The Next Holy War

I am sure that a fair number of people in America have already read this article, or one like it, explaining that MRI scans of Apple enthusiasts showed that the parts of the brain that are stimulated by religion are also stimulated by Apple related imagery.

The anti-Apple folks were quick to use this as evidence that Apple had become a cult and that the mega tech company was brainwashing its customers. To which, most Apple customers seemed to respond with some variation of “You are just jealous cause Macs are better.”

If you are an Apple customer, take a second and ponder this: Could you go a full week without your iphone? Your ipad? Could you be happy using a desktop/laptop that was not a Mac? Be honest with yourself. Of all of the Apple users I know (which is a lot) I don’t think I could name 3 people that could answer “yes” to any of these questions.

Does this mean that Apple is creating a society of pod people? A new branded religion? How about this; how long could you go without using any sort of Google product? No docs, no calender, no Android, no searching, etc. My guess is that most people under the age of 65, Apple or no, would not be able to go a full week.

Like it or not, we live in the digital age. The tools created by tech companies are the means by which we interact with each other, inform ourselves about the world, and solve problems. Once upon a time, people gathered in churches to socialize with one another. Now we have Facebook. People used to look to the church for education and guidance. Now we have iPads full of text books. People used to pray for miracles for insurmountable problems. Now Google has created Solve For X.

Please allow me to clarify. I do not believe that anyone thinks that Steve Jobs was sincerely divine. Or that Larry Page is a prophet. I don’t believe that technology is taking the place of the higher powers. What I’m talking about is faith. In the past, when people needed somewhere to turn when things got difficult, they put their faith in religion. Today, people can and do put their faith in technology to get them through. To guide them and make their world a better place. Not necessarily instead of religion, but definitely in addition to it.

I’m not saying whether peoples’ faith in technology is a good thing or a bad thing. To be honest, I don’t know which I believe. But that isn’t the point. Like it or hate it, it is a reality. People do, very sincerely, have faith that the brands that they are loyal to will create products that will make their lives better. Not just easier. But better. More enlightened. And in the same vain as religion, people can become a bit fanatical in their support of their chosen brand. Just as with religion, faith can often turn to blind faith. And as with religion, the effects of this has the potential to become dangerous. Making it important for people to understand the core of what they are putting their faith in.

While Apple is clearly the most influential brand in this country, I would argue that Google is a close second. I don’t think Google inspires quite the same dedication and loyalty that Apple does. But its products have become so important in most people’s lives that it would be very difficult to ever completely remove Google from one’s life. The weight of its influence pretty much guarantees that its philosophies will work their way into consumers mentalities. And Google does, in the nerdier circles, command an extreme loyalty of its own.

The fact that these two technology behemoths are at the top of the world at the moment is not simply due to adoring fans with deep pockets or a plethora of personal data to mine. If one were to study the software, hardware, and services provided by both companies, one might notice that the two are strikingly similar in one regard: they are both attempting to take umbrella control of our entire technology based lives. They both have their hands in phones, email, cloud storage, music, social networking, calenders, etc. They have both worked to make it seamless to share information between these services and devices, IF you use their brand’s products for everything.

Consider Google first: when you sign in to your Gmail account, a bar across the top of the screen shows that you now have access to your Google Calender, Documents, photos, social network, Youtube for video, RSS feeder for news, and so on, until they have covered almost every aspect of one’s daily life. Every professional or personal communication that you have in almost any medium can be controlled and stored from one of Google’s mega server farms. And with the advent of Android, all of these controls can be utilized from home, on the go, or both. And Google intends to go even further. Google Wallets will soon be able to cover all of your finical transactions while Android powered on-board computers are now helping people operate their cars, refridgerators, and most likely a variety of other tools in the future.

And then there is Apple: with an iTunes account, people can now gain access to almost any digital product that they can imagine. Music, movies, books, photos, and an ever growing army of apps. If you can think of a service that you want added to your life, “there’s an app for that.” And since your iTunes account can be accessed from any Apple product, your entire digital life can be with you on your iPhone, iPad, iMac, Macbook iPod, or (if you are still awesome) Mac Pro.

And both of these companies have their own philosophies about how the digital world should be handled. These philosophies seep into their products. And through their products, into consumers’ brains. Most average Americans seem to either not notice, not believe, or not care about the level of influence these companies have in shaping our beliefs. But just as Christians have “ do on to others as you would have them do onto you”, Apple and Google have their own universe shaping ideas.

This next part is not hard fact (though to be fair, nothing that I have said so far is). It is simply what my experiences have lead me to believe.

As far as I can see, Apple subscribes to the “ trust us, give us your money, we will take care of the rest” mentality. Apple jealously controls every aspect of their user experience. Apple builds its own hardware, software, and services. With the core of their build strategy being “it just works.” Apple builds products that are easy to use, rarely break down, and connect to every other product that they offer, leaving the consumer with no need to ever worry about how or why the products work. The consumer is allowed(and in many cases encouraged) go about their day completely ignorant of the reality of the technology that is shaping their life, so that there is more time for them to get on with whatever is important to them personally. All the while, never needing to fear any of the horrors that have evolved in the digital age. Hackers, identity thieves, and virus writers are all blocked from harming the Apple customers because Apple can control and/or block anything and everything that comes in contact with their products. All you have to do to enjoy this charmed, worry free digital existence? Trust Apple.

Google on the other hand, appears to go in the opposite direction, with a sort of “trust yourself and society, give us your personal info, and we will take care of creating cool stuff” way of thinking. Google gives away many of its products for free (save for the right to push advertising on you) and open sources most of its other products, with the core of their building strategy being, “If you learn to use it, it can make your life better.” Google builds products that are versatile, open, and connect to every other product that they offer, leaving the consumer with the opportunity to learn, expand on, and creatively utilize how and why the products work. The consumer is allowed to (and in many cases encouraged) think about and actively engage with the technology that is shaping their life, so that there is more freedom to help design the future of whatever is important to them personally, as long as you can deal with the fear of the horrors that have evolved in the digital age. Google products are much more vulnerable to these issues because of the openness with which they release their products. All you have to do to enjoy this free, customizable digital existence? Trust the rest of the world.

I can’t help but notice the similarity between these two technology based philosophies, and the two economic philosophies that dominated the global conflict of the previous century. Apple’s desire to see everyone using the same utilities, whose operation is governed by one supremely intelligent body, and Google’s desire to have everyone engage in creating a variety of different utilities, whose operation is governed by the will of the masses, strike me as being fairly similar to the ideals of Communism(or Facism) and Capitalism. Since I don’t want to be stoned to death by fans of either company, I won’t elaborate on this analogy.

So what is the take away of all of this? For me, it comes down to the question of whether history will repeat itself. From what I understand about the past, every time two opposing philosophies that hold the faith of their subjects (e.g. religion, economics) come into contact with each other, violence ensues. Two forces backed by large populations always seem to try to dominate each other. Often, without the understand of the populations that give them power.

Will Apple and Google attempt to rip each other apart? I’m pretty sure that they have already started to try. However, only time will tell if this is in fact a burgeoning conflict will amount to anything more than corporate and legal battles.

I’m sure that most of the nerds reading this will be quick to point out that this whole essay is only wild speculation, that many of my points are based on extreme generalizations and personal interpretation, and that I have failed to take into account the intricacies of both companies cultures and practices. These are all valid points. But this is my blog and I’ll write what I want.

And I’m sure that many of the every day citizens out there think that I’m a bit crazy, that technology is a set of tools people use and not the source of our deeper held beliefs. Well, you may be right. However, I would like to leave you with this. File sharing has recently become recognized as an official religion. After only a decade or two of life on with the Internet, some people have already entrusted their spiritual well being to it. Who’s to say what the next 20 years could bring?