[openbeos] Think useful, not cool

  • From: "Helmar Rudolph" <helmar@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: phoenix@xxxxxxxxxxxx, openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 09:50:38 +0200

I thought this article might interest you.

Helmar

Interesting and useful reading (article by Sean Carton):

 We need to realize that the vast majority of people use
 technology not for what it is, but for what it does. The
 problem has been that most of us who write about technology
 tend to be early adopters. Early adopters tend to first
 like technology for what it is, figuring that we'll find a
 use for it later. Unfortunately, as the lessons of the past
 year and a half have taught us, most consumers aren't early
 adopters. They're regular folks who are looking for
 solutions for their problems and aren't necessarily
 impressed just because something's new and different.
 Unlike the early adopters, most people are more interested
 in technology for what it does, not just because it's new.
 They want useful, not cool. 

 The field of dot-bombs is littered with business models
 that placed technology before people. From e-commerce
 concepts designed by engineers who never actually used the
 systems to multimedia technologies that made impressive
 demos (but took long, precious minutes to download) to
 cumbersome communications media that looked good on paper
 but failed to deliver their promises, the fact is that
 technology designed to impress technophiles ultimately
 fails unless regular folks have a reason to use it. 

 Today, when concepts of return on investment (ROI) and
 profit are no longer "nice to haves" as they were in a
 world flooded by venture capital, we as marketers and
 designers have to be extra vigilant when vetting new
 technology to use or recommend. Rather than be dazzled by
 technological bells and whistles, we need to focus on what
 a technology can do and how it solves the problems of our
 customers. We need to look at the essence of what a
 technology does for people rather than at its cool factor
 or coding virtuosity. 

 Consider customer relationship management (CRM). Although
 we all now understand that it's important to gather
 information about our customers and then use that
 information to provide products and services they need,
 most CRM companies are still focusing on the technical
 abilities of their products rather than what they can
 achieve in terms of getting and retaining customers. In
 fact, a recent Jupiter report on understanding customer
 loyalty points out that it's not getting the information
 about customers that's the trick -- it's actually making
 some sense out of the information that's vital to keeping
 customers. 

 Wireless is another great example of technology hype that
 doesn't meet with many user expectations. At one time
 (about a year ago), wireless data was seen as the next wave
 of the Web, promising to revolutionize how we market and
 sell to customers. But adoption has been slow, and, it
 turns out, people may not really even want to buy things on
 their cell phones or have coupons magically appear on their
 personal digital assistant (PDA) screens. Why? Because for
 many people, the killer app of wireless is voice,
 communicating with other people. Data? Nah... Why not just
 pick up the phone and call? 

 The industry abounds with other examples of us needing to
 consider what people are using a technology for rather than
 the technology itself when deciding whether to use it. Rich
 media is impressive but becomes effective only when it
 provides value that balances out its many difficulties.
 Instant messaging is being used by millions not because
 it's a stunning example of technology but because it allows
 us to do something that's not possible any other way. 

 When it comes down to deciding whether to use new
 technologies in your business, in your marketing efforts,
 or on your Web site, you need to ask yourself one simple
 question: What's this going to be used for? In effect, the
 essence of any successful technology isn't the technology
 itself, it's the way that it fits into the lives of the
 people who are going to be using it. Think useful, not cool. 



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