zune

With yesterday being the Microsoft Zune official release and the fact that people are adamant about getting a Zune over all other such products out there, I’ve begun questioning how and why people choose to support certain brands.

From recent Hitwise data, Google accounts for over 60% of search. Why doesn’t Google have more than 60% or closer to 70% or even 100%? Is it because the other approximately 40% believe that their search engine of choice is superior (which could very well be the case)? Do they hate the Google ads and not want to see them? Do the others simply not know about Google? Do they dislike monopolies? Or do these individuals in the minority simply not want to support the Google brand on principle?

Consider the hype surrounded by Microsoft (which I noticed was most prevalent in the Windows 98 era). Everyone chanted “Microsoft sucks,” though everyone continued buying Microsoft products and we saw no shortage or significant shifts that evidenced a market shift to something “superior.” Why is this so? Microsoft is what was easiest for everyone. Windows was what worked. Windows had more compatible applications, whereas other competing operating systems (MacOS, Linux) simply did not. Microsoft was the winning brand, but we still saw people, albeit in small numbers, change course.