Who doesn’t want to be socioeconomically elite, particularly if it comes with youth and money? I posted here about my happy return to Macintosh as my home desktop, and now I’ve got a press release saying I’m actually one of a bunch of us. And, furthermore, a group I’d like to be a member of:

Apple has increased its Home notebook PC share to now rank #4 in the home installed base. It has strengthened its position among the socioeconomically elite, attracting the younger, more highly-educated, and higher income households, as well as the self-employed.

Interesting data from a research group I trust. Dan Ness, owner of MetaFacts, used to work with me at Creative Strategies, back in the old days, and occasionally directly with Palo Alto Software as well, after I’d left Creative Strategies. His company has a new study out showing that Macs are up to fourth place in home computer installed base, and, apparently, growing.

"Like the camel slipping its nose under the tent, Apple is reaching into American households as the 2nd or 3rd Home PC," said Dan Ness, Principal Analyst at MetaFacts. "Where Apple shines is as the 3rd PC, ranking fifth with 8% of 3rd Home PCs, and ranking fourth in notebook PCs, also at 8% of the installed base."
Apple home computers are used differently than Windows home PCs, more often for web content creation, graphics, and personal activities. Twenty-one percent of Apple Home PCs are used in public places, nearly double the 12% of Windows Home PCs that are used in public.
"If you look around at a Starbucks or cybercafe, you might think the whole world’s gone to Apple," said Dan Ness, Principal Analyst at MetaFacts. "Apple users are very active and use their notebooks in more locations than Windows notebook users."
The survey also revealed strong repurchase brand loyalty. "Apple continues to command the strongest repurchase intent of any PC brand. More than four in five (81%) of households with Apple as their primary Home PC plan to buy the same brand – Apple – for their next Home PC," said Ness.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from the Metafacts release:

• Workplace Apples are dominated by 5 occupational groups: Teacher, Artist/Designer/Performer, Management, Clerical, Consultants 
• iPod penetration among Apple Households is extremely strong, and also strong in non-Apple households yet with weaker buying plans 
• The installed base of Apple Home computers are newer than the base of Windows Home PCs 
• Apple Households shop differently than non-Apple Households, more likely to be in a Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Target, and less often in a Wal-Mart 
• Apple’s retail stores are attracting many non-Apple households, a strong positive sign for Apple 
• The kind of non-Apple households shopping or buying at Apple retail have many more kids, also a strong positive future sign for Apple.

These results remind me of something else: earlier this summer Seth Godin posted on the merits of marketing to Firefox users instead of the general public, because they tended to be more sophisticated. Now Mac users are more educated and discerning. What the world needs, no doubt, is more status symbols.