Terry Lucy

Getting an iPhone Literally Changed My Life.

In July 2009 I went into my local phone shop, full of anticipation and excitement about getting my first iPhone. It’s fair to say that I underestimated the excellence of the iPhone, even though I’d followed its progression loosely throughout its growth. The model I picked up - my first Apple product outside of an iPod - was the white 32 GB 3GS. Little did I know, that purchase would leave me unrecognisable to most of my friends less than two years later.

When I first got the iPhone, I guess I did the same as the majority of the world, I tried out some Apps. One of those Apps was Tweetie, the flagship Twitter application now known as Twitter for iPhone. I marvelled at its beauty. The iPhone and Tweetie were a match made in heaven. I suddenly became interested in design, UI and technology as a whole to a much higher degree.

Something just clicked when I eventually mastered iOS - as it is now known - and I found reading about not just the iPhone, but technology in general. I was engaging with people on the Internet about such topics on a regular basis. Many of my friends began to call me a ‘geek’ as a playful quip. But it was true. Due to the iPhone I was starting to become a fully fledged geek. Previous to this, I was interested in technology, gadgetry and the Internet, but it wasn’t at the top of my list of things to get involved in, as gaming was my main passion.

Buying an iPhone saw me board a train I’d never been a passenger on. Actually, I should say an aeroplane, as the other passengers were from all over the world. I threw myself into a whole new community of people, all sharing one common interest — the iPhone and Apple in general. I felt like I was flying in first class, discussing this marvellous, high end device with like minded people, learning new things and sharing tips and tricks. I’m not going to lie, I felt, and still feel great about the circles I talk in.

This interest extended and now I am a proud owner of a MacBook Air and an iPad. A true victim of the ‘Halo Effect’ some would say. But that’s the boring part. My ever growing interest and participation in a small community of iPhone users on the Internet gave me the confidence to start commentating on the matter. Speaking with my good friend Myke Hurley during one of our regular phone conversations regarding all things gadgetry and the topic arose of podcasts. I suggested (or jested, I can’t remember) to Myke — my partner in crime — that we start a podcast and low and behold, The Bro Show was born.

The podcast saw us speaking to the people we had only previously listened to, or read on their sites. All that did was ignite a passion that has now become one of the main focuses of my life, if not the main focus. Friends now say ‘Oh that’s Terry, he has a podcast, don’t you know?’ To me, that is a great thing. Podcasting is now part of my identity, and it has given me the confidence to open doors for myself and completely change my career goals.

Because of the iPhone, I am now a podcaster, with two shows going out weekly and more on the drawing board. I am also a news writer, for an amazing Apple news site called Macgasm, in addition to my existing work on Game Rant. Joshua Schnell — the founder of Macgasm and my involuntary mentor — even had Myke and I on as a guest on the Macgasm Podcast, which still blows my mind. There is a whole host of people that I now call friends, and essentially, that boils down to the fact I got an iPhone. That magical little device really did ‘change everything’ for me, and while my new passions are not without difficulties, I believe it changed it for the better.

I seriously cannot imagine what I would be doing with my evenings now if I had gotten any other phone.