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=================== Good Experience - 27 Feb 08 ====================
By Mark Hurst
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
- What's better: pure or big?
- MIT study: it's hard to let go
- For more reading...
- 4 Job Openings: CA (2), NYC (2)
- Fun Stuff
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What's better: pure or big?
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What's the better "good experience":
- remaining absolutely true to one's principles, creating the best
possible experience, and probably staying small as a result?
- or compromising (just a little bit, we promise!) in order to
spread the still-mostly-good product or service much more widely?
As the green-organic-socially-responsible movement grows in exposure
and success, more and more notable brands are having to engage this
question. Big companies want a piece of the small-and-good action,
and they're willing to pay for it.
There have been many recent examples - three come to mind
immediately: Ben & Jerry's (bought by Unilever), then Tom's of Maine
(bought by Colgate), and now Honest Tea.
Seth Goldman, Gel 2004 speaker and co-founder of Honest Tea,
recently announced that Coca-Cola is taking a 40% stake in his
company.
Some Honest Tea customers are disappointed. Coke is a multinational
company whose past behavior has sometimes been at odds with Honest
Tea's organic, pro-community stance.
This week Seth posted a conversation he's had with one disappointed
customer:
http://honesttea.com/blog/index.php/category/from-seth-and-barry
The customer sums it up:
> I am writing to express my surprise and disappointment upon
> hearing the recent news that Coca-Cola will acquire a 40% stake in
> Honest Tea ... As a business that has built its reputation over
> the past decade on a commitment to healthy organic products,
> environmental quality, and social justice for its producers,
> Honest Tea's decision to partner with Coca-Cola - a multinational
> corporation that has consistently violated all three of these
> principles in their global business practices - confounds me.
I salute Seth for his openness in posting the back-and-forth, and
still I have to admit that the conversation takes much the same
course that I've observed in past examples: "with a teeny-tiny
little compromise, look at how much further we can take our vision!"
I'm not saying this is the right or wrong decision; Seth is a good
guy and I imagine cofounder Barry is, too... I know they've made a
thoughtful decision. But the customer has a point, too. In the end I
think the "right" choice is dependent on one's goals. Achieving
one's goals might *require* a certain reach, or size, even with
small compromises in the vision. For others, purity is the entire
reason for doing the work at all - regardless of who shows up.
For more and more companies who create a good experience, this will
be the dilemma: do we want to be pure or big?
- - -
Post a comment:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010342.php#comments
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MIT study: it's hard to let go
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I've said for a long time that the solution to information overload
is to **let the bits go**: always look for ways to delete, defer, or
otherwise avoid bits, so that the few that remain are more relevant
and easier to handle. This is the core philosophy of "Bit Literacy":
http://bitliteracy.com
In recent presentations to various groups, though, I've noticed that
there's often a problem. Many people want to change, know they
*need* to change, but have trouble contemplating actually changing
their habits to let go.
Thus my interest in this Times piece...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/science/26tier.html&pagewanted=all
...which recounts an unusual behavioral study at MIT. It turns out
that lots of people really are wired to *hold on*, even if they know
that it makes no sense.
> Most people can't make such a painful choice, not even the
> students at a bastion of rationality like the Massachusetts
> Institute of Technology, where Dr. Ariely is a professor of
> behavioral economics. In a series of experiments, hundreds of
> students could not bear to let their options vanish, even though
> it was obviously a dumb strategy.
>
> The experiments involved a game that eliminated the excuses we
> usually have for refusing to let go... [for example,] you don't
> even know how a camera's burst-mode flash works, but you persuade
> yourself to pay for the extra feature just in case.
- - -
Post a comment:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010341.php#comments
- - -
See also: Interview with Barry Schwartz...
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000106.php
...author of "The Paradox of Choice":
http://tinyurl.com/2nfoof
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For more reading...
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The false promise of multitasking:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010334.php
The Sharper Image files for bankruptcy:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010333.php
Google Health and the Cleveland Clinic:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010332.php
Announcing Gel 2008 Day 1 events:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010336.php
and
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010339.php
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Job Opening: GoldMail, Inc (Senior Interactive Designer)
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Company: GoldMail, Inc
Title: Senior Interactive Designer
Location: Pleasanton
Looking for a senior UI designer who shares our passion for
developing award winning software products. Responsible for
researching, designing, and prototyping new user experiences,
creating design mockups, and writing functional specifications.
For a complete job description, contact hiring@goldmail.com
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Job Opening: Weill Cornell Medical College (Flash Designer)
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Company: Weill Cornell Medical College
Title: Flash Designer
Location: New York, NY
We are looking for a full-time Flash Designer with the skill to help
create revolutionary Flash applications for medicine and healthcare.
Applicants must be fluent in ActionScript, Flash production
techniques, CSS, XHTML, and the Adobe Suite. Experience with Flex,
AIR, AJAX and ColdFusion, a plus.
Apply online at: http://www.nyp.org/careers/designer/
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Job Opening: Human Factors International (Project Director)
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Company: Human Factors International
Title: Project Director
Location: California
Five years experience: human factors, usability, user experience,
user analysis, interface design, usability testing. Managed
usability project teams. Designed interfaces for software
applications, internet, intranet. Psychology graduate degree.
Teaching in corporate setting, external consulting are a plus.
please submit your resume to jim.garrett@humanfactors.com
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Job Opening: Creative Good (Customer Experience Analyst)
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Company: Creative Good
Title: Customer Experience Analyst
Location: New York City
This is a full-time, entry-level position intended for recent
college grads. Creative Good is looking for a customer experience
analyst in the NYC area. Experience in business analysis or
marketing strategy is a plus. Nice-to-haves: Art History major;
holistic, strategic thinking; having read "Bit Literacy."
More info, apply: http://creativegood.com/team/job0307.html
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All recent job openings...
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See all recent job openings here:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/cat_job_openings.php
Post a job opening:
https://goodexperience.com/jobpost
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Fun Stuff
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Bullfrog ballet (thanks, boingboing.net):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKcztOR6UYM
Steve Martin in Smithsonian Magazine:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/funny-martin-200802.html
My online game picks:
http://goodexperience.com/games
P.S. Note to anyone who's interested in attending Gel 2008 (April
24-25 in New York) - we're almost sold out - sign up here:
http://gelconference.com/c/gel08.php
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Until next time,
- Mark Hurst
mark@goodexperience.com
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contact info
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ABOUT MARK HURST
Mark Hurst, founder of Creative Good and Good Experience, has been
advocating for good experiences for over ten years. He also writes
this newsletter.
Mark Hurst's bio: http://goodexperience.com/about/mark.php
Contact Mark Hurst: mark@goodexperience.com
Mark's book, "Bit Literacy," solves information & e-mail overload:
http://bitliteracy.com
Gel (Good Experience Live) conference:
http://gelconference.com
Uncle Mark 2008 Gift Guide and Almanac:
http://unclemark.org/unclemark2008.pdf
If you want customer experience consulting, contact Creative Good:
http://creativegood.com
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