Eddie Izzard has a condition called techno-joy. It’s the opposite of techno-fear. It doesn’t necessarily mean being good with technology, but being unafraid to chuck the instructions out the window while trying to make the new computer work better… with a hammer.
I have a touch of techno-joy. I am a hapless gadget junky, early adopter and Australian. This lethal combination means I have a disposable income in the lamentably tiny market of a first world country populated by what can only be described as an idiosyncratic bunch.
This can be upsetting to someone who finds that six months after a brilliant, life-changing purchase, the spare parts are no longer available, the consumables never got shipped, or the broadcast network the device is designed to work with has just gone into receivership and fallen out of the sky.
How unpredictable is the Australian market? How badly can it go wrong for big venture in this country? Well, as one small example, Starbucks had to close nearly 70 stores after failing to spin our beanies. (Between you, me, and the unfilled cappuccino mug, it actually makes me a bit proud and, perversely, no less risk averse.)
But I’m taking another risk. I don’t go in completely blind, but I will admit to going in a bit half-arsed. I got a Kindle and I’m going to review the device for all of you less reckless, more, can-we-just-see-what-happens-when-you-feed-it-after-midnight, type folk. (If you don’t know what a Kindle is, don’t worry, I’m going to explain in the next blob.)
Just a mention or two in the coming days and weeks, and we’ll see how you feel about getting one.
Who knows? We may change the landscape in the Australian market to a more egalitarian playing field. Scoff. Choke.
Hmm...
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