Ambassadors of Mac

I met a very nice woman on the train the other day. She spotted me working on my Powerbook and she made an extra effort to speak to me about how I liked it.

“Excuse me,” she asked, “is that a Powerbook you are using?”

I wanted to reply, “Well yes, these are Bugle Boy jeans I’m wearing” but instead replied, “yes it is.” I quickly darted my eyes back to my screen as to dissuade any further conversation.

“I have been debating whether to get an iBook or a Powerbook” she added.

I realized that despite my best “don’t bother me” signals, this was going to be a conversation. But just as I finished giving her my Apple Matters business card, we arrived at her stop and she stepped down off the train, yelling, “Thank you Greg. Thank you!”

At first I wasn’t sure what she needed to thank me for as I wasn’t sure what I did. Maybe she was grateful I actually took my eyes off my screen and engaged in conversation (however brief) with her. Maybe she thought she would find her answer of iBook vs. Powerbook when she visited Apple Matters. (Note to Nice Woman: email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I will give you my opinion on what you should buy) Or maybe this woman caused me to stumble across something.

Apple users have previously been portrayed as rabid, faithful, fans whose only point of differentiation on the Star Trek Convention dork-o-meter is our iPods instead of phasers. This has led to the term,  “Cult of Mac”. But we aren’t a cult because we are small in number. We are a cult because we are ever-faithful. We were faithful through the Cube and the Tie-dye iMac. And with the bad times we have had the good times, namely the iPod.

Yeah yeah yeah,  I know…same ol’ babble about being a cult. Today I’m saying something different. We owe it to Steve Jobs, Woz, and everyone at One Infinite Loop to become ambassadors of the Mac brand. We aren’t part of Fight Club: I won’t look at your black eye, give you a subtle nod and tell everyone you fell down the stairs. It’s not enough to just buy the products, go to MacWorld and sport your iPod. You need to spread the word on why you choose Apple. When someone looks at your computer you need to tell them why you love it. When someone is looking at Macs at CompUSA, you must be the Apple specialist (God knows CompUSA doesn’t do it) and sell sell sell.

Owning a Mac comes responsibility and commitment. This nice woman did not talk to me because she wanted to have a Missed Connection posting on Craig’s List. She came to me because she saw me using a product in the real life—not a store display. And I like to think I contributed to her buying decision by being friendly. Her purchase will bring consumer confidence. And that will lead to strength for Apple in the future.

What will you do to make Apple stronger?