Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Shawn Drops iPhone in Houston

I came across a video titled “Shawn drops iPhone in Houston” on YouTube. It posted on June 29, 2007 and has more than 547,366 views and 970 comments. Consumers commenting feel the video is funny since someone dropped their new iPhone. They make comments such as “omg thats funny” and “wow that guy has butter fingers lol it's probably broken now”. Shawn, the person who drops their iPhone, essentially shakes it off saying the iPhone should be ok since it has a plastic covering.



Interestingly, I came across some other videos [below] at YouTube from consumers critiquing Shawn for dropping his iPhone. One person does not understand why people find the video titled “Shawn drops iPhone in Houston” so funny. Another consumer feels Shawn is an "idiot" for dropping his iPhone.



I do not know about you, but I think the guy in the above video may have some issues. Additionally, I hint a bit of jealousy. Perhaps he was waiting in line for 12+ hours for an iPhone only to find out his local vendor was out-of-stock. I guess that would drive me insane enough to complain about someone else's misfortune (i.e. Shawn dropping his iPhone).

I wish I could meet the guy in this video because I would seriously tell him to Lighten Up, figuratively and metaphorically. This video is so dark it would scare Darth Vader!



The girl in this video needs to "chill out." And who is she calling an "idiot?" She is over-reacting more than Shawn. Shawn is the one who dropped the iPhone, not her.

Unfortunately, Shawn is not getting a lot of love from consumers online. However, that should not be of any concern to him. He has an iPhone and they do not. Go Shawn!

Videos like the two above lead me to have more sympathy for the consumers critiquing Shawn rather than Shawn himself. And Shawn is the one who dropped the iPhone. Some of these consumers just need to get a life, or a job. Afterwards, they can afford to buy their own iPhone and drop it so others can post videos about them on YouTube. Seriously, I have yet to meet someone who has never dropped something. I do not feel dropping something is worth being overly-criticized for, even if it is an iPhone.

I have heard that Shawn was able to replace his dropped iPhone for a new one. However, I cannot confirm this. Therefore, I am asking all of my readers to give me the "inside scoop" as to whether Shawn was able to replace it. Please provide a link to a source confirming that Shawn's iPhone was indeed replaced if possible. Also, is Apple doing anything to capitalize on good Public Relations (PR) if the iPhone was replaced? Any information on these two questions would be greatly appreciated.

The video titled "Shawn drops iPhone in Houston" on YouTube is becoming fairly viral. I have a few tips for Apple if they want to capitalize this incident.

1). Hold a press conference or post a formal video on YouTube letting consumers know what they are doing to help Shawn (i.e. replacing the iPhone). I understand there may be some legal issues since Apple will not want to let people know that they will replace every iPhone simply because it is dropped. Apple's legal department will be able to tackle this issue though.

2). Shawn could be the spokesperson for the new iPhone. I feel this may be beneficial for both Apple and the general public. Shawn is the subject of much ridicule online, but he did respond positively in the video by talking about the positive attributes of the product such as the plastic covering. Personally, I do not feel it is a bad thing when a lemon can be made into lemonade.

3). Apple should use this incident to encourage consumers to purchase products (i.e. plastic coverings, holders) and services (i.e. insurance plans) to protect their new iPhones. The iPhone is not cheap and I'm sure more consumers are sure to drop theirs.

No comments: