The dictionary defines an icon as "a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something : this iron-jawed icon of American manhood." This word came to mind as I watched and read about Steve Jobs at MacWorld in San Francisco introducing (shall we say "groping") his latest marketing invention--the Apple iPhone, a shimmering sliver of consumer elecronics that Jobs believes is "the best cell phone ever created." If you dismiss his marketing glitz and think about the staging of the iPhone, you'll better understand the iconization of consumerism. We now live in an age of icons--objects created by marketers for profit, items that we don't need but we want. This is especially prevalent these days in mobile telephony. When the Motorola RAZR first appeared, it was a status symbol only for a short while that cost you a hefty $500 for the thinnest cell phone on the market. It quickly became an icon representing something "hip," an icon that now defined the personality of the user, something "cool" to whip out of your pocket and impress your friends. Within a year, mobile telephony manufacturers began shipping similar thin phones to the masses and the icon status of the RAZR faded quickly. Only by colorizing the RAZR in pink was Motorola able to resurrect part of the original icon. Now the pink RAZR--likely targeted at young females--became the new icon to adorn a desk or gracefully remove from a purse, like lipstick, an object defining the person, again, an icon. This is not new in consumer electronics. I can recall years ago that I had to have the best, most innovative audio receiver. I lusted after the highest signal-to-noise ratio. I ravaged the audio magazines seeking the ultimate in stereo equipment. I paid through the nose to acquire new objects: the highest rated audio speakers, DVD players with remote controls that would baffle a Lockheed engineer. More and more, I kept adding additional electronic icons to my coffee table: the high definition television, the Tivo recorder with enough hard disk capacity for months of TV movies that I would never have time to view. The icons proliferated and cluttered my living room. The icons became a statement of me. Whether it's the Apple iPhone or an expensive audio device or a WIFI mobile telephone--it doesn't matter. Consumers worldwide now lust after an increasing array of iconic symbols, symbols that give meaning and definition to one's self, symbols that rapidly change as we acquire more of them. Just as the Internet has rocketed information access to the masses, new objects, new icons appear on the market with increasing rapidity and variety. It's as if the cosmetics industry has taken over the definition of oneself. The icons spread, we buy them, and we let them define who we are. So...as you lust after the Apple iPhone and consider paying $1,500+ for a shimmering sliver of light, remember that you are buying the latest icon--something that defines you as a person and next year at MacWorld, Jobs will have something else for you, a new object you think you need....but only for the moment.