Logic+Emotion

High vs. Low Design

I recently did a phone interview for the User Interface Resource center which is sponsored by the folks at Adobe, Microsoft and Effective UI.  The folks at Effective UI were interested in having an informal discussion around the concepts of "high design vs. low design" that is, highly-designed "experiential" applications that push the limits of technology and human interaction (Think slick desktop applications)  vs. solutions that don't quite push as hard on (think Craigslist, Flickr, or Twitter).  Any insights I maye have provided may be rooted in common sense.  We use philips screwdrivers for cross head screws and regular screwdrivers for regular screws.  Skilled practitioners know they should carry both and really skilled practitioners build homes that people actually want to live in.

Below are a few highlights:
For the full transcript go here.

Tim Wood:
That’s a great segue into the context of today’s discussion. I want to get your take on two contemporary user experience trends that we see on the Web today — that in many ways seem contradictory or divergent. That is, simple design versus complex design. On one hand we have sites like Delicious, Google Apps and Craigslist, all of which have a very minimal hypertext-based UI presentation. On the other hand we are seeing a strong emergence of RIAs of various flavors — in Flex, Silverlight and AJAX — that support a very rich presentation of user interface elements, as well as very dynamic interaction. Do you see these two trends as being contradictory or do you see them as complementary?

David Armano:
That’s a really big question without a black-and-white answer. Way back in 2003, Kevin Mullet wrote a Macromedia white paper titled The Essence of Effective Rich Internet Applications which was a precursor to what we’re talking about today regarding high and low design. He made a great case for rich design. In hindsight, I would have thought that was where everything was going because it just made so much sense.

Mullet proposed that when you take something with function and value, which most applications have whether they’re Web-based or desktop-based, you should create a really engaging experience around it using the “breaking the page” metaphor. That makes total sense because when we interact with the Web, it’s not natural to wait for a page to load. Back then, it was safe to assume that everything was going to move in the rich direction. But then the curveball got thrown, as you mentioned, with the popularity of simple HTML sites like Delicious, Flicker, Twitter and Google Apps. Why are they gaining so much steam?

Tim Wood:
Are you saying that people are more willing to accept experiential failings as a trade-off for successful utility?

David Armano:
I think it’s a reality. Whether we’re developing using a high-end design or a low-end technique, we need to focus on what the project does and what kinds of needs it actually fulfills at the end of the day. We should think about usability as a continual process."

...In the white paper that I referenced earlier, Mullet talks about this idea of fitness to purpose. A basic example that he gives is: you shouldn’t use a mallet to try to drive a nail and you shouldn’t use a hammer to pound in something that could break. In our discussion today, the same holds true; you really have to think about when to go with a rich Internet application and when not to.

From Right Brained To Light Brained

I'm really fatigued by the whole left brained/right brained debate—while I think it's worth debating, it's not the issue of our time.  I believe the issue of our time is how quickly we can successfully adapt in an era of rapid and dramatic change.  Anyone who's worked in technology related fields understands this—only the difference is that technology's effect has permeated nearly every nation in the industrialized world.  It's like breathing now. 

This is what was at the core of my "Fuzzy Tail" POV from which the above visual was pulled.  Each time I think about how overwhelming change is—I remind myself that the qualities outlined in the visual are becoming the critical soft skills that will allow individuals and business not to merely survive—but thrive.

That said, I look around and realize that while change appears to be rapid—we still tend do things the way it's always worked for us in the past.  This may be the dilemma of our time.  Either way, it's still worth assessing your "light brained" qualities.  If you have them, worst case scenario—you'll be able to utilize them when needed. If you don't—it might be worth taking the time to do or learn something new.  Maybe it's something you don't really understand and it makes you nervous. If so, all the more reason to take it on.  So Are you left brained?  Are your right brained?  Are you a little of both? 

Don't forget about being light brained.

Who Killed The Marketing Funnel? Accidental Marketers.

That's the title for my contribution to the "Age of Conversation 2" which is currently being pieced together by editors Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton as I write this.  My contribution will include the above visual—here's a brief snippet:

"The traditional marketing funnel is dead.  Who killed it?  You and I did with a little help from this thing we call the Web.  Well, OK—we really didn’t kill it, we just traded the linear funnel metaphor for something more organic and cyclical. I like to call this “The Marketing Spiral”.

Other contributers include:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

That's some list eh?  Phew.

 

Learning By Doing

I'm Wrapping up my time spent at ID's Strategy 08 conference held at Chicago's MCA.  It's been a great couple of days filled with nuggets of inspiration ranging from the topics of designing for the other 90 percent, and changing the culture of corporations through design thinking.  But hands down for me, the most intriguing talk was given by John Seeley Brown also known as "JSB". 

JSB's talk was aimed out how we are learning and being educated and how much change is happening in this area.  His framing of the subject matter was to think about education as an institution which needed to be re-built from the ground up.  In essance, his call was to re-define what an actual instutuiton is—from something which is controlled and overly structured to something that still has shape but is more flexible and pliable.

But for me—John's talk came down to one statement he made.

"We are going back to the one room school house"

I believe JSB was pointing out the irony of what's happening with how we learn.  In the one room school house, the teacher acted as a guide and students learned from each other.  The setting was obviously intimate because it was small and the students all knew each other.  I'm taking a few liberties with his metaphor, but the one room school house is a really interesting way to look at things.  JSB called out that there is a renaissance in "tinkering", a soft skill which in the past has been marginalized, but is being taken seriously as a way people learn.  Some would call this learning by doing.  How do you think I learned what I have about "social media'?

Lastly and possibly most importantly JSB discussed a shift from instruction based learning to "interest-driven participation".  While he did not define this in depth, I believe that it reflects other shifts that are happening in all types of fields.  Connected and empowered individuals are no longer content to sit back and be lectured to. Information has been set free.  Monologues have been replaced by conversations and increasingly we learn by doing—from watching what our peers do, from using what's been made into open source. So the classroom got a lot smaller—and we're back to influencing each other directly.

Some really great discussions happening in the halls.  Wish you were here. :-)

BusinessWeek's Bruce Nussbaum visits Critical Mass

(Bruce Nussbaum chatting with Experience Planning Director David Stallsmith)

View video interview

This morning we had the distinct pleasure of giving BusinessWeek's Innovatiion Editor Bruce Nussbaum a tour of our Chicago office.  I showed him what we actually do for some of our clients and then we ended up recording this LIVE interview using CM's Always In Beta site.  We discussed the changes in the business climate, learning from the OLPC effort, sociology and design democracy among other things.

The video is still for the first minute only and will then kick in.  Sound quality is good overall.  Enjoy watching it, I think it will be worth your time.

Web 2.0 is Velcro

From my latest contribution to Advertising Age:

"Velcro, as we all know, is a simple and effective invention that has permeated millions of products and replaced more antiquated ways of making things stick. The science of Velcro is simple. One side of the material is composed of thousands of tiny "hooks," while the other side is made of just as many "loops." When the hooks engage with the loops, they stick. When pulled apart, they un-stick. There's a reason why millions of children's footwear has been replaced with this material -- it's effective, easy to use and it works.

And that's why Web 2.0 is Velcro. Marketers, designers and developers alike are scrambling to figure how two things:

1. What are the viral "hooks" that capture people's attention?
2. What are the viral "loops," which create infinite engagement that spreads like wildfire? "

Read the full article

The One Video All Marketers Should Watch

The above video is a presentation given by a couple of staffers from the small experience design consultancy Adaptive Path to employees at Google.  It's a compilation of thoughts that has been synthesized into a book titled "Subject To Change".  The reason why I'm saying marketers should watch this video is because I'm convinced that many marketers still don't understand the basics of customer experience and how this integrates with marketing efforts (which it does).  And the reason why is because I've noticed lots of perspectives floating around the marketing industry positioning customer experience as if it's a "new form of marketing", when in reality it's always been the oldest and most effective.  Adweek's Brian Morrissey reports that brands like Google and Craigslist have become successful icons because of their investments in user experience.  Havas media lab calls Google's strategy "revolutionary":

"Yet Google obviously invests heavily in its brand. Its home page may have nothing but a search box and links to Google's services -- which means the company is forgoing tens of millions of dollars in advertising -- but it's doing something more important: putting its customers first. Untargeted ads, even simple text links, goes the rationale, would put too steep a cost on its users.

This decision is "revolutionary," wrote Havas Media Lab director and London economist Umair Haque on Harvard Business Online in February. "By choosing to invest in consumers over advertising, Google is a living example of a deeper truth: The future of communications as advantage lies in talking less and listening more."

The biggest challenge that today's marketers face is understanding HOW to overcome the obstacles that get in the way from creating user/customer/consumer experiences that people want to make part of their everyday lives.  Everything has changed.  Years ago, Starbucks was celebrated as a brand that understood this—today, it's customers are less loyal and it's stock price is reflecting this.  Blockbuster promised to transform our living rooms into home theaters—today, media consumption including movies is fragmented.  Marketers today are faced with a choice.  As Seth Godin points out, we can choose to become liars—spinning fabrications around inferior products and services who depend on traditional marketing to make themselves appear more appealing.  Or we can be honest, and figure out how to actually make the product, service, and brand better—so marketing initiatives will become a natural extension of the experience a customer has with that brand.

Is this the job of the company, the consultant, the agency, the brand?  If you want to thrive in an age where basically we're all spoiled and demanding—then the reality is, it's all of our jobs.  So watch the video and think about which side you choose to be on.

PS, if there are any Adaptive Path peeps reading—you should give this presentation to marketers in addition to companies like Google who do a pretty decent job of doing the things you talk about.

How to Twitter Conferences Like A Rock Star

I'm fast approaching having 3000 followers on Twitter.  Though my followers on Twitter don't match the readership of this blog, it's a fairly substantial audience and I've found Twitter to be incredibly useful in a number of ways which I've spoken about at length several times.  One of these ways is to "live-broadcast" from conferences.  Each time I do it, most of the people on Twitter who receive my stream seem to really like it.  Those who don't either deal with, it or can temporarily un-follow me until I'm finished.  I was recently asked by a Twitter user if I ever put my conference tweet "methods" into a blog post.  I had not.  Until now.  Here's how you can Twitter conferences like a rock star.  :-)

1. Filter The Signal From Noise
There's a lot of noise at conferences.  People are there to promote both their organizations, their books and their personal brands.  There's also an incredible amount of insights and thought nuggets that manifest at conferences and events. Train yourself to look for these choice bits.  Listen with all of your senses.  Trust your intuition and filter out the things that offer insights vs. that which doesn't.

2. Color Your Commentary
Unless you are a professional journalist, you have no reason to be objective.  Do your best to capture quotes accurately but also don't forget that people are reading your thoughts because they want to know what YOU think.  Don't be afraid to agree or disagree with a speaker.  Throw out your POV for what it's worth.  Spice up things by adding additional thoughts to what you just heard.  Add your voice to the conversation.  For lessons on how to do this, think of the great sportscasters.  After all, you're covering a live event as it happens.

3. Talk To Your Audience
As you are busy capturing ideas and quotes, it becomes increasingly difficult to do anything else.  But, you've made a choice to be an active participant as opposed to a passive member of the audience.  Acknowledge followers on Twitter as much as possible.  If someone has a really smart question for a panelist, try to ask that question on their behalf.  Remember that the people who are choosing to follow your stream in real time are taking time out of their day to do so.  Try to provide as much value as possible.

4. Paint The Scene
Twitter users who enjoy following conferences coverage through someone on Twitter will often times express how they "felt like they were there".  Do what you can to reference the sights, sounds, and even smells of what you are experiencing.  Talk about what people are wearing.  Write about some of the details that might get overlooked in a wrap up of the conference.  Paint a mental picture for your audience so that they can actually envision themselves there.  It's cheaper for them and a more rewarding digital experience.

5. Do it For Yourself
Don't lose sight of the fact that unless you are being paid, you are ultimately choosing to tether yourself to a device during a conference because YOU are getting something out of it.  If it's not fun for you, don't do it and don't be afraid to give yourself breaks for speakers who's messages you really want to absorb.  Think of Twitter as a substitute for a notebook.  Write down the things YOU find interesting.  Add your personal thoughts.  Be yourself.  Don't be afraid to forget that you actually have an audience every once in a while and practice "responsible candor".  This means saying what comes to mind as long as you don't jeopardize your professionalism.  Be who you are—authenticity is the name of the game in this medium.

So those are my tips.  Next week I will be live tweeting from IIT's Strategy conference.  If you want to tune in, sign up to Twitter and follow me here. Special thanks to hdavis for inspiring this write-up.

Whispers

Walking by the train tracks on my way to work one day, I noticed a tiny tree sprouting from the rocks alongside the tracks.  Headphones on, and power walk in place, I saw it—but really didn't "see" it.  But a "whisper" told me to stop.  So I did.  Taking off my headphones, I knelt down and took this picture.  The whisper said "there's something here.  something to think about... How can tree grow in a place like this?".

With the image captured I went about the rest of my day but couldn't stop thinking about it.  And it made made me realize a few things.  Life thrives in unexpected places and beauty can be found anywhere.  Technology helps us capture a moment, but it can also keep us from hearing the whispers that are so important for our own development.

Life's whispers are often soft and subtle. They come without warning.  The whispers are always there—but we're not always listening.  The noise we surround ourselves with often keeps the whispers at bay.  We become incapable of hearing them, until we choose to.  At this point we see through fresh eyes.

I'm choosing to listen.  But first I had to slow down and stop in order to do so.  I had to be willing to miss the train if it meant learning something, even if just for the day.  The whispers are there, waiting for us to notice them.  But only if we're open to turning our own volume down, even if only for a brief moment in time.  For me, this moment just happened to be the right one.

Application Economics

 
From my recent column in Adweek:

"Some kid comes up with the next YouTube, Facebook or mobile platform, and most advertisers want to figure out how to market on it. Instead of designing and developing useful applications that could give brands the opportunity to insert themselves meaningfully into our lives, we get cutesy but useless "Sprite Sips" on Facebook, ubiquitous banners in all shapes and sizes and microsites that you won't likely return to. And I'm talking about digital advertising -- never mind traditional."

Read the full article