The Future is Ours
June 26, 2012 1 Comment
This is awesome. Watch it full screen and crank up the volume.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/44658040]–
Solving mysteries at 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).
June 26, 2012 1 Comment
This is awesome. Watch it full screen and crank up the volume.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/44658040]–
April 25, 2012 Leave a comment
I’m not really a huge Henry Ford fan. While you have to respect his business acumen and innovation, it’s really hard to see past his anti-semitism and support of Nazi Germany prior to the US entering WWII.
But one thing he did that I do like, is provide the world with this quote:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
And then decades later, Steve Jobs came along and echoed a similar sentiment:
“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
Often times, we are too reliant on asking people what they want. Or what they think they want. Or whether they would like some abstract idea. Notice that Steve Jobs didn’t say “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show them a concept board.”
The problem is context. Even if you have a great idea, without the proper context consumers cannot imagine how a new idea/product/service fits into their lives.
One example of this from my life is tablet computers. In 2005, when I was in grad school, our IT strategy professor gave us a lecture about tablet computing. He demonstrated tablets by running his whole class on something like this:
That was a state of the art tablet at the time. It was essentially a laptop where you could swivel the screen around and fold it over the keyboard then write on the screen with a stylus. It was a terrible experience. It was heavy, not terribly fast and really, offered nothing that regular laptops didn’t (other than writing on the screen – and who really needed that?).
And then came this:
And it blew every other tablet out of the water. It revitalized the whole concept of tablets. And I’m sure that Steve Jobs didn’t ask customers if they wanted tablets. He looked at how people use technology and made a device that enhanced their experience. If he had asked people whether they wanted a tablet or what they thought of tablets, they would have imagined that Toshiba above and said “no thanks.”
But my absolute favorite example of this is text messaging. In 2001 I participated in a focus group about text messaging. Because as strange as it seems now, back in 2001, in the US, not many people were using text messaging. Back then, I was using one of these:
It pretty much just made calls and stored phone numbers. So when I was told that I would be able to use a phone to send text messages to people I thought it was a terrible idea. I couldn’t imagine typing on a number pad to send one-way messages. I couldn’t imagine when I would WANT to use text messages. I conceded that if I was in class, or in a loud bar, it might be more convenient than making a phone call, but I couldn’t grasp the idea of sending someone a message and not getting an instantaneous response like you do when you are actually talking to them.
And now? Last month I sent 393 text messages. Thats 13 a day. How much did I talk on the phone? 135 minutes. 4 minutes a day. I hate talking on the phone and pretty much only talk on the phone with my parents and customer service reps.
21 year old me thought that talking on the phone was more convenient than texting and waiting for a reply. But now, most people would agree that calling, waiting for the other person to answer, making pleasantries, and then finally getting to the reason for the call is much more inconvenient.
So stop asking your customers what they want. And definitely stop asking your clients what they think their customers want. Get out there and meet your customers. Spend time with them. Observe them. Talk to them about how they solve problems in their life. And then take what you learn and figure out how to solve those problems better.
But unless you make faster horses, don’t ask them what they want.
March 27, 2012 1 Comment
Switching agencies has forced me to change my business travel habits a little bit. Instead of frequent trips to NYC where I am chauffeured around in the finest taxis the city has to offer, I’ve been driving to more “local” clients. Local being Hartford, CT or Framingham, MA. And because these are not bustling metropolises (metropoli?) I’ve found myself spending a lot of time in Zipcars.
And because I have a terrible sense of direction, especially in places I have never been before, I have been relying on my GPS app on my phone. A Lot.
March 1, 2012 Leave a comment
Not quite a crime machine, but still impressive.
The boat can accommodate up to six persons while underway, and eight at dockside. It is powered by an almost silent electric motor at approximately 4 to 6 knots.
More from the manufacturer: HotTubBoats.com
January 23, 2012 4 Comments
Here’s a video recap of my trip to CES 2012. Enjoy!
And for more from my trip check out these other posts:
January 12, 2012 5 Comments
On my first day at CES I saw these Recon Instruments MOD Live goggles and was instantly smitten. My buddy Ian thought so too and shot a quick video about them for the Weber Shandwick Social Studies blog. Check it out here:
And if you want some more of the MOD Live, here’s their official video:
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January 12, 2012 11 Comments
Another amazing day at CES. Although I have to say, the exhibits we saw yesterday weren’t quite as new/exciting/interesting as the first day, but still some great new tech.
The big hit of the day for me was LG. Having recently bought an LG LED TV I am a little biased. But they have so many great products coming out. From the world’s largest OLED TV, to amazing Cinema 3D displays, to innovative home appliances, like these vacuums and a cool fridge.
Similar to a Roomba, this robot vacuum keeps your house cleaning and doubles as a surveillance system you can monitor on the web or on your mobile device.
This LG canister vacuum has "follow along" technology that self-propels the base to keep up with you as you clean. No pulling the base with you, it drives itself!
The blast chiller cabinet in this LG fridge sucks cold area from the freezer into a small box to rapidly chill a bottle of beer to 41 degrees (f) in just 4 minutes.
The Emperor 200 chair/workstation has three screens that can raise and lower, creating a "cocoon" of productivity
Victorinox just released this thumb sized one terabyte solid-state drive today at CES. It has an e-ink display and biometric security. I have to disclose that they are a SapinetNitro client, but this is still awesome.
The all new electric DeLorean. So cool. Not loving the decals they stuck all over it, but it's still awesome.
That’s it for day two (actually there is a lot more, but you’ll have to wait for the video and/or accompanying presentation).
Also, I have to give a huge shoutout to the WordPress.com team for featuring Hot Tub Crime Machine on their “Freshly Pressed” section. I received almost 1000 visits to yesterday’s review of CES, setting a new record for the site. If you want to see that post, it’s here.
Update: Here are my highlights from CES Day 3 (and if you prefer video format, click here)