Novelty – it’s new, it’s never been seen before and that makes it all so very interesting!

Necessity – You’ve tried it, you liked it, now you won’t do without it. You never new you wanted it, now that it’s here you can’t imagine life without it!

Nuisance – Familiarity breeds contempt. You’ve come around to knowing this thing so well, you know all it’s failings too. With the novelty long since worn off, these shortcomings better be small enough compared to the necessity of it all, or that thing is “going to the back shelf”.

Examples: Hotmail, Twitter and the recorded music industry.

The iPod is still in the Necessity phase, maybe only having just reached it by turning itself into a cell phone—what will the Nuisance phase bring, if it ever arrives?

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