How often do you consider your preferred choice of something?
Your favourite colour?
Maybe Red today, Black tomorrow. Maybe you even like a few shades of Blue.
Your favourite dress?
That perfect black dress or Suit? Maybe you like to chill in some T shirt and jeans, just for a change.
Your favourite restaurant?
That Italian bistro at the corner with a view? Maybe even Chinese takeout or the regular McDonalds.
Your favourite movie?
Maybe an action flick or a romantic one. Too many to count?
Exactly. I would like to quote Neo from the Matrix: Reloaded on this one, “The problem… is choice”.
Let us analyse things a little differently:
The Brand
A funny thought crept into my mind one day, a long time ago. When we were hanging out, a few friends from college and I decided to get something to drink. Some choose to go with fruit juices, some wanted a tea and while I chose a Pepsi, another friend scorned at me and picked up a Coca-Cola. This amused me and with a little smirk I asked him what the look was for. Disdainfully, he asked me how I could even drink that Pepsi. It was like a bottle of acid to him and he told me he was all about Coca-Cola since it was the ‘Original’ cola. Though we were a bunch of kids, the concept of Brand loyalty. Nay, Brand contempt was dividing us based on our choices. This was not essentially a bad thing, but the inner neutral in me was waiting for a moment to make my move. I could have got back to him in a pointless argument about why Pepsi was better with a few comments and he would then retort with how Coca-Cola was the obvious better choice. I got back to him in the best way I could imagine back then. I mixed the last part of his Coca-Cola with the last bit of my Pepsi and drank it! The horror on his face was priceless. In that moment of desperate disbelief, he thought I might just spit out blood as the toxic contents burned my innards and taught me a lesson of why you could not mix the inferior with the superior. But there he was, clutching his own throat as if he had ingested the poison with the realization slowly dawning on him that this was nothing but a ‘harmless’ mix of two soft drinks which essentially were exactly the same with very subtle differences. Sure, you could take them both to the lab and run tests on them or even find tons of internet ‘research’ that tells you the opposite. But the truth is, it was choice. It was not the brand, it was the choice we made. In my case, an uninformed initiate who just felt like drinking a little Pepsi and in his case a representative from the elite squadron of Coca-Cola defenders. No matter the brand, anyone with the right amount of pushing will defend what he believes in with ferocity.
Subtle Differences
The tiger facing the lion.
The King Cobra facing the Black Mamba.
Intel facing AMD.
These paint a clear picture for those who know how similar and yet different each one is in their approach to the same goal. One is seemingly stronger but has a disadvantage in the same area the opponent has an advantage. The Tiger is bigger, the Lion is more adept. The Black Mamba has more potent venom, but the King Cobra is fiercer. Intel vs AMD is another 100+ page discussion. But while the platform is the same, the approach is slightly different. People today would gladly use both products without flinching, but in the earlier days Intel users found a way to criticize AMD users for switching over to the cheaper brand and AMD users argued about more value for money. The argument graduated into different aspects and theories but as of today, has become a well-established Duopoly. Pick AMD or Intel, it doesn’t matter. The difference between them is negligible. The competition is too close to pick out a clear winner. This is the crux of such a Duopoly. No other brand can hope to oust these two titans in their fields. They are like Tea and Coffee. You can argue which one is better for health and which one helps you work better. But at the end, you probably drink both or none. Tea brands often seem to compete with each other, but never do you see a Tea Brand talk ill about Coffee brand or vice versa. The differences are clear and yet subtle. Both sides have their advantages and disadvantages, but both sides are winners in one way or another. They never take potshots at each other lest they disturb an already smooth flowing market and create an opportunity for people to take sides or switch to an entirely new competition.
Dung Slingers
Competition, alas, can be an ugly affair. There are so many instances where companies or competitions have been at loggerheads with each other since eternity and will seemingly remain so forever. This is the competition at its worst. Mean, outrageous and so menacing that it brings hordes of loyal followers who can fight tooth and nail to prove that their choice is the better one. Unlike the previous ideas, they may not be similar at all but still target the same thing. Take for instance smartphones. IPhones and Android dominate the market with such an iron fist that existing competitors like Windows phones, Symbian, Firefox OS and many others were squished out. Apple with their iPhones may be just a single company against the manifold Android manufacturers where tons of iterations on the same OS are tweaked feverishly while the next version is churned out by Google. But this doesn’t stop the competition, it drives it. The fans of either side battle it out as Keyboard warriors, slinging dung on the other with no regard or respect. It is not that they benefit from it directly as they may perceive. They only make the competition stronger and the giants bigger. Hopefully, the average consumer has noticed how much the average rates of phones has increased in all this. The rise of social media has only empowered this trend a lot more. From the TV adverts taking gentle nudges at the competition, it has now emerged into an all-out war between their fans. All this Duopoly is caused by strategic moves from each of the opponents. In the process of fighting dirty, indirect, pseudo wars with their opponents, they also manage to wipe the battleground clean of any other competitors. They have become masters of manipulation and strategy. They have millions of fanboys now and these minions would fuel their domination by buying their products, either by being the first to purchase or creating those perfect reviews drawing in scores of customers.
Conclusion: While it may seem that we research and consult a lot before making a conscious decision, the fact that we made a decision gives us the armaments and a flag to defend it. It is no longer a choice but a territory with clear markings and borders. The entry will not be tolerated of any opposition. Everyone with a different choice to ours is an enemy and we must put forth our worst aggression, despite their calm or sane demeanour to us. Sadly, this is the state of the internet and the myriad keyboard warriors in it. The early versions of the internet sought to drive people closer together, to make them feel less alone and give a sense that this is a world with endless knowledge for those who seek it. The internet was both an enriching and a comfortable place. New things to discover, wonders to share and discoveries which helped us reinvent who we were. Apart from the occasional troll who was quite simple to deal with, the World Wide Web made us feel like Dorothy after landing in the magical world of Oz. Everything was new, fresh and wonderful. Sure there were dangers, but the world was so welcoming and pristine that it was easy to let your guard down and take in the sights and sounds. Now, the internet is akin to the planet Pandora from James Cameron’s Avatar. Everyone who steps foot in there felt like it was a pure and extremely beautiful place. But in the very first briefing Colonel Miles Quaritch says, “You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a Hell, you might wanna go there for some R & R after a tour on Pandora. Out there beyond that fence every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes”. Memorize that line if needs be. The Internet is a hard and unforgiving place.
Any friend of yours could suddenly turn hostile when your choice of something differs from him. That well-toned lady you admired might suddenly become an annoying dumbbell with a dozen pictures every hour to remind you that she frequents the gym. That docile and charming neighbour might smother you with sickeningly sweet collages of his kid and then confront you when you forget to comment on them. Don’t get me started on the ones who post pictures like they are celebrities, while hash tagging every alphabet they possibly can. But by far, the worst of all can be the Fanboys, dung slingers and generally anyone with a strong opinion. You can bet that they will spend every single minute they have defaming and flaming anything they hate on the internet. They will make you regret every post you put up with a mean streak, even if you know them to be otherwise. You missed an important call that could have got you that dream job? Post it and watch how comments range from sharing your sadness to why your choice of mobile network is the reason for a missed call. To hell with logic and reason, the internet is moving from being a flourishing forest to mindless logic covering everything like dirt in a wasteland.
Be thoughtful and respectful of everyone you socialize with on the internet. After all, every single person has someone who hates them and someone who loves them. Even God.
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