For three days last week, BlackBerry enthusiasts had to survive without the device’s trademark messenger service. The overreactions on Facebook and Twitter are leading to investigations of possible lawsuits against the company.
During the BlackBerry outage, I was one of millions left staring at my smartphone’s screen with a check-mark beside my “sent” message that I knew was a lie. While inconvenient, it’s not as big a deal as people made it out to be.
For one, the only people that should’ve found this a serious problem are criminals or high-powered executives. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is exclusive and entirely secure. You’d want the service available if you’re planning a heist or company takeover.
However, if you’re just a regular citizen with nothing to hide, texting should have been a viable alternative.
The only other people seriously affected by the outage are the ones that have integrated BBM into their social life to an unhealthy extreme — the true CrackBerry addicts.
The outage offers a lesson: take down a person’s phone number in addition to their BBM Pin. Without a phone number, the possibility of real voice-to-voice communication is completely lost, which is concerning.
This is an opportunity for such an individual who only BBMs to re-examine how they are socializing.
I understand the inconvenience and can even justify a little bit of anger, but during those BBM-free days I saw too many overreactions. People were outraged and many quickly announced their switch of loyalty over to the iPhone.
This rapid switch is one thing I don’t understand. Was the only thing attracting you to BlackBerry the free messenger service? It seems like people are just using this minor inconvenience as a reason to jump onto the iPhone bandwagon.
Personally, I bought a BlackBerry for its professional feel, great design and — I’ll admit it — a full keyboard of buttons. I wanted a functional and attractive device that keeps me connected to everything I need, and this stayed true even through the BBM outage.
If you hear of anyone still complaining about the BlackBerry glitch, consider a criminal background check or encourage them to embrace in-person conversations.
If they still complain, just pat them on the back and tell them it’s okay to admit they want an iPhone.
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