Personally, I think it says a lot about a person when they purchase an iPod Shuffle.  I really thought about this again upon the release of Apple’s newest edition of the ever-so-diminutive, disdainfully random MP3 player.

This thing is ridiculously tiny.  I’m afraid that I would accidentally consume it, thinking it was a stick of shiny silver gum or something.  I’d be bound to lose it.  On top of all of that, before I misplaced it, I’d be bound to toss it out the window or smash it into microscopic pieces, veins standing out on my forehead like the Hulk.  Why?

I’m a control freak, that’s why.  A genuine Type A, anal-retentive if you will.  I want control.  I want choices.  More than actually having choices, though… I want the ability to choose to have choices. Call me existentalist (I’d be flattered) but willingly purchasing an product that will tell me what I want to listen to is ludicrous… even if it actually knew.  Frankly, I usually listen to my music at the gym (certainly the most obvious target market for the Shuffle is sweaty bodied workout lovers) and I almost always have it on shuffle mode… at least when I’m not watching videos.  BUT, the ability to choose any song I want at any time is crucial, even if I don’t use it.

It is thus that I believe that owning an iPod Shuffle says a lot about a person.  Perhaps not in all cases, but certainly in some, potentially a majority.

Maybe it means you’re a rogueish adventurer, more than content wandering the streets of life in search of love, debauchery, and shenanigans.

Maybe it means you’re a fun loving spirit; a class clown of sorts who’s always ready to entertain at the drop of a hat and loved by all.

Maybe it means that you’re ready for whatever comes your way, c’est la vie; that you’re super-prepared for what life throws at you at every intersection and are willing to meet it with open, nay, enthusiastic arms.

Or, maybe it just means you couldn’t care less.

One way or another, I’ll stick with my carefully organized playlists (created with specific purposes), meticulously crafted music collection, and existentalist MP3 player :)