A crisis of faith...

       I have had a crisis of faith recently. I'm feeling lost in a sea of decisions. For a long time I accepted one truth and followed one creed, and this left me feeling secure and safe. There was never any need to question, because the answers were already given before I had need of asking. But suddenly things are different; certainty has turned to doubt, blind trust to questions. I have spent the last week frantically doing research, hoping to gain back my trust in what I always accepted as right; unfortunately, what started as simple curiosity has only been exacerbated by these investigations, and I am face to face with the possibility of walking away from an organization to which I have adhered so tenaciously for 5 years. I know that, should I make this choice, it will not be easy. I am preparing myself to be ostracized by family and friends, to be subject to ridicule via Facebook and Twitter. With such harsh punishment in store for me I have to be absolutely positive that it will be worth it. I have to know this for sure in order to walk into the Rogers store with my head head held high and tell them that I am switching from the iPhone to an Android.
     
       Of course this seems all a bit dramatic for a simple switch from one brand to another. And of course I am being a bit facetious, and those of you who are acquainted with me know that I tend toward the hyperbolic. Nevertheless, the feelings that I experienced in first doing research on non-Apple phones were very close to those that I describe above. In simply looking into phones that were not the iPhone, I literally felt guilty and unfaithful. I felt that the late Steve Jobs was looking down on me (up at me?) disapprovingly. Less than one week ago I was happy, but less than one week ago I saw an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. In retrospect, I know that I would have been spared the anguish I have felt had I simply ignored this ad the way I usually do. But it is too late. Since then I have been reading internet tech reviews and watching videos on YouTube that give demonstrations of this phone specifically and of Android phones in general. I have become convinced that while Apple indeed set the initial bar for all smartphones, they have not been doing so lately and have let Android slip into the bar-setting position.
     
       I am not going to give any kind of break down of iPhone vs. Android here, and I am not going to attempt to lead any devout Apple followers away from their faith, that's not my style. I want to pose a question. Why is it feel like such blasphemy simply to switch brands? Did I cry myself to sleep when Starbucks was closed and I bought a coffee from McDonald's instead? No. Will anyone ostracize me if I shop at Superstore instead of Safeway? I hope not. Why then, all this drama? I believe I have found an answer this query. I have said for some time now that successful religions use marketing techniques in order to be so successful. I have realized I was in error there. It is not that religions market themselves like companies precisely, but that companies have learned to market themselves like religions. When somebody believes something, there is nothing you can do to convince them otherwise. Apple has taken this and made it into a marketing technique. You believe in Apple, you believe(d) in Steve Jobs, you believe in what they offer you, and 100 reviews that say another product is better won't shake your faith.

       Today is the day. Today I will activate a phone that is not an iPhone, and in doing so, of course, deactivate my iPhone. It may be difficult. I may have to take a moment or two to bid farewell to a good friend. My iPhone has been with me through a lot. It has settled disputes at parties, it has helped me find my way in an unfamiliar city, it has made church almost bearable. However, it is beginning to get tired and it will be grateful for the rest; and of course it really isn't being thrown away but rather demoted from iPhone to iPod Touch, meaning that it will still be able to perform those same services, provided there is WiFi present.

Gabe