First in line
When we arrived at the Apple store this morning there was no one in line. We're still the first two idiots in line. But it's been good for PR. We've been interviewed almost constantly since 9:30 a.m. — Anyway, we're posting live video and chatting with people from the line over on Kyte.tv.
Context & Ripple Effects
The iPhone launch queue went national two days ago, when the first line formed in Manhattan four days ahead of the June 29 release — Gizmodo clocked that camp at 100 hours early. Today Robert Scobleizer is running the same play at his own Apple store, arriving to find himself first in line with one companion.
The twist is the medium: rather than just holding a spot, he is posting live video and chatting with people in the line over Kyte.tv, and says the constant interviews since 9:30 a.m. have been good PR. The queue is no longer just waiting for coverage — it is producing it.
First-order effects
- Apple gets a second wave of free launch publicity: every interview with the first-in-line campers is another camera pointed at the store and the product before it goes on sale.
- Kyte.tv gets its highest-profile test yet, with live video streamed continuously from the most-watched retail line in the country.
Second-order effects
- Other campers in the Manhattan and local lines face pressure to match the broadcast — a spot in line now competes on who tells the story, not just who holds it.
- Launch-day coverage shifts toward the crowd itself, giving blogs and video startups a template for covering product releases through participants rather than press events.
Third-order effects
- If queue-as-broadcast catches on, product launches become participatory media events where the line is part of the show — and platforms like Kyte.tv position themselves as the infrastructure for eventstreaming.
- Retailers gain a new variable in launch planning: the people in line are now broadcasters whose cameras extend the store window far beyond the storefront.
The trend: Product launches are turning into participatory media events, with the queue itself livestreamed as content and the campers doubling as correspondents.