Aug 16Buying A New Case for my SmartphoneA Consumer’s Stream of Consciousness Recently, I had to buy a new smartphone case; the old silicone type seemed to be still functioning, but it was broken and frayed in several places, which didn’t look good to anyone anymore; additionally, I started imagining that the other functions were not as…Smartphones4 min readSmartphones4 min read
Jun 7Immersion as Sales Strategy. Apple’s “Vision Pro”So far, the next big thing hasn’t worked out so well — virtual, mixed, and extended reality haven’t made it to the broad market despite the efforts of big players like Microsoft, Meta, Sony, or Google. Now Apple is the next of the usual suspects to try it. They call…Immersion3 min readImmersion3 min read
May 30Annie Ernaux’s History of Commodities in the 20th CenturyIt sounds rather moronic to want to write “the” history of consumption. If one takes the word at its word, consumption is such a fundamental activity that one might immediately ask about metabolism per se. But something must have happened when vocabulary like “consumer society” appears. In her novel The…Literature5 min readLiterature5 min read
Mar 14Bret Easton Ellis’ PantsTruth is good, trust more effective Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho and Glamorama — please read the titles as words — has sat on stage for about a minute. …Bret Easton Ellis3 min readBret Easton Ellis3 min read
Mar 12Refusing ConsumptionTo Have or Not To Have In my old flat-sharing community, there was a poster whose platitudinous exclamation I quote from time to time: Who lives, disturbs. The updated version would probably read: Who lives, destroys. For he who lives cannot not consume — and every consumption has its costs…Consumerism4 min readConsumerism4 min read
Feb 18On The Take Off of AdvertisingNever Mind The Product — You Are Okay You see the goods and wonder how and when it could happen. For example, tea blends: Happy Nature, Soul Balm, Inner Harmony, and Women’s Tea. When and how did this happen, that the promises of marketing emancipated themselves from the products, that…Advertising4 min readAdvertising4 min read
Feb 11Deciding consumptionThree questions for the goods Buying a product is a lengthy, usually annoying affair. If you “research” a product on the net this might sound familiar, but even if you put a carton of milk in your shopping cart, it took a lot of time. Probably few during that one…Consumerism7 min readConsumerism7 min read
Feb 4Use against Brand ValueConsumption is the permanent task of distinguishing between personal needs and social promises What about »use-value«? Doesn’t sound very sexy when you put it like that. Telling a story about the benefits of a warm blanket won’t make you look like a sophisticated consumer — but if you add that…Values5 min readValues5 min read
Jan 28Values. Economy + CultureIn consumerism, »value« is a cross-functional concept that bridges culture and economy. “Value” is a fancy word for preference management gone social. As such, it is highly pervasive and can be found anywhere: a spoon is considered a valuable tool the value of commodities come as prices companies want to…Consumerism4 min readConsumerism4 min read
Apr 22, 2022Boring Postcards by Martin ParrMy shelf controls the number of books I keep. And since I keep buying, I have to get rid of old ones. So time and again, I leaf through them, questioning which ones may stay. So I encountered Martin Parr’s “Boring Postcards” again. The first book features historical postcards from…Martin Parr4 min readMartin Parr4 min read
