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A couple of big-hearted individuals took it upon themselves to join the queue at Apple's stateside stores...and their shiny new iPhones on the internet for charity.

Now everyone is doing it. There's even a up there going for the world record and raising funds for Hurricane Katrina rebuilding at the same time.
A direct appeal goes out to Paris Hilton et al: "Just think of all the publicity you will get from setting the world record for most expensive cellphone purchase on Ebay!!!"

I find rampant consumerism repulsive in any form. I also hate charity stunts. David Clayman and Johnny Vulkan were the original two who wore T-shirts to promote their causes as the media descended on the snaking queues only to find a new 'worthy' angle. Clayman was representing , which encourages big corporations to donate their expertise to nonprofit organisations.
Vulkan was queuing for , which works to raise funds for children with AIDS in Africa.

But the tale has a twist. Perhaps realising the publicity potential of this stunt, is presenting the first iPhone for Keep a Child Alive and it is currently going through the roof for thousands of dollars on ebay. Spike Lee actually bought it, which is mentioned further down.

Queuing for a whole day for a phone? Nah. Don't get it. Queuing, then sticking it up for auction to raise money for good causes? Hmmm. Still not sure, actually.

It's certainly raised awareness, and cash, for both organisations. But something just doesn't sit right with me. By putting the phones on ebay, aren't we encouraging more rampant consumerism rather than turning it on its head?

But surely it's okay, it's for charideee!

I've never liked charity auctions. Spending obscene amounts of money on, oh I don't know, a signed football or a dinner with a celeb says more about the person who enters into such a transaction than the cause behind it.

It says "Look at me! I'm rich, and I'm a philanthropist too!" But that just isn't true. Real philanthropy is performed without the expectation of personal gain. Okay, so the guys queuing may have known this, including Alicia/Spike, but do the people bidding for the iPhone? What do they really care about? The charity, being seen to care about the charity or the phone?

This stunt hops on the back of consumerism to raise the profile of two organisations working with people for whom the iPhone is an irrelevance as far as their lives are concerned. One nonprofit organisation supported by the Taproot Foundation is , which works "to help poor, homeless, and disabled people achieve health and self-sufficiency, and to fight against the root causes of poverty and homelessness."

Like Shelter over here if you need their help, you need the fundraising. But there's fundraising with dignity and then there's gimmicks. And sometimes to my thinking it all gets a little out of hand.

One final point. As previously noted here at Ouch! iPhones have a fundamental design flaw. Their touch screen renders them useless to blind and visually impaired users.

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