Meanwhile, the Mac is better because it's easier to use. It doesn't have to be "optimized" or "managed" so much. It's integrated and works better out of the box. It looks better. Those are noob arguments.

Yes, there are noobs who use PCs and geeks who use Macs. But for the most part, the PC vs. Mac debate is a conflict between the core values and perspectives of geeks and noobs.

The same goes for the disagreements over Android devices vs. the , Google+ vs. Facebook and more. People launch into massive flame wars online and bicker endlessly about which platform is better. Yet hardly anyone stops to appreciate that geeks and noobs are talking past each other with geek arguments and noob arguments, geek values and noob values.

This phenomenon also applies to predictions and market analysis. Far too many of my colleagues in publications and on blogs all over the world make the same mistake over and over. A new product comes out, and they evaluate it according to geek values. Yet the larger consumer market will judge it primarily on noob values, because noobs are the overwhelming majority now.

Tech pundits praise and predict success for products that are tailored for geeks, but then those products fail in the mass market because geeks are a relative minority. For example, this is why the Palm Pre failed. The "experts" predicted incredible success because they, personally, loved it. But there's no way a geek product like the Pre can compete against a noob product like the iPhone. There just aren't enough geeks.