Day 1 – Panel: Creating Passionate Users Sunday, Mar 12 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 3:40 pm

Well, I was going to go to the panel on private/public spaces and does exclusivity help or hurt. I thought this would be right up what we want to do with ChannelGuideMag.com and I would get some insights on techniques to make a site seem exclusive and therefore cool.

Wrong. It was more about self-selected exclusivity, such as along race or gender lines. Interesting? Sure. But not what I was looking for, so I moved next door.

I was glad I did. This panel gave me the most to think about and was a great way to wrap up the day. Basically, the panel boiled down to this one question: “What do we help our users kick ass at?”

Kathy Sierra talked about a company like Kodak or Nikon. They make cameras. But, what they do for customers is what — help them take kick ass pictures. Their web sites in particular have all sorts of tips & tricks on how to take kick ass pictures. The brand sells you the camera, then gives you effective tools & tricks to use that camera so that the entire experience is a positive one for you.

She also talked about snowboarding. Most folks can’t do it. Some try once. Some try twice. It’s that conversion — going from trying the first time to trying AGAIN that is the interesting, and crucial point in creating a passionate user.

As she said, “Why would you want to do something you suck at?”

You want to because you see an Olympic snowboarder and they look cool. They make it look so easy. You see what success looks like. You see, and you want to be successful at that activity as well. In order to get passionate like that, you have to see 3 things:

  • A compelling picture of an expert or of success
  • You have to think their is a meaningful benefit to acheiving that expertise or success
  • You have to be able to see a clear path to acheive that success

Easy, huh?

Apple sells computers. But everything they do — their marketing, their products, their very imagery — all of it tells a unified story. Apple makes computers that are fun to use, that give their user power to do what they need to do, and they look great while doing it. Apple’s ad campaigns create compelling images of successful people. Apple implies that their computers will help you acheive as others have achieved before you. Apple has created passion for their brand.

She talked about brands & if people at large are calling your brand a cult, you know you’ve reached what she calls the Kool-Aid point. If those people are wondering what kind of Kool-Aid folks drank to be so into your product, you know you’re creating passionate users.

She summed things up by saying that everything you do for your brand boils down to this: “It’s all abut the users & how they feel about themselves.” Nothing is about you, or even about the product you’re selling. It’s about giving the user a tool that helps them in their everyday life.

Recommended books: Flow, Gaping Void, and Blink.

 

Day 1 – Panel: Increasing Creativity at Work Sunday, Mar 12 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 3:39 pm

Ok, honestly, this was a pretty gravy panel to sit in on. Why? The panel of one, Charles MacInerney is a guy who’s life has been spent in the practice of yoga, and is a big proponent of mind-mapping.

Cakewalk man. I’ve been practicing yoga for almost 2 years now, and it’s really given me a lot more clarity in my life. I really miss it when we’ve got a break — and my class only meets once a week!

He also talks about mind-mapping, which is another way of saying just mapping, which is what you’ve got to get good at if you’re going to stay at Alverno for more than 5 minutes. (I got my BA from Alverno. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it’s a small women-only undergrad liberal arts college. There are no grades. Ask me about it anytime — especially if you think not having grades makes things easy.)

So, a lot of this session were reminders for me, but it was nice to have this refresher. I haven’t mapped much since graduating from college & it’s a technique I’d like to get back into.

MacInerney said that what you think has more impact on your health than what you do. He gave the example of a happy smoker & a miserable non-smoker. He theorized that the smoking will do less damage to a person than being miserable.

But he wasn’t talking about hanging up a stupid Successory to motivate you, or to read a self-help book to make yourself happy. Instead he brought in some of the most basic concepts of yoga — breathing, stretching — things that when are consciously controlled can have a huge impact on our health and how we feel at that moment. Are there things we should do to change our situation if we’re miserable? Absolutely. But if that’s not what’s going on — if instead you’re in a temporary situation making you miserable — paying bills, working under pressure — there are things you can do in 30 seconds that will stop you from sliding deeper into stress.

It’s stoping that slide into the high-stress beta brainwaves that will allow creative thinking. And if creative thinking isn’t happening, trying some of these techniques can only help.

 

Day 1 – Opening Remarks Sunday, Mar 12 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 3:38 pm

Jim Coudal and Jason Fried gave the opening remarks. These guys share a loft space — each with his own company of about 7 employees. Now, there are lots of small companies, but these guys have taken a different direction. That direction is that smaller is better.

They spoke of taking mediocre jobs for decent pay. They spoke of taking fantastic jobs for little pay. Their main focus was the idea of moving away from being a contract player to making your own contract. The idea that you can create your own money-making ventures & put your focus and creativity on making money for yourself & not for someone else. (I’m sure you’re loving reading this — don’t worry, they’re also big believers in NOT quitting your day job.)

To be honest, some of what they said really wouldn’t apply in the corporate world, and to their credit, they fully acknowledged that. But the idea of having the faith that money will come is definitely appealing. The idea that you don’t have to take every job that comes your way — that working from the fear of NOT making money is as bad as just plain not making money.

Their “we don’t put up with BS” stance was also extremely appealing.

The main message I got from these guys is that it’s not the meek that shall inherit the earth, but the curious. They went so far as to say that they would hire someone who could demonstrate passion & curiosity over technical skill & schooling anyday.

Another point which stirred up some controversy was Jason’s passionate hatred of functional spec documents. He essentially called them a pipe dream — that there’s no way at the beginning stages of a project that you can effectively scope out absolutely everything that a project will be. His tactic is to start with a period of time. Say, in X months, we’ll roll out version 1.0. Once that version is out, we’ll actually use the product or app and see what it needs in the course of our using it. We’ll ask our users to submit how they use the product & get their input. Letting the product or app evolve over time, rather than setting up features that may never be used, but were built because someone 6 months ago thought them necessary.

Two guys with small companies from Chicago. But those small Midwestern companies are thinking with some pretty big ideas.

 

Day 1 – panel 2 Sunday, Mar 12 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 3:37 pm

This session was fantastic – mostly on a personal level. It was like being back in graduate school. Now, don’t get me wrong. I really don’t want to go back to school, but there are tons of elements that I miss, even at the graduate level which was the time in my life when I used my studies to get me finally sick of school.

But this idea that we as humans make incorrect decisions based on flawed logic was one of the things I helped my professor research. It was fascinating and disconcerting all at the same time.

You hear the examples — buying lottery tickets, comparing the same price when it’s supposedly on sale & when it’s the regular price and you think — that won’t affect me. I’m so much smarter than that.

Well it does, and you are.

You’re smarter than that, but this is the way we’re wired, and that’s really, REALLY hard to overcome. Overcome it you can, it just takes work. A lot of times, especially when making purchasing decisions, we make a gut reaction. The gut is a wonderful thing, but in our heavily marketed society, smart marketers can use your gut against you & have you smiling all the way.

It takes objectivity. It takes rational, methodical decision making. How often do you get the time, and have the energy, to do that?

 

Day 1 – panel 1 Saturday, Mar 11 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 9:27 pm

Traditional and web design – a panel discussion

Web design, as compared to its print counterpart, is in its infancy. The primary thing the panel finds lacking in web design is the lack of emotional connection. There aren’t web sites that create that emotional impact some print designs can. The example given was Penguin books. They’re design has remained consistent & highly recognizable for decades. Their web site, however, doesn’t elicit the same response.

Part of the problem is focus – the design of one book cover is a highly focused medium. Penguin’s web site has dozens of focuses and purposes – to sell books, to tell people about Penguin. There is no one single purpose.

How to solve this? That question remains unanswered.

 

Arrival Saturday, Mar 11 2006 

Day 1 windupdoll 9:24 pm

Ok, I just have to say, sometimes fate is on your side. I get into my first room, which had a fabulous view, but when I walked around in my socks, I realized that there was a big old puddle outside the bathroom.

So I call the front desk, figuring they would want to know. Lo & behold, the guy says “well, in order to find out what’s going on, we’ll have to move you to another room.” At first, I resisted. I didn’t want to be a bother & the hotel was going to be at capacity this whole week. Then that little voice popped up in my head.

“FREE UPGRADE YOU IDIOT! FREE UPGRADE!”

Sure, ‘nough – they found me a room up on the executive floor where the breakfasts are free & the phones are cordless. (Why a cordless phone has more cache, I really don’t know.)

Well, the second room they put me in was just like the first – only with what I assume are complimentary water bottles. The phone rings. It’s the front desk wondering if the bellman had left. Indeed, he had.

Turns out he had brought me to the wrong room. I laughed. They said he’d be back with my key & would put me in a room across the hall. I was gracious, of course. I hadn’t even unpacked in the first room, so this was all truly no skin off my nose.

My bellman came back. I commented that I hoped the third time would be the charm. He laughed. I got into my room, I got keys this time, and he gave me a coupon for a free breakfast in the hotel restaurant tomorrow.

Sweet.

It’s the little things that make you happy. I’m hoping this is an omen for the rest of the trip — something that I might perceive as a setback turning into a golden opportunity.

Sweet.