inputs/outputs

If you really want something to be functional, make it extraordinary and remarkable.

In Illionois, they are putting interesting text on their stop signs like “Woahhhhh” and “Stop… and smell the roses.” My guess is they aren’t doing it to be cute either. It costs more money to put the extra text on the stop signs, but it works to make them more effective since drivers slow down to read it. Not to mention that it’s a street sign and it’s fun.

What are some other boring things that could be more effective if they were fun?

Ever since I was a kid, the clocks in our house have been set to different and inaccurate times. This is on purpose. For instance, the bathroom clock is always 15 minutes fast, the clock in the kitchen is traditionally 4 minutes fast, the car clock is 40 minutes fast.

It’s important that we establish the premise: setting clocks ahead will fool us into thinking that it’s much later than it actually is, and that will cause us to be early or on-time for events and other scheduled happenings. At first glance, there seems to be two problems with this system. One, we’re still late. We recalculate the time based on what the real time is, and since we know that the clock is way too fast, we end up taking more time to complete the tasks preventing us from arriving on time.

The second problem is that all the clocks have different times. If we lived in a house where we set all the clocks 10 minutes ahead, and then pretended that they were actually on time, this system may work. But if you were that meticulous, why would you need to use this so-called trick, anyway?

It’s paradoxical. My rule about good “lifehack” system is that you have to assume that the user is slightly disorganized, but not completely incompetent. When I leave my bag near the door in the morning, I’ve fully forgotten that I’ve left it there. It surprises me when I see it there, and it serves as the ultimate fail-proof way of remembering my stuff. Setting clocks ahead 15 minutes isn’t a good way of getting places on time, simply because you’re aware of the “trick.”

The key to any “trick” to make yourself more organized is to know what your personal set-back is going to be. It’s obviously not the physical clock, since you’re late anyway. It may, however, be the time you spend getting ready - which could mean you should set your clothes out on your desk the night before. Or that you have trouble waking up, which means you should condition yourself to wake up earlier.

Amazon has three things to offer us as they’re pushing their new alternative to the iTunes Store.

1. Better quality. Better bitrate, better tools, VBR. If you know anything about audio quality, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear this huge step forward from the 128kbps bitrate on the iTunes store. Problem is, most iTunes users I know don’t know that their music is encoded at such a low rate, and probably can’t tell. When no problem exists, there’s no problem to solve.

2. No DRM. Songs actually belong to you. This is great if you want to download the song to a non-iPod, or if you want to send them to a friend.

3. Cheaper. This is the one most consumers will understand. The songs are 10 cents cheaper than their DRM counter parts on iTunes, and 40 cents cheaper than the iTunes non-DRM files.

The problem seems to be that, with any new alternative, there needs to be a perceived problem with the current one in order for it to be de-throned by the new one. So, a better quality MP3 will not be enough to switch users from iTunes to Amazon. What about price and no DRM? Maybe.

Amazon doesn’t offer any type of management system for the downloads. There’s an application that acts as a downloader, but it doesn’t actually play the files. People are still going to use iTunes as their player, which means that the 10 cent discount and the DRM-free files come at a cost of having to run a separate program, with a separate user account. It means that the files that are downloaded need to imported into the iTunes library (as opposed to automatically appearing under “Purchased”). It means that the user actually has to deal with the physical file, rather than a line in the iTunes browser (many users don’t see the link between physical files and the the iTunes line item).

So I guess it all depends on how important non-DRM files and 10 cents off matter to the legal music downloaders. I know that I’m going to turn to Amazon for my downloading, but my dad will probably stick to what he knows, and to what interfaces with his iPod the easiest.

Just as a sidenote, I wish there existed a program for Windows that could manage any MP3 playing device that was plugged in.

Sometimes it’s not about easy or difficult. It’s about efficient vs. cool. This is the exact dilemma I run into with my new phone, which has a feature that lets me take a picture of a business card and add the number into my phone book directly from the card.

At first, I thought this was a brilliant piece of technology, and that it would make my life a whole lot easier. I showed it off to my friends, who thought it was really hip.

Then I finally realized that it was just a strict novelty. It actually made the process of getting someone’s information into the phone more cumbersome. Sure, it gave bad readings sometimes in dim lighting, and if the card moved around too much during the shot, it would be too blurry for the words to be read. But it wasn’t even all of that. The total time for me to get someone’s card (out of their wallet or card holder), under the camera (holding it steady and getting it perfectly into the frame), making sure the lights were bright enough (flashlight anyone?), and then waiting for the software to analyze the information ended up taking about 2-3 minutes.

The efficient way? Enter name. Enter number. Hit save.

Every time I add a new number into my phone I have to decide whether or not I should use this feature.  It’s fun to show to people, but ultimately it adds too many seconds.

I was reading Seth Godin’s blog, one of my favorites, and I wanted to make a comment but noticed that he only accepts trackbacks. What a genius idea for spreading an idea and creating a discussion. Now, instead of Seth’s audience viewing/responding to my comment, I’m involving my own audience - and linking back to Seth’s blog so those readers may end up there anyway. It got me thinking about the importance of this whole discussion idea.

If everyone had a blog, I would rid mine of the comment feature as well. But they don’t. Why not? Why isn’t blogging part of an elementary school curriculum? Why isn’t it a requirement of every job? (Okay, maybe not a requirement. But the benefits of blogging should be emphasized, at least.)

What if we worked and lived in a system where everyone was required to be reflective, how would it improve the quality of their work? My sister, and my friend Mariam, are both required to write reflections because they are training to be teachers. Mariam stressed that writing every day was a huge deal for her and helped her improve her skills as a teacher. Blogging has helped me generate good ideas. Jerry Seinfeld advocates writing everyday to help with whatever it is that you do.

But the problem, as my friend Andy points out, is that some people believe that they don’t have the time/interest to write in a blog, and potential bloggers may feel almost narcissistic, as if writing a blog means that you think your thoughts are valuable. And the catch is that they are valuable. They’re valuable to the author, and that’s the only important thing to consider when you sit down to write. And chances are that your thoughts are valuable to at least a couple of people. But if not, at least you’ve reflected.

Dance like no one is watching, blog like no one is reading.

I guess the guy who made this sandwich either did a really crappy job, or stumbled upon a new type of sandwich. Or both. They say that one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. That must apply to ideas as well, accidental or not.

I wonder what other ideas have been accidents due to carelessness turned into something that sold really well.

Yesterday, as I was driving home from work, I realized that I was coming up with a ridiculous amount ideas (about everything) and I remembered that I had recently signed up for a web service called Jott, and I grabbed my phone. The process, for me, works like this.

1. I have an idea/thought. I carry around a notebook and I write down any idea that comes to me. These ideas include blog posts, song ideas, ideas about websites/technology, gift ideas, plans, etc. But there are definitely times when I can’t write stuff down, like when I’m driving. And driving happens to be the time when my ideas are flowing like a fountain.

2. I call Jott. So Jott lets me call a number and, without even having to log in, I can tell my idea to the computer on the other end. The thought/idea can last for 30 seconds, and I can do this for as many minutes as I have on my phone plan.

3. The idea is transcribed and logged. With pretty decent accuracy, the thought is transcribed and logged into my Jott account on a list, which I can sort/organize later.

4. I review and process the list. Not only are my thoughts now transcribed and listed, they can be organized into folders, and I can even listen to the original message that I left for myself.

This is fantastic for GTDers who don’t have a regular inbox. I wish Google would do something like this for Gmail or Gcal. Go and sign up!

I was doing some coding today on my PC, and I realized that I hadn’t done web work on a PC in a really long time. Most of it I do on my Mac, using a combo of Transmit and Textmate. I was getting really frustrated about not being able to easily edit the files on the server directly, and I was sorely missing Expose to get back and forth between all the windows, and the tabbed windows in the task bar. Alt-tab just doesn’t do it for me, especially if I have a lot of windows open.

It got me thinking about how the platform we develop on influences the type of software we build. I once heard David Heinemeyer Hansen say that OS X inspired him to write creative programs, which was interesting to me.

I suppose that if I was trying to create a piece of art for a room, I would need to be in the room for a little while to gather inspiration, and to get the feel of the place. Surely working in an efficient operating system would make your work easier, or more fun - but does it make the work better?

Here are a few quick lessons that consulting has taught me so far.  I like these because they’re applicable to life outside of work.

1.  Learn to listen to what people really want, rather than just hearing what they say.  One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from being a consultant so far is that people rarely say what they really mean, and it’s not something that happens on purpose, either.  When you deal with technology, oftentimes there are barriers to be broken, walls that have to come down.  Things like terminology (the internet vs. a browser, system tray vs. task bar).  Outside of technology though, there are lots of time where this same technique is applicable.   You have to probe a little bit to find out what they truly mean before making an assumption.  Those assumptions can be deadly sometimes, and they can wrap you up conflict.

2.  Politeness is free.  You can simply help your users (or your friends, relatives, etc.) or you can help them and make them feel welcome.  It doesn’t cost anything, and it always makes for a happier ending.  For instance, if I speak to someone who’s having SAP troubles, and I can’t help them immediately, I can always neutralize it by being as polite as possible.  Again, this technique applies to everything.  When my friend PJ would get a rude gesture while driving, he would always respond by giving the peace sign.  My guess is that the other driver would probably be confused, and then go back to being relaxed again.  The alternative is anger and blame - it’s all worthless, especially when you can just skip over it.

3.  Be a person with a personality.  You can read a “Hello, may I help you?” script or you can be yourself (within the limits of professionalism!).  This happens a lot over the phone.  People are expecting a scripted greeting.  What if you made it more interesting?  For instance, today I’ve been answering the phone with a “Happy Friday!”  This is nothing groundbreaking, but it still makes a huge difference.  Real life experiment:  don’t ask anyone how they are unless you’re really prepared to hear how they are.  And when you ask it, mean it.  The inflection in the tone of voice of someone who wants to know how you are is much different than the tone of the scripted “how are you.”  And then you should really listen.

4.  The customer is not always right.   There, I said it.  I include this because it’s important to realize that you can be as helpful as possible without getting walked on.  If your clients/customers expect you to walk on water, they’re going to be disappointed, so it’s important that you explain the reasons as to why you can’t fix something, or what policy prevents you from carrying out a given demand.  You should make it clear when you’ve done everything in your power.  When I was in college I worked at the front desk of a dorm, and during my 5-7am shift, a student came asking for Tylenol.  We didn’t have any behind the desk, and there was a convenience store down the road, but this student clearly stated she wasn’t leave until  I solved her problem.  So I called my girlfriend, and had her wake up and hand this girl pills at 5:30 am.  Did I have to do this?  Absolutely not.  What did it cost to make this girl happy?  2 minutes out of my girlfriend’s night (she’s forgiven me).

5.   You can’t bear the weight of the world.  Being on a Tier 1 team definitely teaches you that asking for help from the people above you is not only useful, it’s straight up necessary.  I could spend hours trying to help a user solve a problem that a Level 2 could figure out in minutes.  Sure, I’d learn a lot, but why waste a user’s time?  Similarly, we’re presented with situations everyday where asking for help is the only way to get things done.  Experiment:  write down all the skills you have (as a worker, friend, etc.) and then match yourself with a friend/colleague who has a complimentary talent.  Imagine what you could do as a team, and imagine the time that you could save.

6.  Pull out chairs, hold doors.  The idea is to make things as easy as possible for your users.  If this means redesigning the UI multiple times, then so be it.  For my current job, it involves not what I say but how I say it.  Most of the users I deal with don’t know their way around a computer as well as I do, and it’s easy to get caught up in computer jargon.  A lot of times they’ll pretend that they understand what I’m talking about so that they don’t seem stupid (they’re not, of course).  But it does lead to confusion when you think you’re on the same page, but you’re actually on different chapters.  You have to find the middle ground between hand-holding and no-training-wheels.

I’m sure that I’ll think of more later.

Santa is great marketing because it’s great story telling. And it’s intricate story, too. All the way up to the reindeer, and the one reindeer that was left out, to the elves, to Mrs. Claus, etc. If Christmas is a system, the users are kids, parents, and marketers, each with different access roles, and each with a different goal in mind. Kids want presents, parents want the best prices and easiest distribution, and marketers want to sell the presents with the most sensible distribution.

I had thought it might be cool to create a website where kids could upload their Christmas wish lists, and share them over a social network. Parents could see the top-ranked gifts, and which gifts took priority, marketers could see who to market to, etc. In my search for competitors, I found santaspeaking.com and I noticed a few things that made me realize that the internet can be an excellent tool for enhancing the magic of Christmas, but it can also destroy it.

First of all, there’s a Santa blog. Talk about destroying the mystique. Santa has time to write a blog? What about the presents? He’s the CEO of a major enterprise here. Also, there’s a reindeer web cam. And when you click on it, not only is there no snow on the ground in the pictures, it also links to the actual farm that the images come from. In Canada.

So they damage the spirit/magic for the children. They have a “letters to Santa” section as well, but it’s got a tiny contact form, so you can really only include a line of text. That’s silly. We all know that wish lists are what goes to Santa’s inbox. If you’re going to set up a contact form for Santa, you’d be foolish not to include a huge text area for a list of desired Christmas gifts. The “north pole weather report” is simply a feed to weather.com.  And the worst part of all:  there is a For Parents section on the site which explains that the “Santas” used on the site aren’t authentic (but are given background checks).  They have this on the main menu, as if the “for parents” sticker will keep the kids from clicking there.

I can’t see any parents encouraging their children to use this site over the good old pen-and-paper letter to Santa in the mailbox, nor can I see child taken away by the site.

The point of any Christmas/Santa website should be to enhance the magic of Christmas for the users, help parents with their shopping, and help marketers with their distribution (demand planning).  The commerce side should be separate from the magic side, naturally.  Otherwise, it’s useless.  This means creating more usability for the children who want to communicate with Santa, easier access to lists for the parents, and the most desired toys for certain markets so there are enough shipped items in stores.