Good Experience Blog

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2008-03-09T21:06:05-05:00

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Geek humor for the weekend

2008-03-07T17:37:24-05:00

Some geek humor for the weekend: "HTML Tags and Text I Hope I Never Write."

P.S. Sorry posts have been slow; working on something here that I'll be sharing next week, I hope -

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Balloon panzer

2008-03-05T09:34:11-05:00

Interesting art: balloon panzer. Click links up top to see the slideshow of what happened next.

(thanks, bb)

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On the "digital sabbath"

2008-03-04T01:43:37-05:00

Mark Bittman, whose food writing I've enjoyed for some time in the New York Times, admits that he has a problem: too much information and no way to deal with it.

His solution? Declare a digital "sabbath": no e-mails, no Blackberry, no electronic media of any kind, for one day a week.

After several months, it's beginning to pay dividends. As Bittman says, "nothing bad has happened while I’ve been offline; the e-mail and phone messages, RSS feeds, are all there waiting for me when I return to them."

This would be a good first step for many people - after all, over 40% of surveyed workers feel they are nearing the "breaking point" from their information overload.

And yet.

Even with a digital sabbath, people are still overloaded and stressed six days out of seven. Wouldn't it be better to solve one's overload permanently? Especially as information overload increases, people will be looking for a better solution than a temporary respite, once a week.

They may not know it now, but millions of people are in dire need of the basic skills of managing information - what I write about in Bit Literacy, though there will surely be other books soon on this same topic.

A sabbath is good and healthy, but people really need help on the other six days of the week.

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(RC on Mar 3, 2008 11:00 PM) You're absolutely right, Mark. I had the same thought when I read Bittman's piece. If email and our electronic devices are so useful, why should we give them up, even for a day? And if we find them overwhelming, giving them up for a day a week is not going to be enough to really help. We're better off with learning how to manage them than imposing arbitrary limits. We're better off bit Bit Literacy.

(Heather D on Mar 4, 2008 12:10 AM) Great post, Mark! Thanks for sharing this. I did a follow-on post to yours and pointed back to you and Bit Literacy. I loved Bittman's revelation that it was not the end of the world to pick one day to be "commfree." Nice! Pick a Day to Unplug http://viaspire.blogs.com/weblog/2008/03/pick-a-day-to-u.html

(Colin on Mar 4, 2008 4:16 AM) I have been trying to clear my mailbox every day. Just after xmas I think I had it down to about 5 messages. It's now back up to around 20-30. Letting go of the bits can be tough!

(Nat on Mar 4, 2008 4:17 AM) Sainsbury's - the third biggest food retailer in the UK - runs a 'no email Wednesday' and a 'no meetings Friday'. It seems to work for them.

(Bananaman on Mar 4, 2008 4:58 AM) Why didn't we have a 'mentioning "my book" on Bit literacy' Sabbath too?

(Laura Porto Stockwell on Mar 4, 2008 8:24 AM) Here's the thing about digital overload--you can choose to buy into or not. It may be generational (I'm a Gen X who acts like a Gen Y when it comes to things digital), but just because you have a cell phone doesn't mean you have to answer it. Just because someone emails you doesn't mean you're at their beck and call. I hear more stress about digital overload from those older than me--often those younger (and myself included) feel that access to information is freeing--you just have to remember who's in charge!

(Tracey Haun on Mar 4, 2008 2:08 PM) At the Feb 29 2008 Wharton Business Technology Conference, Blackberry awarded students in a contest (http://www.whartonbiztech.com/blackberry.php) to build a new "home" interface for the device. The idea is that the user would turn on the "work" interface for business switch to "home" for personal use. How does this get at the "always on" issue?

(Rachel on Mar 4, 2008 2:39 PM) The problem though, is that I've become so conscientious about keeping my inbox clean that I feel that I have to check it constantly, just so I can keep emptying it out (because new things inevitably pour in at a rate faster than I can clean them). Trying to stay "bit literate" is taking up too much of my time... I feel that I've missed something.

(Mark Hurst on Mar 4, 2008 4:05 PM) Remember that the suggestion in "Bit Literacy" is to empty your inbox at least once a day. You certainly don't need to do it all the time. If you find yourself doing it too often, then set a specific time during the day to clear the inbox, and don't worry about it until then.

(Yiftach on Mar 4, 2008 6:49 PM) The on-topic comments pretty much cover the signal. As to the noise: Bananaman, let me get this straight: You're reading Mark Hurst's blog and complaining that he's plugging his own book? Whaaa?

(Timothy Johnson on Mar 5, 2008 1:48 PM) Having practiced real Sabbaths, no work, no media for 4 years now and following Bit Literacy for the past year, I can attest to the value of both working in tandem. The best thing is that I don't have to worry about loose ends going into Friday evening, knowing that I have punched through the inbox everyday, and don't have any carryovers left to worry about. Getting out of the mindset where you have to worry about your to-do list, and starting to focus on people and tasks is very liberating.

Radio interview of your humble scribe

2008-03-03T16:27:05-05:00

Interview on the BusinessMakers radio show about my work at Creative Good and Good Experience. Here's the mp3, if you prefer that.

(Thanks to Russ and Kenn for doing such a good job on the production.)

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Seth from Honest Tea responds

2008-03-03T16:04:30-05:00

Here's a response from Seth, cofounder of Honest Tea, to What's better: pure or big?

- - -

Hi Everyone,

Not trying to crash the party, and I appreciate/agree with most of the opinions but did want to comment on two points. The first is the opening assumption that Honest Tea is compromising "just a little bit, we promise." I know it's early in our partnership with Coke, but I challenge someone to find a way that Honest Tea has compromised its product or behavior since the deal was finalized with Coke. There has not been any discussion about us making our product less organic, sweeter than our 17-50 calories taste profile or less Fair Trade certified. In fact, this year we're introducing new Fair Trade varieties, two new 17-calorie teas (which is on the lower end of our spectrum) and also introducing two new "Green Energy" teas where we pay offsets to support wind power in exchange for the energy we consume to produce those drinks.

The other question that was raised was whether there was precedent for a big company being made better after swallowing a smaller fish. For me the most immediate example that comes to mind is when Groupe Danone (Dannon) bought majority control of Stonyfield Farm. I am most familiar with what happened there because Stonyfield's CE-Yo, Gary Hirshberg, is on Honest Tea's board. Danone is now launching more organic products around the world, and my conversations with Danone's top management make it clear that they have swallowed not only Gary's yogurt but also his vision for sustainability. Last year Danone announced a major partnership with Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to invest in microenterprise in Bangladesh (more this page.)

Finally, it's also important to recognize that Stonyfield has continued to drive change in the natural foods industry since their deal with Danone -- they were the first to reduce packaging by eliminating plastic lids, and in 2007 they converted their entire product line to USDA Organic certification.

- Seth from Honest Tea

- - -

(Please post comments on the original column's comment board.)

NY Job Opening: DraftFCB New York (Sr. UX Architect)

2008-03-03T14:45:18-05:00

Company: DraftFCB New York
Title: Senior User Experience Architect
Location: New York, NY

Draftfcb seeks dedicated and motivated senior-level information design professionals who are interested in advancing their skills and career. You will develop well-conceived and successful information design solutions for our clients based on thorough audience research, business and functional requirements.

Email resume and samples to renetta.welty@draftfcb.com.

Cell phones are not (just) fashion

2008-02-29T09:02:09-05:00

From the NYT, how cell phone companies are trying harder to connect with customers. It's good news, and not entirely a surprise. Apple's especially user-friendly iPhone is doing so well that competitors are finally being forced to listen to their customers. Sure, these companies have employed diligent user experience teams for years. But often it takes hard sales numbers to get management to start really listening up.

The story also mentions the Motorola Razr, a phone that sold very well for awhile, then dropped out of favor. It's pretty obvious why: the Razr was a fashion statement, not a usable device. (Motorola phones have historically had poor interface design.) Fashion is a difficult, volatile business to be in. In contrast, a great user experience is a competitive advantage, and in the tech industry that means creating tools that people can delight in using, not just flashing like a piece of jewelry.

If I was advising Motorola or Nokia, I'd be wary of too much research into the emotional depths of customers - what mood a color puts them in, that sort of thing - and make sure that there's a focus on delivering on customers' unmet needs. Can you make a call? Can you turn off the ringer easily (without it making noise)? Can you take a picture easily? Pretty obvious stuff, and most cell phones aren't very good at it.

Yes, it's also important to focus on physical design - shape, color, etc. - that's part of the iPhone's appeal, after all. But I wouldn't focus exclusively on this - otherwise you're just in the fashion business.

P.S. It's also nice to see Nokia prototyping green devices, like the "remade" (see articles pro and con), a phone made from recyclable materials. Still, though, if it's hard to make a call or take a picture, it's going to be hard to sell to customers.

See also:

• iPhone and Nokia's attempted copy

• Poorly designed Samsung cell phone

• Motorola's poor usability (from 2006; presumably they're getting better)

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Lexis-Nexis on information overload in the workplace

2008-02-28T13:06:43-05:00

Lexis-Nexis survey measures information overload in the workplace:

A national workplace survey reports that more than seven in ten American white collar workers feel inundated with information at their workplace, while more than two in five feel that they are headed for an information breaking point.

They should read Bit Literacy (preferably before they hit rock-bottom)!

Download the report PDF.

(thanks, michael)

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CA Job Opening: lab256 (Interaction Designer)

2008-02-28T13:04:43-05:00

Company: lab256
Title: Interaction Designer
Location: Palo Alto, CA

Lab256 is an early-stage consumer Internet company with a mission to revolutionize the ways that fans find and enjoy their favorite live events through a comprehensive and easy-to-use search experience. We’re looking for a rock star interaction designer to join our team who can ideally also help with visual design. Contractors ok.

To respond, email your resume to jobs@lab256.com.

N. America & Europe Job Opening: Open Text (Prod. Designers - Tech)

2008-02-28T10:20:04-05:00

Company: Open Text
Title: Product Designers - Technical #OTAJSJH15943
Location: Waterloo & Toronto CAN, Tallahasse US, Munich & Kempten DE

Are you an expert in BPM, SAP, RM, or ECM? Interested in working on complex design challenges such as clustering and global deployments? What about helping define what API usability means and engaging with a developer community? Open Text is seeking passionate people highly motivated to effect change.

To respond, e-mail your resume to recruiting@opentext.com.

N. America & Europe Job Opening: Open Text (Product Designers)

2008-02-28T10:07:37-05:00

Company: Open Text
Title: Product Designers #OTAJSJH15942
Location: Waterloo & Toronto CAN, Tallahasse US, Munich & Kempten DE

Open Text is seeking passionate people motivated to effect change. Product Designers research, identify, and solve complex software design problems in an innovative, highly collaborative environment, translating high level requirements into designs that deliver compelling experiences that solve business problems.

To respond, e-mail your resume to recruiting@opentext.com.

CA Job Opening: eBay (Sr./Lead Interaction Designer)

2008-02-28T09:34:18-05:00

Company: eBay
Title: Senior/Lead Interaction Designer
Location: San Jose, CA

Create the interaction paradigms that shape the future of online experiences and gain the recognition that eBay is a thought leader among the Internet giants. We're looking for talented Interaction Designers with 5+ years of exp. and an excellent understanding of UE design for the Web, tech trends, design skills.

To respond, email your resume to: jbender@ebay.com.

What's better: pure or big?

2008-02-27T13:33:33-05:00

What's the better "good experience":

• remaining absolutely true to one's principles, creating the best possible experience, and probably staying small as a result?

• or compromising (just a little bit, we promise!) in order to spread the still-mostly-good product or service much more widely?

As the green-organic-socially-responsible movement grows in exposure and success, more and more notable brands are having to engage this question. Big companies want a piece of the small-and-good action, and they're willing to pay for it.

There have been many recent examples - three come to mind immediately: Ben & Jerry's (bought by Unilever), then Tom's of Maine (bought by Colgate), and now Honest Tea.

Seth Goldman, Gel 2004 speaker and co-founder of Honest Tea, recently announced that Coca-Cola is taking a 40% stake in his company.

Some Honest Tea customers are disappointed. Coke is a multinational company whose past behavior has sometimes been at odds with Honest Tea's organic, pro-community stance.

This week Seth posted a conversation he's had with one disappointed customer. The customer sums it up:

I am writing to express my surprise and disappointment upon hearing the recent news that Coca-Cola will acquire a 40% stake in Honest Tea ... As a business that has built its reputation over the past decade on a commitment to healthy organic products, environmental quality, and social justice for its producers, Honest Tea’s decision to partner with Coca-Cola - a multinational corporation that has consistently violated all three of these principles in their global business practices - confounds me.

I salute Seth for his openness in posting the back-and-forth, and still I have to admit that the conversation takes much the same course that I've observed in past examples: "with a teeny-tiny little compromise, look at how much further we can take our vision!"

I'm not saying this is the right or wrong decision; Seth is a good guy and I imagine cofounder Barry is, too... I know they've made a thoughtful decision. But the customer has a point, too. In the end I think the "right" choice is dependent on one's goals. Achieving one's goals might require a certain reach, or size, even with small compromises in the vision. For others, purity is the entire reason for doing the work at all - regardless of who shows up.

For more and more companies who create a good experience, this will be the dilemma: do we want to be pure or big?

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(Jim O'Brien on Feb 27, 2008 3:17 PM) As it so often times is, it is hard to say what one would do being in the same situation. From the companies perspectives, it could possibly be good for both parties and so become a win-win and that's always a good thing. Honest Tea was looking for more support and great distribution while hopefully maintaining their principles. Coke is looking to expand its business more into this realm of beverages and also business type/approach. If it works, it's a success. Tea is continuing to grow and is a very attractive business to at least consider getting into. Couple that with Honest Teas business practices and you have yourself a very attractive package to look at and consider. Honest Tea with their past financial risks and long hours, etc. may be looking for some help and support, PLUS being able to get more of their product out. As to the supposed "evils" of Coke, everyone has to make their own decision about that. As to whether Honest Tea will become "corrupted" having partnered with Coke, only time will tell. As to whether an entity stays pure or goes big? Well, aside from a non-for-profit cause, businesses only go into business for one reason regardless of any concept, principle, idea or practice. That's to make money, simple as that. You don't risk your personal finances, burn all your personal time, and lose sleep for any other reason. With that said, I can see a company being pure to go big either because of the concept of being and remaining pure or to attract someone bigger that would be interested in them because of that concept. But I can also see staying pure just for the sake of being "pure" on principle alone. Being like everyone else and not knowing exactly what I would do in the same situation, I would venture to say that I'd go pure and hopefully go big for being pure just on principle alone. And in the end, doesn't it wind up the same anyway?

(lawrence on Feb 27, 2008 3:44 PM) Don't you think that one's principles tend to change quite naturally through the course of one's development? As time passes and we accumulate experiences, we decide that some principles are more important than others, or reinterpret old catechisms in the face of new evidence. So what's better, pure or big? Pure at one age, big at another... One supposes that if the Ben & Jerrys and Toms and Honest Teas of the world are really pure -- if their principles are the best -- then they can take this opportunity, this meeting across the boardroom table, to teach the Unilevers and Colgates and Cokes of the world how to clean up their act. Hence'm inclined to reserve judgment. I'd say it depends the nature of the compromise. What do you suppose is one's obligation to someone who owns 40% of you, at least financially speaking, anyway? Sure, there's one kind of formal 'obligation', written down in arcane legal texts, but I wonder more: is there a moral one?

(N.W.Gibbons on Feb 27, 2008 5:28 PM) I'm racking my brain to remember when a larger company or corporation's takeover of a "small is beautiful" company has ever changed the larger for the better. Cynically, these buy outs and take-overs tend to be a way to "buy" innovation, market share, or image. It often comes at the cost of product quality, and in many cases the closing of local plant/loss of local jobs. A fine local granola company here in Fairfield County has just gone through this scenario. "Bare Naked" granola: small 'garage' start-up, pedaled locally, quality and service = rocket success, bought by big corporation, local plant closed, product to be mass produced by corporation. The good news is that small, fleet-of-foot start-ups will continue. They will keep the larger businesses on their toes. So, can any of you come up with that big firm made better by the small fish swallowed? NWG

(Tim Kieschnick on Feb 27, 2008 5:42 PM) Given that this is the Good Experience blog, it would make sense to me to flip the perspective. Instead of asking, "should my company be pure or big, or can we be both," it might be helpful to ask from the customer's experience, "How important is pure? How important is big?" In the examples we're talking about, "Big" tends to translate to "more accessible" from the customer's perspective. I was camping in the middle of Death Valley last week, out in the middle of nowhere, with only one "general store" within hundreds of miles. But that store had Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. If Ben & Jerry hadn't sold their souls, I'd have been out of luck and had to eat Haagen Dass or a Nestle Crunch. So Big was valuable to me. On the other hand, if Ben & Jerry's multi-national corporate masters were foolish enough to make the product with hormone-laced cream, and if they used waxy hershey bars instead of real chocolate in New York Super Fudge Chunk, then, from the customer's perspective, they would have sacrificed Pure, and I wouldn't have bought it no matter how accessible. One of my local bagel places recently sold out to some anonymous money grubbing chain. I think it's a little cheaper now, but the portions are smaller, the quality is lower, and they posted signs saying they're no longer kosher. They even had the audacity to start offering a breakfast bagel with bacon. From my perspective as a customer, they blew it--they traded too much of the Pure to get the Big. Looking from the customer's perspective, I place relative values on Pure and Big. I'm not so concerned about whether the founders sold their soul. I'm concerned, as always, about my experience. And maybe that's ultimately what the owners need to be most concerned about.

(Yudong on Feb 28, 2008 7:47 AM) Corporate social responsibility is a topic recently getting more and more attention in the world. However, at least in capitalism economies, we have Adam Smith’s theory of invisible hands justifing how people’s self interest can generate wealth. I think Honest Tea’s decision to come together with Coke is an economical decision which can be explained by Mr Smith’s theory. In terms of pure and big, based on Mr Smith theory, a company will have the intention to go big, and therefore gradually it will become bigger and bigger anyway becuase of the need to increase economic of scales, obtain bigger market share etc. However, we can only hope that it will be pure enough even it has become very big. As My own experience of working on companies of different sizes, when a company is growing, the owner’s original vision will be skewed but hopefully the main part of the vision is still there.

(Mario Sanchez on Feb 28, 2008 8:58 AM) Interesting question, and one that is not easy to answer. Big is not necessarily bad, if the core values of the acquired brand are not compromised. I would say that the acquisition of the Hummer brand by GM resulted in good things for the Hummer brand. Similarly, to continue talking about cars, the way Toyota handles its several brands: Toyota, Lexus and Scion, shows that it is possible to have separate brand identities and business strategies for different brands. If brands are managed properly and their core identity is not compromised, it really shouldn't matter much if the parent company is a mom and pop operation or a big conglomerate.

(Mikey Bikey on Feb 28, 2008 12:19 PM) "Better?" If "better" means more widely distributed, then I suppose there are instances where partial ownership or takeover have helped. But if "better" means sticking to the essence of what made the product different in the first place, then I can't think of any - moving to a mass market generally means moving away from some of the uniqueness and more into the mainstream.

(Seth from Honest Tea on Mar 3, 2008 12:21 PM) Hi Everyone, Not trying to crash the party, and I appreciate/agree with most of the opinions but did want to comment on two points. The first is the opening assumption that Honest Tea is compromising "just a little bit, we promise." I know it's early in our partnership with Coke, but I challenge someone to find a way that Honest Tea has compromised its product or behavior since the deal was finalized with Coke. There has not been any discussion about us making our product less organic, sweeter than our 17-50 calories taste profile or less Fair Trade certified. In fact, this year we're introducing new Fair Trade varieties, two new 17-calorie teas (which is on the lower end of our spectrum) and also introducing two new "Green Energy" teas where we pay offsets to support wind power in exchange for the energy we consume to produce those drinks. The other question that was raised was whether there was precedent for a big company being made better after swallowing a smaller fish. For me the most immediate example that comes to mind is when Groupe Danone (Dannon) bought majority control of Stonyfield Farm. I am most familiar with what happened there because Stonyfield's CE-Yo, Gary Hirshberg, is on Honest Tea's board. Danone is now launching more organic products around the world, and my conversations with Danone's top management make it clear that they have swallowed not only Gary's yogurt but also his vision for sustainability. Last year Danone announced a major partnership with Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to invest in microenterprise in Bangladesh (http://www.grameen-info.org/dialogue/dialogue63/regularfl2.html) Finally, it's also important to recognize that Stonyfield has continued to drive change in the natural foods industry since their deal with Danone -- they were the first to reduce packaging by eliminating plastic lids, and in 2007 they converted their entire product line to USDA Organic certification.

MIT study: it's hard to let go

2008-02-27T03:18:06-05:00

I've said for a long time that the solution to information overload is to let the bits go: always look for ways to delete, defer, or otherwise avoid bits, so that the few that remain are more relevant and easier to handle. This is the core philosophy of Bit Literacy.

In recent presentations to various groups, though, I've noticed that there's often a problem. Many people want to change, know they need to change, but have trouble contemplating actually changing their habits to let go.

Thus my interest in this Times piece, which recounts an unusual behavioral study at MIT. It turns out that lots of people really are wired to hold on, even if they know that it makes no sense.

Most people can’t make such a painful choice, not even the students at a bastion of rationality like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Dr. Ariely is a professor of behavioral economics. In a series of experiments, hundreds of students could not bear to let their options vanish, even though it was obviously a dumb strategy.

The experiments involved a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to let go... [for example,] you don’t even know how a camera’s burst-mode flash works, but you persuade yourself to pay for the extra feature just in case.

See also: Interview with Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice.

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Comments on this Entry:

(zephyr on Feb 26, 2008 9:34 PM) I remember reading somewhere that "the potential for loss" is a more powerful motivator than "the potential for gain".

(Tonya on Feb 27, 2008 7:08 PM) I've watched that principle at work in so many (sometimes) heartbreaking situations. Interesting article - thanks.

(immortal on Feb 28, 2008 7:59 AM) I'm a convert. I just bought a cordless phone for my house based on three factors: average customer rating, simplicity (or lack) of features, and appearance. Yes, I wanted it to look nice, but the first two points were most important. It had to work well and, almost as importantly, I wanted just a phone, not something that did everything else. I consciously decided to pay more for less.

(David on Mar 1, 2008 4:42 PM) Hi Mark, Regarding: "I've said for a long time...always look for ways to...avoid bits, so that the few that remain are more relevant and easier to handle. Related to this, it *is* your blog to do with as you please, but wouldn't you create a better "good experience" :-) for your readers, as well as cut down on unneeded bits if you didn't fill your blog with endless listings of job openings. For me it really detracts from the enjoyment of reading your blog when I constantly have to scan through 9 such job "ads" to get to what I want. It just seems *so* strange for a guy who blogs about "good experience". Why not create a section so the (I'm guessing) 1% of people who come here looking for them can look at them? Thanks for listening.