Looking for Community? Get Apple.
Apple is celebrating at its annual rite of passage — Macworld Expo — in San Francisco. I highly recommend it, at least once in a lifetime. To be sure the exhibit hall is loud, and the smarmy ones among us may complain the presentations are not challenging enough, but it is one amazing immersion in some of the most fun and creative uses of technology one can find. Mac users being the friendly types, there is also this rather rare open-hearted energy that infuses not just the convention center but the environs of San Francisco as well. I was there a few years ago, and ended up iChatting in my hotel lobby with other attendees. We had chosen the venue because it had Wi-Fi, and we were all toting our PowerBooks and iPods around.I don't which came first: the apple or the fun and friendly. But Apple people are like Toastmasters with groove: you can go anywhere in the world and find a Mac User Group and be welcomed in. Or you can be sitting in Borders with your laptop and an iSight and when another Apple laptop user appears... there is a wink in the eye and an energetic "hey sis/hey bro" message shared between the two.I can't count how many conversations have been struck in my travels based purely on my Apple gadgetry in use. Back in 1997 it took me three days in Thailand to convince the owner of the beach bungalow where I was staying that it was safe to let me use his one and only phone line to connect my Newton and get my email from an AOL server in Bangkok. Or the prosecuting attorney who switched MP3 players with me on a flight from Denver to Honolulu . He has since upgraded from Rio to iPod. :-) He has also shared some awesome snorkeling locations. Not to mention the "she's cool" vibes I get from those who could be my grandchildren when they see me with my iPod or 12" powerbook. Vain me, I just love that!Today Apple introduced its new mini computer — what you might call the next generation cube. It happened at one of the now famous Steve Jobs Macworld keynotes. Those are a purely giddy event that has more intrigue and emotional pull for Apple fans than Christmas morning does for a legion of six year olds. One by one, the new toys get rolled out on stage, backed up by very grownup facts and figures about the legendary quality and innovation that is Apple without parallel.So if you're feeling lonely, drop into an Apple store, and get yourself something. Then carry it around with you and notice the friends you meet. You never know where it might lead, but I am darned sure you'll have fun on the way.