From the ‘standing in line for new tech‘ files:
I woke up a little earlier than normal this morning and headed over to my local Wal-Mart to get a Nintendo Wii Fit. It was 7:30 AM when I got there (the store didn’t open till 8 AM) and there was already a line out front.
What kind of technology inspires people to line up?
It’s a rare breed to be sure. Certainly people lined up for the Apple iPhone ahead of its big release and Nintendo’s Wii shortages overall have been legendary. Seeing people line up for a chance to exercise with their Wii in a new way is something that got me thinking. Why am I doing this?
Well in my case, I’ve got the Wii (which I had to line up for to get initially too) and like every techno geek I always want the bleeding edge of innovation. The way that Nintendo has managed to restrict supplies and market its message are second perhaps only to Apple so that certainly helps too.
While I was standing in line, I tried to think about any other technologies that I’d line up for and then it hit me. The media ‘frenzy’ surrounding the latest Firefox 3 release is kinda/sorta in the same vein. We in the media hang on every little tidbit of info from Mozilla, writing/blogging about every alpha,beta and release candidate. The early indications of download numbers for the development version of Firefox 3 also seem to indicate large uptake. Certainly there are no physical lineups and there is no shortage of supply, but i suspect that if Firefox were a physical retail product I’d likely line up for it just like I lined up for the WiiFit.
As for the Wii Fit as it turns out I was the 25th person in line and my local Wal-Mart got 35 units. I haven’t actually opened the box yet. I got enough exercise this morning standing in line.
