shut out" the rest of the world behind their headphones...
Innsendt av: Bjarne Birkrem

It's not that people are introverted - although its a great technology for the interovert- but it allows people to control the terms and conditions of thewir intereaction with oythers and the spaces passed through - Walkmans etc were the same but were more restrictive in music choice - many walkman users would switch their machines off rather than listen to the 'wrong' music - wrong being not suitable to mood/place etc.

michael bull
 

Hello there!

Do you think that the ipod is much better than an Mp3?..I mean the ipod looks very difficult an big ,by difficult I mean that it will take a while ,to get to the song you want to listen to after all it is 1000 giga bytes and that means lots and lots og songs.The Mp3 is very small
so you can put it where you want ,but the ipod ....well you see where I am trying to get here..

I believe that an Mp3 is way? much better than the ipod..





Innsendt av: Maria

Ip[ods were much easier to use at the time - and they were joined to iTunes which made it easy for users to buy music - obviously everyone else is now catching up - largely by copying Apple.

michael bull
 

freedom

Hi.
I'm also very fascinated by the use of IPods today, and think it's really interesting how you say the users want to choose freely. But with the IPod being so "plug-and-play" and automaticly syncronized to everything, as well as totally depending on Itunes, I find it all so "pre-set". Doesn't this contradict what you say it symbolises?
Innsendt av: Lars Jensen

Users tend to construct their playlists to enable them to listen to what they want - with some technological limitations of course.

michael bull
 

ipod only?

i find it strange that you call yourself doctor ipod.. And that this whole "phenomenon" is only dedicated to apple ipods and minipods. I agree that there is a new big trend in mp3 players, but That is what i think it is A trend.I am sure you found similar things when you wrote your book about the walkman. Is it really music, freedom, and all the other things you mention that people want, and maybe lack, and that they find this in their Ipod?, or is it mearly the issue about being accepted as an up and going individual, who is not totally lost, and who can clame his "personality" in life by wearing an mp3 player as visual as possible.. I believe that this in itself helps the individual show to the public that " i have a personal taste, a personal selection, my own personal music collection", and music is in itself such a personal thing closely related to emotions and feelings, that just wearing an mp3 player is a statement in itself. " i have a record collection, and taste of music enough to wear it all the time, its a part of me as an individual" Look at me as an individual.. This is what i feel is the issue coming back again and again. and On top of this you have manufacurers like Apple, who "exploit" this personality trend.
its all about making a statement, and less and less about what you actually play on your ipod... As long as you're seen with some earplugs, you are rated as an up and going individual who is not lost in life....

It would be cool to hear your thoughts about these issues, as i think they are more related than anything. I would also say that I think the whole MP3 trend is the most superficial trend i have ever seen so far..

e. LONDON
Innsendt av: Edward McMillon

Good question.
Adorno once criticised people who went to Carnegie hall to hear Toscanini conduct - he said all they wanted was to show off the ticket - so your question relates to this point.
there is analement of show for many users - buying into a high status object - but this in itself probably wouldn't be sufficient if the experience of listening to music wasn't so satisfying - their individuality comes from their own relationship to their music - which is of course commodified!

michael bull
 

I dont really have an iPod

Do you feel a diffrence when you get youself an ipod, if so im planning to buy one. mister fancy pants


Innsendt av: Roar Pengessen

Most people say they're happier - so go out ang buy one!

michael bull
 

whats the point?

I missed the times when the word "materialism",had a negative ring. now it has just become a word used to describe a way of life. My question is: what value do you believe you're reaserch have, other than telling us how we put a lot our identity into things and possesions ? Aren't there more uselful and interresting areas to do you're reasearch in?
Innsendt av: bernhard

It's best to study the beast!

michael bull
 

Sociology is cool: 2.5 quenstions

1) I have to come clean: I'm on my way of becoming iPod-crazed, and I'm worried. On the whole, does your research show that iPod-addiction is life-on-the-line dangerous or just a little isolating? Because I'm able to live with the latter.

2) The whole culture of portable music, gaming - portable entertainment, in general - why do you think we need it, or asked for it in the first place? And what's so fascinating about it?
Innsendt av: Post-hyper-post-fordist

1. It allows you to beome isolated if you want - but also to share music at certain times - it's better than a Walkman in this respect. Just remember society is about how we negotiate shared space.

2. We spend more time on our own in places we don't particularly like - so it provides an 'in between' accompaniment. It's a comment of the increasingly isolated aspect of parts of many people's daily lives.

michael bull
 

One for all?

Don't you think that every of your statements about an iPod-user could be employed on a user of any portable MP3-player? If you remove the coolness-factor, what's left?
Innsendt av: Sindre Kinn Andresen

Maybe - but the initial design of the ipod transformed the market - early MP3 machines had terrible interfaces - so lots of other companies have now copied the design principles of the ipod.

michael bull
 

My better half!

Dear Dr. Michael Bull!
I have never in my life feeled so attached to an item before, as to the iPod. Since I got the 20 gig for christmas, I haven't been the same person (really, ask my relatives..), it has completely changed my way of living. So my question is; is it dangerous to get to attached to it? In January it actually broke down, and I felt naked without it. To my great relief Apple sent me a brand new one!
Hill Steve Jobs!

Sincerely, Kjetil

ps. did I mention that you might have the coolest job on earth? ds.
Innsendt av: Kjetil

I could think of many other consumer things that wouldn't be so nice to be attached to - hoovers, irons etc etc!

michael bull
 

Is there a connection between music, and the state of your mind? Are people who listen to music on their Ipod happier than people who don't? Are Ipodders different from users of other portable jukeboxes?
Innsendt av: om

Music tends to confirm people in their moods - so if you want to be happier that can achieve it - or often people like to enjoy their other moods - melancholy etc through music. Music permits you greater control over many emotions.

michael bull
 

Do you have iPod?

Do you have a iPod? What kind?
Innsendt av: Anders

I was given an iPod mini by portalplayer - but i didn't have one when I started the research. I don't like to use the technology I'm studying initially as it gets in the way of my listening to what users say about it.

michael bull
 

I hate iPod!

I`m not sure what you mean about the iPod Dr. Michael Bull, but when it`s about me I hate it. I have heard things like -oh, it`s so beatifull, and I like my iPod because of the design.
That`s just bull shit! If you are smart enough, you choose a MP3-player, that gives you the thing you need. - Music!
You don`t need the design, when you can get another MP3-player with the same, or better voice, cheaper.
But thank you for your iPOD-work. It was funny and interesting to read.
Innsendt av: Sjur

I'm pleased that not everybody likes the same thing!

michael bull
 

Dear Doctor

If iPod-users don't like marketing, how were they talked into buying the iPod in the first place? Isn't this just a form of reflective marketing (or capitalism)?
Innsendt av: Knut

There's marketing - and then there's marketing! iPod users like to choose their marketing - US users for example are subjected to a barrage of unwanted advertising that virtually ruins anything they want to listen to or watch. We're a bit better off in europe.

michael bull
 

playlist.

hello

in my lifelong quest of asking the most blatantly obvious questions ;) .. what kind of music do you like and what colour is your ipod?

oh and something a little more serius, what do you think of DRM (Digital Rights Management) ?



Innsendt av: augie

I've kind of answered this one -
But i think that once you've bought something you should be able to more or less do what you want with it.

michael bull
 

Cotroll?

Hello there Dr Bull.

Quite an interresting researctopic,but I was wondering about one statement. You say that ipod users want controll and freedom, bit is it not a paradox manifesting this using the Apple produced ipod? After all the ipod is a slave to the Apple syndicate. Originally produced solely for the Apple platform. Made available to PC users thorugh cracks. And, intended to be twinned up with the iTunes, but also this plan failed thanks to "criminals" hacking the pod.
Innsendt av: Vidar

Were all slaves to commodity culture!

michael bull
 

My iPod, my life

The iPod isn't so much a fashion statement for my part - I love it because it is so handy and practical.

Ok, I love good design and my 4G 20 gb does look great, but I love that it's so easy to use, can store a lot of Steely Dan music and that I can use iTunes with it. iTunes is a great program. Everything is so logical in iTunes!

I use Koss PortaPro with it, because the original plugs is just too bad.

Thanks for answering, dr Bull!

Innsendt av: Sebastian

very sensible.

michael bull
 

Fear

I think I like my music is because it shuts the world of and noone can reach me. Could that be linked to my negativity towards my mobilephone? That I am sceptic to what the call may be about? I don't want to be reached. Just be shut off from the world and not confront it? Is this something you have seen?
Innsendt av: Lasse K.

About 25% of ipod users hate their mobile phones - so you're not alone.
iPods allow users to construct their continous soundworld - mobile phones break into that -

michael bull
 

Importante question

Which music do you listen to when you are at work?

Somthing to recommend?
Innsendt av: Erik

I'm listening to Handel's violin sonatas at the very moment!

michael bull
 

Just a phase?

I remember Bill Gates stated a little while ago, that he thought that the Ipod phenomena was just a phase, and that it will blow over in a while. Do you think he is right?

When I go for a jog, I have a playlist for the exact time the run should take me, and I know where on my run I should be at the start of each song. Helps me keep the right speed.
Innsendt av: André

MP3 is here to stay for a while yet.
Your second sentence indicates one reason why!

michael bull
 

well spent funds

Are completely crazy? Do you really believe that you can catagorize so many individuals under one single product. If you believe so, than it would be possible to transfer this theory over to other consumer prefrences and then catagorize them. Maybe looking in to the type of music the sample you surveyed prefere would indicate a better connection with their way of life, not their choice of technology. It is obvious that iPod is on a role, but that is temporary. This technology is not reserved for one producer to control an individuals way of life, it is only a market driver. With increased competition in the music technology industry, iPod will no survive as a market leader for long. Then what, will we have several different stereotypes of social activity based on the usage of music techonolgy?
Innsendt av: Henrik

It's really an issue of MP3 technology - but also the way we use a host of new technologies - as such MP3s are probably the most harmless- you should look at the new applications possible for mobile phones - overrriding your preferences not to reply - usurping your ring tone with one that somebody else wants you to buy - technologies are at ambivalent in relation to preferences!
But I do study people's playlists!

michael bull
 

a great paradox

this whole issue of ipoder being individualistic seem a great paradox to me. The ipod itself is a product of heavy marketing and advertisment. Seeing an advertisment for ipod, reading about it in media, and then buying one thinking one has been very individualistic is not idividualistic at all.

This is an issue that dagbladet.no does not mention, what is your view on my statement and does the?
Innsendt av: Amin

Hi Amin - I've kind of answered this already - is it possible to be an individualistic consumer or is it all just ideological?
Music does hold a potentially subversive role in consumer culture dpite being commodified - so there might be a space?

michael bull
 

iPod mini

Which is the one you prefer?
Mini, shuffle or the "original"?
Is there any difference?

I have an iPod mini myself, and i love it!!
Innsendt av: Jens

I l ike mine - the iPod photo!

michael bull
 

dangerous?

can it be dangerous to listen to loud music?
Innsendt av: Anders Rang

Yes - very - if you listen to it for a long time. I'd suggest users buy the most expensive headphones they can!

michael bull
 

Is this a new thing?

What when the walkman came and later the discman came? And before that we had the big boomboxes.

This is just the boombox, walkman and discman in just a new coating.
Innsendt av: xen

It's mobile like the rest but different - before boomboxescame transistor radios - car music systems etc.
The boom box makes everybody listen to your music also.
iPod give the user much more choice over what they listen to.

michael bull
 

Not only for the young...

I am a iPodist. Started out with a 32 MB Rio mp3 player in 1997 and was a Nomad 1 and 3 fanatic - until iPod 3G caught me. Now my two grown up sons have each an iPod 4G along the 1GB Suffle; the wife and daughter both have the 4Gb Mini... and I have the car rigged to have the flexibility there as well. Fanatic - not really, but an ardent music lover. I have always been. The iPod offer the ultimate in a) sizable electronic storage for my many 100 LPs and CDs and b) the ultimate cool factor as well as c) mobility.
If you love music this is the solution. And also your photo album is there at the tip of your fingers...
Unfortunately it takes forever for the music industry to understand that this is the format and medium for the future. The publishing industry however have understood, and all good titles can be easily found in electronoic format. Digitally protected - of course.
I don't have a question but just wanted to let you know how we as family have adapted to the new media - astonishingly observing that the 'music industry' by RIAA have not understood very much of what has happened over the last 10 years. This is not only for the young generation, but for those young at heart that is willing to explore what new technology can offer.

So - it is very simple. This is about convenience and coolness. Unfortunately Nomad understood that too late, as did Sony... But Appe has to come up with something extra cool the next time. 100 GB storage is not enough, neither more battery power, for coolness to survive...

Innsendt av: Thor T

Yes - a lot of my sample are between 35 and 55. So you're not alone!
I'm looking for all family adoption - so I'll get back to you when I've sorted out the questionnaire - it's an interesting observation that domestic space has increasingly become segmentalised by domestic media (everyone having their own things in their own rooms) so i'm interested in how the iPod might, paradoxically change this.

michael bull
 

The union of individuals

How can someone jumping on the biggest hype/trend of all be an individualist?

Reminds me of the scene from Life Of Brian where the crowd shouts in chorus "We're all individuals!" (except one who shouts "no"...)
Innsendt av: Espen, Oslo

Another paradox - their unique connection to their own music?

michael bull
 

Regionality

Do you find the iPod-attitudes vary regionally?
Innsendt av: vibeke

Not really - it's an interesting example of the technology defining use - people put different music on it but tend to classify and listen in similar ways.
Users in the US (not the centre of New York or Chicago) tend to use theirs in cars more - whereas Europeans tend to use theirs whilst walking more.

michael bull
 

Hi

I think the minipod got kinda very sharp edges, have you found and other people who have complaint about this? And why have you gotten the name "Prof. iPod" when the text in this article mostly refers to mp3 players generally?
Innsendt av: Jonas

nobody's mentioned the sparp edges - i thought it was quite smooth.
I got the name from Wired News and it's stuck!
iPods have become generic for MP3s like Walkmans for personal stereo players.

michael bull
 

Hi

What will you do to make ipod even better?
Innsendt av: Eve

Ideally I'd like it to cook my breakfast!
but seriously more memory - more connectivity to other technologies.

michael bull
 

The Most Beautiful Animal in the World

Do you know if there is somewhere I can buy an iPod with Giraffe-pattern?
Innsendt av: Bolleh

No, but I'm sure if you look...

michael bull
 

An excuse for thinking?

Hi Dr. Micheal Bull
I acquired an iPod som years ago now, during it's early times and it has been very close to me at all times since then. One day someone told me that filling up the day with music at all times could be considered as an unconscious choice to not think. As one listens to music, one can get the mind off other issues. Can a portable musicplayer be considered as a choice to put problems on hold? I confess that I listen to music for evasion, but if I this has become my and many others way to deal with everyday life could it be considered as a social anomaly?
Innsendt av: Fridtjof Hødnebø

It's one use - deciding not to think about the day ahead, the person you will meet, the problems that you might have to confront. We have to do a lot of things that we don't choose to - so playing music that you like takes you away from that - as such its also about reclaiming your time for yourself.

michael bull
 

iPod owners and iPodders

Out of 100 iPod owners, how many would you characterize as iPod enthusiasts, that live and think the way you describe in your research?

Do iPod enthusiasts feel more strongly about the legallity of the music on their pods than other iPod and mp3 player owners?


Innsendt av: Stig Mjøl

Most users are enthusiastic users - the technologiy doesn't appear to suffer the routinisation that mobile phones appear to suffer from - this might well be because of the special role that music plays in people's daily lives.

michael bull
 

Just back from new york

Hi,

just back from New York, the ipod capital of the world. There it seems clear to me that people use the ipod to gilter the noise out. There will be amny people with seriously damaged ear from this!

What did I do in New York? I bought an ipod. I have started listening to audiobooks and the best way to listen is with an ipod. I do not want music when I walk, cycle, climb mountain, go skiing. My father says he listens to Beethovens 11th synpohony when he walks, and it is right I get the most control out of not listening to others music when outdoor.

Every movement have its cyclus. Where is the yo-yo today? there will be an reaction to ipod, i think that will be earphones with silence or just weak meditative sounds or nothing.

.Kai
Innsendt av: .Kai

Loud music damages the ears, full stop!
I envy your father, as Beethoven only appears to have written 9 symphonies!

michael bull
 

Design isn't everything...

Why do people treat the iPod as if its such a great product, and as if its the ONLY product? I will admit that designwise, it's one of the best DAPs. However, if you get more technical about it, there are way better players out there. The iPod is simply a mediocre player, and would never have been as popular as it is without its marketing, media coverage, and huge corporate backing. The article I just read says that you describe "iPodders" as people who reject commercialism, the corporate world, but isn't that exactly the opposite of what they have done by purchasing such a commercial and specifically marketed product?
Innsendt av: Yrjan

It's a complex issue - using a commercial product to get away from forms of commercialism - yet consumption is all about paradoxes. Users often feel free precisely because of their dependence on objects like the iPod - 'dependant freedom'!
Users often feel they have more control over how, when and what they consume - but of course it's still consumption - for a radical critique of all this go back to Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man written in 1964.

michael bull
 

sleepless.. ore not..

I don't know if any other people have the same problem as me. I just can't fall alseep without music from my ipod. I've tried several nights, but when I get up the next morning, I am still tired. Those nights when I lissen to my ipod during the night, is the best nights ever. I'm "fit for fight" the next day, and far away from tired. Is this unusually? I don't look at it as a problem, but it would be funny to hear if this is only me, ore if I sheare this with any other people in the world..
Innsendt av: Marie Andersen

No, a lot of people like to drop off to sleep to some comforting music - it used to be from their record then CD collection - now the ipod just creartes an easier way to choose the music that will make you have pleasant dreams - also a lot of people don't like being alone and music provides an accompaniment to whatever they're doing.

michael bull
 

Why doesn't my friends understand?

I've read a bit about your research on Ipod and those who use them and I must say I recognize a lot of myself in it. It's definitely about control. I love my Ipod and couldn't imagine my life without it, but my friends and family hate it! They think it's so asocial of me to listen to that "thing" all day and I'm afraid they'll throw it away or something. Why can't they understand how much I need my Ipod? I've tried explaining it for them, but they just don't get it. Please help me.
Innsendt av: Camilla J.B.

Get them to buy one Camilla!
ipod users are the same as everyone else!

michael bull
 

Have you (Apple) considered making an encyclopedia for the iPod? Like a small portable encyclopedia in the Notes section? It would be great! Like "iKnow" or "WikiPod"? What do you think?
Innsendt av: iPodNewb

Yes its a good idea - I'm talking to Portalplayer next month (the company that design much of the contents for iPods) so i'll suggest it.

michael bull
 

hmm

I really don't understand the hype around iPod. Haven't they heard about iRiver?
Innsendt av: LarsP

Yes - but that's interesting - ipods are still more successful!

michael bull
 

Ipod as "Icon"?

I wonder why the Ipod (which is a brand, not a technological phenomenon) has caught the medias attention so strongly. It looks like a teenage girls fashion-accessory, and is technologically inferior to many mp3-players out there. Most tabloid-journalists lack the ability to think for themselves of course, not big problem as tabloids are not a relevant news-source. When scientists however,
seems bitten by the same bug, I'm getting worried. Has astroturfing reached academia?
Innsendt av: Winston Smith

I hope not! I study the iPod becuae its by far the most popular MP3 player - so if you're studying the take up of a new technology it helps to be able to focus one one object.
The marketing of iPods has of course been phenomenally successfiul - but it's also due to the aesthetics of the machine - plus its connection to iTunes.
therer's also a whole industry of ipod accessories all giving free publicity to Apple.

michael bull
 

Different question

Hello!
I don't want to ask the same question as everybody alse, so: what kind of music do you listen to? And if you have an Ipod, Which colour is it?

Love and kisses from Caroline (15 years old)
Innsendt av: ceroline

I've got an ipods photo - i've got all sorts of music on it from all of Billie hilliday, Janis joplin (shows my age!) to John coltrane and lots of classical. I've got nursery rimes on it to remind me of my small son!

michael bull
 

I need a BIGGER iPod!!!

Do you know if Apple has any plans of creating a bigger iPod than the current 60gb iPod Photo. I need a 250gb and I need it soon...

Looking forward to your answer!
Innsendt av: Thomas

I don't know for sure but you could probably bet on it.

michael bull
 

I love my ipod!!

I own an green ipod mini and I just can't get enough of it. I love it. But sometimes I feel a little bit bizarre, because I'm taking care of it like a baby. It maybe some kind of a obsession. Have you met people like this? (people that care sooo much for a electronic device)?


Thanks
Innsendt av: M.V

Yes, a lot of ipod userts have quite intimate attachments to their ipods - it's not unusual - i've met one user who has knitted a cosy for her ipod and snuggles up to it at night.

michael bull