The ugly politics of fanboy culture

Last week, I wrote about the irony — and in some cases, hypocrisy — that 46 percent of IT pros surveyed last month were committed to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 deployments, despite the negative reviews on the widely available Windows 8 beta and lack of real info on Windows Phone 8 at the time. (By the way, InfoWorld now has all the details on Windows Phone 8 security that IT needs to know.) I called them fanboys, in the same way the term is applied to users who want Apple or Google products — the pot calling the kettle black and all that.

I’m quite familiar with the fanboy slur, as I am often on the receiving end. What’s funny is that I’m called an Apple fanboy, Android fanboy, and a Windows fanboy — OK, most of the time an Apple fanboy. If I write something nice about Windows, I’m a Microsoft fanboy. I’m a Google fanboy if I’m complimentary toward Google. Conversely, if I go negative on Apple, I’m accused of being an Android fanboy or a Microsoft fanboy. If I’m critical of Google, Microsoft, or Research in Motion, I’m accused of being an Apple fanboy — apparently the common enemy of the other platforms’ fanboys. (It doesn’t help that my current preferred platforms are Apple’s iOS and OS X, though in the past I had different preferences and no doubt will again as technologies change.)

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As a columnist who writes about multiple platforms, I’m used to it. But I’m seeing a deeper phenomenon emerge, especially as the shrillness has risen and the ecosystem war among Apple, Microsoft, and Google has intensified this year, at the same time the afficionados of clearly dying platforms such as the BlackBerry lash out in anger and fear.

There’s always been a contingent of trolls and flamers on the Internet, where lack of direct human interaction and a degree of anonymity seem to spur on impolite — and worse — behavior. But there’s something else going on, similar to what’s happening in our political discourse (or lack thereof), where liberals only talk to liberals and conservatives only to conservatives. We’re living in separate political realities. Sadly, we now accept the notion of red states and blue states — political enclaves of self-reinforcement and rabid true believers — as our political state.

It’s becoming clear separate technological states persist, too. Here, people are self-organizing into blue (Microsoft), green (Google), and aluminum (Apple), and they’re creating walls around themselves. The Apple Store becomes the equivalent of MSNBC or NPR; the Microsoft Store is Fox News and Bloomberg News. Google Play is the local TV station, a grab bag of prime network shows, syndicated fluff, and happy-talk news.

As a fanboy, you shop in your store or order safely from Amazon.com, where you can essentially ignore other platforms. As a fanboy, you stop listening to the others and find a way to love whatever your vendor delivers.

That’s why despite the anger of iPad 3 owners of the iPad 4 announced just seven months later, nearly half plan to buy the new model anyhow. Or why there’s no outrage that Apple’s new Lightning connectors cost half again to twice the price of the previous Dock ones.

That’s why Android users put up with quickly orphaned models as Google releases yet another new OS version dribbled over a year or longer to a random set of smartphones. Or why they aren’t outraged that the Google Play market is a cesspool of malware, cyber theft, and lame software.

That’s why Microsoft fanboys quietly go along with the disastrous muddle that is Windows 8. Or why they’re not outraged that Microsoft’s Surface tablet doesn’t support POP email (the most common account type among regular Joe users) and requires you to buy a second Office license if you dare work on business documents on your new tablet’s included Office software.

It makes perfect sense to gravitate to technology that fits your needs, desires, style, and behavioral approaches. After all, we do that with architecture, art, cars, liquor, pets, religion, and pretty much everything. It makes sense to express the passion you feel and get reinforced.

But it doesn’t make sense to take it all so personally or to shut out the rest of the world or to attack those whose technological choices differ from yours. Yes, advocate for, celebrate, and even proselytize for what you believe is good. But accept that others have different yet valid choices.

Maybe you can even check out those other choices from time to time: Give them a periodic test-drive. You might convert to something that didn’t work in the past but now actually fits. (Hey, I used to hate Brussels sprouts! Now I love them.) Maybe you’ll be reconfirmed in your current choice. Maybe you’ll learn to be happily multicultural. But don’t descend into the technological equivalent of the blue/red feudalism.

Some people use the religious metaphor to describe fanboys: devotion. It’s apt; for some, religion becomes a feudal environment where all others are heretics to be killed. For some, religion is an empowering force for the greater personal and overall good, a positive force magnified through ecumenical embrace of good in all forms. The amazing technology we have today should be the latter.

Be a fan, not a fanboy. I’ll try harder, too.

This article, “The ugly politics of fanboy culture,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Galen Gruman’s Smart User blog at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.