iPod Etiquette

In the MacObserver, I read Vern Seward's column on iPod etiquette. Seward made a point about the growing culture of isolationism caused by our addiction to that little infectious thing we call the iPod. Are we choosing solitude over socialization?

As I rode in the train the other day, I looked around. Nearly everyone was either on their mobile phones (talking much too loud - why do we think we need to shout?) or sitting there lost in trance, listening to whatever was flowing through their earphones from their favorite little device (...and sometimes we're also forced to listen because they've got the volume so pumped up).

Do we need iPod etiquette? I think we need to establish some kind of etiquette because when we're tuned in to our devices, we are tuned out of the rest of the world. Accidents can happen, and we can miss something valuable. Is there a time and place for our precious little devices?