THE BORE
General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: etiolate on December 30, 2008, 08:14:16 AM
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Nerds make great consumers. They buy their shit in droves. Companies have realized this and have started to exploit them as a demographic.
What bugs me though, is how passionate the consumerism gets and the unhealthiness of it.
Nerd consumers break into two sects mainly, both of which have a high attachment to their hobbies.
1. Those that live in the world of their hobbies.
These are the slash fic writers, the fangirls and stalkers of imaginary people. They mix and match their hobbies like they were an eight year olds random assortment of toys. They have no sense for the meaning of it all, for the intent of the artist behind the hobby and no solid borders between reality and the hobby. They don't care what the meaning of the storyline is, they just want their fanservice. They want Mulder flying a saucer to a romantic sex getaway with Scully, only to have Spike and Buffy the Vampire Slayer showup for a menage-a-trois. There is a childish mentality that never gets the big concept. If you indulge them, they will buy it and buy it like mad. You don't even have to worry about quality, you just have to make another and then another.
2. Those that see the company as their friend.
No big major business wants to be your best buddy. Some nerds forget this. Some geeks, having grown up in perhaps a harsh social world, have learned to take refuge in their hobbies. This practice over the years grows an emotional attachment to the hobby and the product, and a parent/guardian like reverence for the product. They will defend this product tooth and nail. They will accept whatever it gives them, because whatever its doing is kindness. These consumers have no sense of self-respect, no sense of the 'consumer is always right'. They don't complain and take offense to others complaining. Yet again, quality doesn't matter, but for this sect of nerd consumers, you can abuse them quite easily. The fanservice at least asks something of the company, even if its distinguished mentally-challenged and a horrible idea, they demand something in some way. The nerd consumer that is emotionally attached waits for the company to demand something of them. It's freaking weird.
And I don't think these things are common to any sort of situation of consumer and company, or people and bigger organizations. Sports fans get angry when the team sucks. People, some if not the majority, do take action in politics to tackle government. The average consumer does complain about a poor product. The nerd consumer just asks to be babied or asks to be bent over and paddled. They're erasing the consumer's sense of rights and a financial vote.
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Self-hating nerd.
You can find the first example in all walks of life. From people who only buy Harleys, Fords or women that only shop at certain stores or buy certain handbags.
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You forfeited your rights when you bought a Wii.
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Welcome back, Cajole. :bow
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Self-hating nerd.
You can find the first example in all walks of life. From people who only buy Harleys, Fords or women that only shop at certain stores or buy certain handbags.
That's not like my first example.
"buy certain handbags "
is not
"can you make this character gay in the next episode even if doesn't make sense?"
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wat
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I don't care what you say. Lundbeck, the makers of Celexa, is my new best friend. My new friend has, however, killed my sex-drive. So, it's like I'm friends with a fat chick.
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Welcome back, Cajole. :bow
Malek and Cajole returning = EB becomes 10x more enjoyable to read.
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wat
Videogames are serious business.
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Welcome back, Cajole. :bow
Malek and Cajole returning = EB becomes 10x more enjoyable to read.
Juice won't stay unless we start discussing win shares, VORP, ERA+ and DIPS.
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:bow fangraphs :bow2
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Etiolate better STFU before I curbstomp him like I did back in 1863
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Self-hating nerd.
You can find the first example in all walks of life. From people who only buy Harleys, Fords or women that only shop at certain stores or buy certain handbags.
Yep, especially the latter. Handbags can be very serious business for some women, much like nerdery is for some men.
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Top of my head idiots to whom this applies:
-Nfags
-Applefags
-Linuxcunts
-demi
-Women/men who only shop in 2 different chains and only use CK perfume
agreed
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wat
Abstract: Brand loyalty exists.
This is a working paper, and you'll be able to read the final version when it's published in Pretentious Autodidactism Quarterly.
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You all have the brains of a teenage girl. I swear to god.
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u mad?
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Alas.
Your genius goes unrecognized in your own, or any other, time.
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So all nerds buy a lot of stuff? Not in my experience, cheap bastards.
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I don't care what you say. Lundbeck, the makers of Celexa, is my new best friend. My new friend has, however, killed my sex-drive. So, it's like I'm friends with a fat chick.
You went on anti depressants? hows that working out? how did finals go after missing all those classes?
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Sorry etiolate, but it's hard to ignore the irony of a ninthing attacking both fanservice and brand loyalty.
You went on anti depressants? hows that working out? how did finals go after missing all those classes?
So far so good, though I'm feelin' a bit drowsy.
The finals (technically they're mid-terms because of year-long classes) went okay, considering I basically missed two months of class and had a lot of trouble sleeping and concentrating.
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I was gonna come back in the New Year when Malek was unbanned, but that apparently happened early!
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Sorry etiolate, but it's hard to ignore the irony of a ninthing attacking both fanservice and brand loyalty.
A ninthing? I criticize Nintendo when I don't like what they do. I just am not so insecure as to be threatened by new ideas in gaming or have to follow a hive-think to get along. When the execution or focus of the concept strays, I criticize Nintendo. I'm at least consistent. The thread is about the danger of a mentality that is breeding and a loss of consumer rights by the hands of the consumer themselves.
There is no irony. I knew that would be thought, simply because most people have to categorize something that threatens them to more easily dismiss it. That obviously happens with me. I should have realized this applied here and that you all couldn't even have a real discussion about something you in some way agree with, simply becase you can't spend a moment to read, think and respond.
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yep, u mad
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Shit thread. Leper OP.
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i think you might find you have better and more interesting thoughts if you try reading books without pictures
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wouldn't that be a menage a quatre
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Pretentious Autodidactism Quarterly
omg I wanna subscribe! and what are their submission guidelines?
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wouldn't that be a menage a quatre
Mulder would just watch.
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every applicant must laboriously produce his own hopelessly idiosyncratic submission guidelines
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Pretentious Autodidactism Quarterly
omg I wanna subscribe! and what are their submission guidelines?
I say we should make this an actual 'zine.
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Mulder would just watch.
this is getting kind of hot
what's so bad about category one again
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I'd punch the op in the face if I could :maf
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I think etoilet is confusing someone being "threatened" with someone being "annoyed at the existence of".
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His daughter already reads gaming manuals at an eighth grade level.
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I think she's three or four. All I know is she ages quicker than Lemurs.
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Check JoshuaJSlone's wiki
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Sorry Etiolate, but you're dumb.
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I don't think I could even write crap like that if I tried
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Self-hating nerd.
To be fair, this applies to pretty much everyone on EB, GAF and nearly all the internet.
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I'm definitely self-hating, but it has absolutely nothing to do with my nerdery. As a matter of fact, if nerdery was some sort of shameful transgression, it would be so far down on my list of things that need to be addressed that it would effectively cease to be a relevant problem.
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Check JoshuaJSlone's wiki
It's creepy, because it's true.
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Welcome back, Cajole. :bow
i like to think i brought him back by leaving a creepy message on his blog :teehee
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Ahhh, the effects of nerddom on sales, this ranks up there with NPD graphs and playing assorted Wii games in :zzz factor
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yeah, being a total nerd is among my lesser concerns.
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Alas.
Your genius goes unrecognized in your own, or any other, time.
This was the best comment in the thread. :lol