Happy New Year!  (Happy Demo Loop Year!)

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
– Saint Augustine

My job takes me places.

I visit various cellular phone retail establishments each week where I interact with managers and staff to instigate more Motorola phone sales. Sometimes I’m very fast talking, funny, insightful while other days I play a little dumb for others to share/shine.

Each quarter I visit about 300 locations — prepaid stores, postpaid stores, and big box stores like Best Buy, and lately I really can’t help noticing something during my visits to Best Buy stores. The bulk of my time inside Best Buy locations are spent around the cellular phone displays with staff and customers but increasingly my peripheral vision catches those stunning demo loops on those immense OLED TVs.

When I walk past those seductive images on those shimmering screens my frame rate increases, and my breathing pauses. I’m sure the security cameras rotate around me multiple times to show that I haven’t really moved at all for minutes.

Later, while driving to other locations I find myself analyzing my fascination with the world view of demo loops for electronic devices. I am beginning to think with everyone viewing these endless volume of demo loops certain expectations for daily life are truly changing. Inevitably, these demo loops are a cascading collection of decisive moments that are wonderfully photographed, and handsomely presented with newer intoxicating music.

As consumers we may no longer have the strength to look away.

Little by little I am beginning to think we all want to secretly spend more and more time in a place that I am now calling Demoloopland. No doubt, businesses that are building the new metaverse see this growing phenomenon too.

Why are these well-crafted demo loops slowly changing everyone’s expectations so much?

I’ll tell you why. The screens on our electronic devices keep getting better and better and better with richer colors, contrast, and luminosity while the demo loops keep showing us more fascinating views, fascinating people/animals, fascinating places, all in the very best light. Manufacturers imply with their demo loops that their devices are really the best magical passport to this heavenly place.

However, what these demo loops do not show us is the majority of our days. They do not show anyone stuck in traffic or looking for parking, attending another meeting, standing in line at the grocery store, or cleaning anything. They do not show us argumentative politicians, obscene/hateful individuals, impoverished neighborhoods, war, or any litter. They do not show anyone learning a craft, “paying their dues” or problem solving successfully.

Some of us grew up long before demo loops were such a thing but there is a growing population where viewing endless demo loops have permanently altered their sense of what to expect of reality. Serendipitously, it’s like more and more people have joined a new religion inside Demoloopland. All golden moments, no bad stuff, no struggle, no frustration, just endless amazing discoveries for ourselves and our friends.

This is the time of year where we often wish each other a very Happy New Year, but now with all our social media postings I think what we are really are saying is have a very Happy Demo Loop Year! All our social media postings have become our own demo loops!

Let me be the first to wish you a very Happy New Year (Happy Demo Loop Year) on January 1st and catch you later in Demoloopland!  Saint Augustine was right. Variety is everything.  Get out there again!  Discover and document those new delicious decisive moments for yourself, then share them back again on your next social media posting!  I look forward to your 2023 demo loop!