Brilliant. I’m using it for book writing, note keeping, photo storage, file transfers, and public UX notes. If you haven’t seen it yet, go get : http://www.evernote.com
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If any blog pitch fits neatly into one of these categories, you have an excellent chance of failure.
The Expert Blog
In which a company expert (usually an engineer) is tapped to write an insider interest blog. Hard to sustain, boring.
The Enthusiast Blog
In which the company sponsors people to tout the virtue of their product. Inauthentic, easy to spot, no one loves a shill. (see Steve Rubel and WalMart)
The Character Blog
In which a character that represents the brand or product is created and runs a fake blog. Low interest, shallow, ultimately unfunny. (see Captain Morgan’s Blog)
The Product Use Blog
In which people are tasked with using the product and document their adventures. Usually 2 knuckleheads driving across America doing something “real”. Milquetoast, ultimately false.
What’s up with all these so-called industry experts writing advice on how Apple should be running the App Store?
From what I can see all these “Industry Experts” have one thing in common :
None of them were smart enough to put an iPod in millions of pockets or create a storefront that everyone wants to be part of.
Based on that, it’s pretty apparent that the only “Industry Expert” when it comes to the iPhone or the App Store is Apple.
If you’re pissy about getting your shitty little app on the store, go write apps for Android, see how far that will get you.
I’ve gotten a bunch of peeps thinking I went way too easy on the conversion post. Here’s a bit more detail.
My 3 successful scenarios
When it has a strong value proposition to the user
The basic rational scenario. It’s always a trade-off. Is the value of the result greater than the effort the user? This applies to commerce, hand-raisers, or information exchange… it’s all the same theory. This is the most highly tweaked approach, and results are wildly different for each use.
When it is a logical step in a user’s mental model
Here is where we earn our money. Understanding a user’s mental model is one thing, but being able to construct and alter a mental model through interaction is pretty awesome. Realize you are always creating a conversation / relationship through every interaction, no matter how small. Being able to engage someone strongly in that interaction, and provide a positive and logical step to conclusion is an art form. See also: Con Men, Ronco and Cults.
When it replaces a real-world task in a better way
The easiest to do, and the hardest to make successful. Renewing your license plates on-line is far easier than standing in line at the Secretary of State (or DMV for non-Michiganders), but the first iterations of that process were so poorly done, standing in line was preferable. It was an excellent case of a great idea with horrible execution. We’ve been through many of the commerce versions of this, and it’s pretty much solidified. Arranging travel, not so much.
I could go on for days on these, but the only way to make any of these successful is to practice patience and continued effort….
Let’s say it all together : BUILD… TEST… REVISE… BUILD… TEST… REVISE… BUILD… TEST… REVISE…and so on to infinity.
I’ve been telecommuting for over a year now. It’s pretty cool overall. Luckily I work for a company (Versata) that really doesn’t care where the work is done, as long as it’s done and done well.
I don’t believe Versata set out to create a workforce of telecommuters, but I don’t think they care that it happened either. They’re a very progressive company when it comes to outsourcing of work, and distribution of talent, so why not apply that theory to regular employees?
So here is my top good / bad points of telecommuting:
The Good!
- $4 a gallon gas : I fill up my tank about twice a month, usually less. This makes me happy.
- Better coffee : I have a Grind-&-Brew and a very nice espresso machine, and the cost has already been negated by the lack of Starbucks over a couple months.
- Great location, great view… In the summer, there’s a pool.
- Phone, chat, email keep everyone connected very well. Versata provides a phone with data, I write my DSL and home office off my taxes. We all win.
- I can play my music as loud as I want, and spin vinyl all day if I fell like it.
- I walk my kids to school, and have dinner with my family every day.
The Bad!
- Lonely Andrew! Yes, it can be sort of isolating at times, and the camaraderie and social aspect of an office is lost.
- Working hours blur a bit. I’m sure, big picture-wise, I’m not working more hours, but when home is the office, you’re sort of always on the clock.
- Disconnected in small ways. Additional effort to keep tabs, or have tabs kept, is sometimes needed. Compared to the churn of useless information that occurs in an office, and the effort of parsing through it all, the effort is about the same.
- Motivation! If I didn’t possess such a midwestern work mentality, I’d probly never get much done.
Overall, I dig working remotely and appreciate that I can. I recommend it for those who like to work, but hate the talentless brown shirts that linger around the office, corrupting an otherwise useful day!
Conversion. Conversion? Conversion!
Everybody wants it… users know how to avoid it.
Here are three scenarios where conversion will work:
When it has a strong value proposition to the user
When it is a logical step in a user’s mental model
When it replaces a real-world task in a better way
If you’re not fitting into one of those, chances are you’re about to fail.
For the most part… and most is like 98%… Brands on Twitter are like a floating logs of shit in a warm bathtub.
For the most part… and most is like 80%… Brands with Blogs are like a dude wanking on a webcam with no one watching.
There is no conversation coming from these brands… All there is are brands trying to tell you things they want you to hear.
I have a strange weakness for bags and notebooks.
I have far more bags than items to carry in them, and drawers full of yet-to-be-used notebooks.
Some notebooks have a special purpose assigned, and I simply haven’t gotten around to it yet. Some are just too “nice” to be used for mad scribbles and boring work.
My daily books are from Rhodia, a large wirebound sketchbook, and of course my tiny and handy Moleskine cashier notebooks
Oddly, I’m also attracted to datebooks / organizers, despite knowing that I’ll never really use one.
And I always think I need the Action Series by Behance, but apparently, buying them hasn’t made it to my action list yet. Link
Last year I gave out the very cool, Slingshot anarchist/activist organizers to several people (Slingshot, Monkey Wrench Books)
Now I find myself faced with wanting to get 2 different datebooks for 2009. And here I thought was doing well with my little problem.
The Haruki Murakami Datebook is a beautifully designed book, with reference by the Japanese author from his many wonderous books.
Amazon Link
The Muji Chronobook is definitely a lust object. A simple book with a Day and Night side per spread. It’s arranged in a non-linear fashion, with very little in the formal, rigid time-keeping mindset.
as seen on Cool Hunting
The Muji Chronobook is only available at the Muji Store in Soho, so if any of my NYC peeps are in the area, my birthday is coming up.
Mobile. It’s kind of a bitch.
(Although, designing for a platform like iPhone makes it much better).
But here’s what I found to be the biggest problem : Sticking to a single concept
I work for a company that specializes in moving and manipulating large amounts of unique data. My gig is making sure that data is usable, understandable, and mashed up in a manner that end users find valuable.
So, I design products. Some people call them apps, some call them services, I consider them products. They are tangible things that people interact with, and get improved based on that interaction. They’re long term, not a feeble microsite.
Anyways, it seemed like a no-brainer to start moving some of these products to a mobile platform, as one of my main pushes this year is in the saving, sharing and moving of information off a primary site and onto where users feel they need to keep it.
In starting, I uncovered a continuum in design rationale…
On one end is the Encumbered Complexity. Things that are too large, too forked, too unwieldily to be useful on a mobile device. (Unfortunately, most of our primary products fit in this category).
On the other end is Useless Minutiae. Information and features that could be moved to a mobile device, and usually upon first glance, seem like a great idea, but are too detailed to be useful, or replace a real-world activity that doesn’t benefit from being digitized. (Usually, the ideas seem great because my company controls or manages all the data, and no one else could create this product).
So, I’m working in the sweet spot between the two of them, following three pure and simple approaches :
ONE
Mobile is one part of a larger experience, and should act in conjunction with other devices and products that are not mobile.
TWO
Any mobile product must provide useful content and features that have reason to be mobile… and “because we can” is not a reason.
THREE
Kick the Andrew “Ruthless Monk” Method up a notch. One thing at a time, a single Item=Response metaphor. Even more so than the internet, mobile is a conversation, and one that must be streamlined.
I’m showing off the first of 3 Automotive-based mobile products this month at our annual user conference in Savannah. I’ll share them once I’ve done the dog-and-pony.
Once again, I’ve taken about half of the things I own and plan to get rid of them.
My office is now pretty awesome, having traded a giant chair for a sleek mod one, and moving a ton of crap out.
So I’m now faced with the dilemma of space, and how open something can become before the Monk Style™ becomes the empty room with a desk in the middle.
Photos as soon as I’m done.