Fanboism: new Thing?

K

KrocanX

Well-known member
Hey,

it looks like patriotism is the new thing. Last couple years I hear so often (mostly related to politics) that we should be more proud for our region/city/country/continent/etc (you know what I mean stuff). I always wonder why it is so cool nowadays.

Since this is tech-oriented forum and I really don’t want to discuss politics, I am curious what other thinks about similar stuff in “our world”, world of tech brands. I have a feeling that brand loyality and fanboism is so cool nowadays too. It is so similar to politics. Why are we so defensive about for example cameras? Why we need to argue about one or other brand? It is so childish but most of us have families already. Just look at the reaction to Matt’s (newsshooter) review of Kinefinity Mavo on facebook kinefinty group. There are many people writing really nasty words about Matt. Only because he wrote something not to good about their brand. Please, do not connect it to facebook. It applies even for forum here. You can ask same question about xxx cam to xxx,yyy,zzz section and you will se what I mean.
 
IMO, it was worse back in the day...you'll find many more people today who like and are open to using all kinds of cameras/technology. (But there are certain things that some people are very passionate about and that's okay too.)

It's a no-brainer to want everyone to keep releasing cameras and pushing their limits.

As far as Matt, he has always been highly critical, positive AND negative in his reviews.

Not exactly sure what he said about that camera, but you'll always find the worst feedback online as most of those people would never share the same thoughts with another person on the phone let alone in person.
 
Trace it all to a combination of fear and lack of self-confidence.

It’s a human reaction, wanting to be sure that I’m right, and my way is the only/right/best way. It takes a lot less effort to react that way than it does to stop and listen to someone else’s perspective, risking that we may have to admit we’re not exclusively correct in our way of thinking.

It makes no sense to react that way in the world of production. Any camera can be a good camera if it’s lit properly. It doesn’t matter if you shoot on Canon, Sony, Panasonic, RED, whatever. It doesn’t matter if you still shoot on DSLR. If you get what you want and need, and you’re happy with the end product (and in paid situations your clients are happy), who cares? Pixel-peep all you want. It doesn’t make anything better or worse.

The anonymity of the Internet, I believe, makes this worse. Nobody really knows who I am, so I can try to posture myself as an authority on something by criticizing everything else in hopes nobody will notice my true lack of knowledge and experience. Or I can discuss what I actually know based on my experience and risk that I may be wrong once in a while. The latter is more difficult to do, but it’s the better path to take in the end. (It’s also easier, as NorBro mentioned, to troll and insult people when you aren’t face-to-face.)

People rarely post their finished work anymore in favor of discussing what they don’t like about anything they don’t want to use.
 
Social media/the internet has made many of us more awful generally as human beings. I believe it has actually changed the way we think. How long has the message board/comments section/social media culture been around? At least fifteen years? That’s enough time for a global change in thought processes, in my opinion. Also the media...sensationalized news and opinion pieces everywhere, everyone desperate for ratings, polarizing and riling people up for at least the last 6 years if not ten or more. This trickles down to our posessions and our feelings about them, getting super defensive, unreasonably angry about them (“I own and/paid money for this thing, I NEED it to be the best thing, all competing things must be worse”.) Add this to the anonymity factor of the web and all the stuff above, and many people being generally angry/cranky ALL the time (again, cause of media/politics), and you have this rabid fanboy culture, just another extension or example of where many of us are mentally in every facet of our lives.

A little rambly but those are my thoughts.
 
Human beings have always been tribalistic. It’s in our DNA.

I don’t think many people today especially in the affluent west have a strong sense of personal identity. I mean in the sense of purpose, calling, family, culture, etc.

Without this strong sense of identity, and without a strong sense of cultural or familial heritage, it seems many of us look for identity in our possessions. I suppose we are products of our environment (capitalism), inundanted by marketting telling us we will find our identity in a product.

As tribalistic beings without a strong sense of tribe our identity, brand association is a fulfillment of that void. Again, I think it’s in our nature and has (sadly) become misappropriated to the wrong place: things.

Mac VS pc
Google Vs Apple
Panasonic Vs Sony
Xbox VS PlayStation
Ford VS Chevy

I could go on and on.

People defend it like it’s their own personal identity - probably because these possessions and brands have become a proxy form of identity markers.
 
I would say Apple one is the worst. You really cannot say almost anything bad about Apple without offending someone. People still believes that Apple is that one magic, not greedy company pushing the world of technology.
If you dare to say something about a price, lack of reperability, low specs or basically anything you will get people insulting you, doubting what you say and getting angry. It really is ridiculous.

Little side note: I use Apple products exclusively.
 
I have noticed the Apple HATERS are really fervent too. Post on FB (or wherever) a joking complaint or question about an Apple product and there will be inevitably one person telling you Apple sucks/get a $400 PC that has the same power
 
I think filmguy really nailed it.

Some of the worst/most aggressive "fanboy-ism" that I see is Apple/Android with the general aggressive hate coming from the Android "tribe"(but the Apple side has their share, as well). It's Ford/Chevy for nerds.
 
It's always been there as long as I've been on these types of forums. I feel like it's getting a bit better, though.

The early DSLR days were particularly bad.
 
It diminishes as the products improve. Back in the early HD days it was the Panasonic HVX-200 vs the Sony EX-1. Personal choices were at stake. Now the rising tide as lifted the boats and most cameras are more similar than different.

I do not understand the human need to have objects represent us but we do it. Apple is a company that has really benefitted from knowing how to manipulate that desire!
 
Bassman2003 said:
I do not understand the human need to have objects represent us but we do it.
Click to expand...

Not quite, but along those lines, I find it almost fascinating and hilarious at the same time why it seems so many RED users name their cameras, as if they were people or pets. Just poke around on REDUser and also see how many people on there post their camera's serial number like a badge of honor, too.
 
Run&Gun said:
Not quite, but along those lines, I find it almost fascinating and hilarious at the same time why it seems so many RED users name their cameras, as if they were people or pets. Just poke around on REDUser and also see how many people on there post their camera's serial number like a badge of honor, too.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's a love/hate thing they do to cope? People name their boats...

Thread topic: what's the most popular thing to do on the internet? The universe loves drama- humans enjoy a lively verbal brawl, trolling is a popular hobby, while some folks view debate as a puzzle to be solved, etc.
 
Bassman2003 said:
It diminishes as the products improve. Back in the early HD days it was the Panasonic HVX-200 vs the Sony EX-1. !
Click to expand...

We are in business and to some extent we want to justify our choices.

For example I 'have' to big up my FS7 - a director I work with is/was a BMUrsa chap. So to some extent it is in my business ineterest to wave the sony flag - because I could lose fee or even work.

The jobs become a mess when he rents me kit Im not completely across.

The public me therefore will big up the FS7.. even if I have a suspicion that the Ursa Mini is equally as good if not better (on formal shoots)
 
I wonder if a lot of this sort of fundamentalist 'Technologism' (for lack of a better word) doesn't come down to control. 'Art', creativity, the production of powerful images that communicate messages or stories clearly/beautifully is a tricky thing. Some people have the eye, many (most?) don't.

Creativity and artistic skill aren't necessarily things that people can control. But tools are. Tool you can learn the ins and out of. They're something you can control (even if you can't wield them skillfully enough to make great images).

I think that fact causes a lot of people to focus and attach themselves to the tools, over the craft itself.
 
I don’t see as much brand loyalty anymore. Mostly hype and trend followers. Whatever gear becomes a buzzword, that is where the “fanboism” seems to exist.
 
I think we humans seek out people similar to ourselves as a form of safety. The more someone is like us, the more we feel like we can trust them. In the ancient world this would have been very important for our survival.
In the ancient world this would have played out in all kinds of ways. Skin color, hair color, tribal markings/tattoos, piercings, cultural practices, religious practices, clothing, food hunted/eaten, maybe even tools used.

Today we tend to downplay the physical attributes (well... we try) and focus more on the mental attributes. Things like political affiliation, brand loyalty, music taste, movies/tv shows we both like, favorite characters, income level, profession, high school or university attended, even specific models of certain products. It's a way more complicated world so things get extremely niche. But I think our brains are still applying the same basic process to all of it and that processes is something like: similarity = safety.
 
That may also explain why people are always trying to get others to convert to their (insert whatever here). Although I think the bulk of that is still about spreading the joy. You like something so you hope others do as well. But a small part of it might be a subconscious attempt make others more like ourselves for the sake of our own well-being.
 
I must be an outlier. I use Apple products only because I am too impatient to figure out PC products. But I hate both types of computers equally, both have caused me gray hairs, lost clients, blown deadlines and immeasurable stress in my life. Apple and Microsoft are both evil, large corporations that don't really give a crap about their users and are simply businesses trying to maximize profits any way they can. Cameras? Sure, I like Canons but I also like Fuji, Arri, RED, Panasonic and even some Sonys. Aligning yourself with brands is dumb, esepcially when the quality differences are so minute now. Buy whatever works for you at the price you can afford, then stop focusing on brands and get out and improve your skills. None of us have even vaguely fulfilled the promise of what we could accomplish if we buckled down, didn't procrastinate, focused on becoming better artists and technicians and created work from the heart. The brand of camera we like means nothing, it's just a personal preference for menu order and type of media and codec. Preferences are fine but linking your own identity to your piece of gear that fulfills your preference set is disturbing.

I've always found that, psychologically, Fanboism and brand alignment/fanaticism is pretty sad, it means people mostly have low self-esteem, lead essentially meaningless existences and find fulfillment in buying a thing, rather than living a deep, meaningful life with purpose and helping their fellow man.
 
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