Digital snobbery

SO I am discovering more and more that I am a digital Snob and I'm wondering how many other people out there are the same way. If I'm interested in a product from a particular company and they don't have a web presence then I pretty much forget about them and look elsewhere. I'm an information junkie. I want to know everything there is to know about a product before I make my purchase and if a company doesn't see how valuable it is to put the information on the net then I just don't want to have anything to do with them. SO like I said I'm a snob. But I don't feel that I am alone and I feel that the we are on the verge of a paradym shift in consumerism (freshman Sociology reveals its ugly head.) Lets take a journey through time to see what I am talking about. I will try to divide the era's of consumerism into definable blocks that are totally made up by me but how in my understanding best represent the ebb and flow of what it has meant or what it means to be a "Consumer."

The Ma & Pop era.
Ahh the good ole days when you went down to the general store, also the local fillin station (that was for you sara) to pick up the odds and ends that you needed for daily life. Stores were highly specialized and the owner was extremely knowledgeable about everything in his/her store. I'm really thinking of the traditional hardware store here. Although I never really have been to a store like this I have been told that it was really a wonderful time. You could go into a store and say hey Eustis I need a 3/4" x 3" machine screw. Not only would good ole eustis know exactly where that screw was in his store while he was getting it he would ask you what new project you had going on. While telling him he would then impart some piece of knowledge in a gentle and kind way to essentially tell you that you really needed a 5/8" wood screw that was 5" long. You would thank him and take his advice, after all he was rarely ever wrong. When going to pay for it he would say don't worry about it its just one screw. IMO the shopping experience at this time must have felt very rewarding. You went to see a friend and to get good advice. The actual product purchased was almost secondary. Shopping was easy lines were non-existent and even if you had to wait in line you probably knew some of the people you were waiting with so that was a good time too.

The Wal-mart / Lowes era
Ok the commercially pronounced "Golden Era of shopping" where everything in the world is cheaper than anywhere else and everything you could possibly want is under one roof. To compare and contrast with the Ma & Pop era that same trip for the screw goes more like this. You go to wal-mart and go to the hardware department. You spend 5 min trying to find the hardware department. Then you spend another 10 min looking for the screw. Frustrated you spend another 5 min trying to find an employee. Once found you ask where the screw is located or if they have it. Another 5 min goes by as you both now look aimlessly at the aisle until you finally find the screw! WOOT! You go to check out, wait for another 5 min at one of the two checkouts that are open. Finally you put the 20 cent screw on your debit card. Once home you discover that you have purchased the wrong screw and a return trip is in order. If you choose to return the screw you can add another 5-10 min to the visit time. The shopping experience can be extremely frustrating and time consuming but the money saved can be very substantial so that makes up for the lack of knowledgeable sales staff.

and Finally...

The E-Commerce Era.
I do not pretend to think that the wal-mart era is over or that it ever will be over but I do think that this new era is running parallel and gaining momentum. Now Instead of having to go out to Wal-mart to find the screw you can check on line and see if they have it. You can look for what the best price is and compare it with a plethora of other merchants who beg to sell you the same screw only cheaper. You can search news groups and forums for people undergoing similar projects and find out that you in fact need a different part or that and again find out which one is best. I see this as the era of the informed consumer. We are no longer held hostage by the knowledge of others, we can now go out to a manufacturer and see every spec on a piece of equipment or the sizing info on an article of clothing and know exactly what we want to buy before we ever go shopping. A little side story to help prove my point. Last January Lisa and I got a new LCD rear projection TV. Since this was a major purchase I spent countless hours researching the best bang for my buck. I read reviews, looked at forums, posted questions, and compared prices. When it was all said and done I knew exactly what TV I wanted without having to ask the min wage employee any questions. In fact I knew more about it then he probably did when I bought it. But then he tried to sell me their extended warranty. I said I was not interested. He then went on to try and scare me by telling me that if the bulb went out that it would be very expensive and I would have to get it from them anyway. I replied well your service plan is 500 and a bulb is 200. I think ill take my chances. He then said well I don't think its that cheap and you have to get it through us. I replied again. My price was current from Panasonic as of yesterday and its listed as an accessory part purchasable from their site with installation instructions so I think ill take my chances. He was seriously stunned and had no come back. That is the power of the information age and why I am a digital snob. So to close I find this era very satisfying. I no longer feel jilted by inept employees who's best come back is "well this isn't really my department." I feel empowered and in control to use the means available to make educated decisions and then find the best price.

SO I guess to get back to the point that's why I'm a snob. If you are trying to sell something and you cant even fork out the money for a crappy site and a domain name than to me that says you don't feel you will be in business very long or you feel spending money on technology is a waste. Either way that loses something with me and I no longer care to buy your product. SO there you have it.

I'm a snob.