POST DIGITAL

Does A UCD focus make companies miss out on disruptive innovations?

Fast Company’s Co.Design blog published a controversial post that triggered a lot of discussion. In their article provocatively titled User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and Ikea, Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen wrote:

“[User-centered design] doesn’t work. Here’s the truth: Great brands lead users, not the other way around.”

Skibsted and Hansen cited Apple and IKEA as some of the most innovative brands that don’t follow the user-centric design model. They say that the Apple design team spoke out against user-centric design because it’s “a waste of time”. Similarly IKEA claimes, “it doesn’t work.”

They argued that brands have to take the lead in innovation with a strong and consistent vision, and outlined several reasons why it’s actually detrimental to listen to your users.  Without vision and innovation we begin to create a sea of sameness.

I must admit, their points are compelling...[sigh] but are they correct?  Where does the user fit in?  After the innovation or to inspire the innovation?  How might we reconcile their claims with the value of design research and user-centered design?

You can read the article at http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663220/user-led-innovation-cant-create-breakthroughs-just-ask-apple-and-ikea

Are they right?  Sound off.  What do you think?

 

on: the truth about youth

this is a great report on today's youth. It is a view of the first truly global generation, fuelled and empowered by technology and motivated by the same three fundamental needs: Commune (the need for connection, relationships, and community), Justice (the need for social or personal justice, to do what’s right, to be an activist), and Authenticity (the need to see things as they are). These motivations drive behaviours that transcend borders.

[via McCann Worldgroup’s global survey of 16-30 year-olds]

on: the future of retail

This week's presentation was a ton of fun to research. Who doesn't like to shop...non-stop? The Future of Retail: A Post Digital Approach to Shopper Marketing was an exercise in innovation and imaging the future of shopping.

While we are well into a the third decade of eCommerce and a new thriving generation of mCommerce technology has emerged, a number of ideas have surfaced as a beta of a new economy of commerce and consumerism. It begins by realizing that the aging of the Baby Boom generation is giving way to the coming of age of Generation Y, which has caused seismic shifts in consumer demand and shopping habits. Retail stores that have adapted [i.e. Best Buy, Sephora, Levi's ] to the new consumer demographics have begun to thrive in spite of the great recession.

The Future of Retail: 

A Post Digital Approach to Shopper Marketing

View more presentations from Joanna Pena-Bickley

Beyond a perpetually evolving, decentralized shopping experience, retailers must begin to contemplate the impact of digital and social medias on the path to purchase. In this presentation I pose a simple challenge to the audience; If the the entire world can be a store; how would your customers make instant purchases regardless of time and place?

on: influential product reviews

Customer product reviews were described as ‘undeniably influential’ in a recent report released by eMarketer.  Jeffrey Grau, the report’s author notes that “for many purchases, shoppers find the best advice comes not from family and close friends but from strangers who have similar interests or who embody a lifestyle the shopper aspires to achieve.” Overall, it finds that customer reviews are a bigger part of the pre-purchase decision making process, with customers reading more reviews, and spending more time doing so.

ON: Facebook's lost youth

Just as Facebook launches its latest iPhone app (3.0), the NY Times is reporting a Facebook exodus.  When you see the recent jumps in the site’s overall numbers, an exodus is not immediately evident. According to comScore, Facebook attracted 87.7 million unique visitors in the United States in July.  

In Mobile apps, we are finding that users have a core set of utilities and other apps including social networking sites are more disposable.  The average length varies based on entertainment and connectivity factors.  Mobile app user behavior seems to apply to the web based social apps as well.  Once the novelty runs its course, users will move on to something else.

When I first established my Facebook account, it was the place I could connect the brands I worked for to college students and other bloggers.  Today, it resembles the MySpace of 2007.  A personal repository for images, video, text and superfluous applications. In last year's Facebook hype tour, Mark Zuckerberg claimed it was the one stop shop platform for all social interaction.  In January, the numbers were impressive. The 35-54 year old demo was the fastest growing segment, with a 276.4% growth rate over an approximate 6 months. The 55+ demo was not far behind with a 194.3% growth rate.  With those rates of growth, it is hard to see the exodus.

The numbers above only reflect people joining, and nothing more.  The exodus seems to be happening amongst the Facebook early adopters and its core user base, college students.  Many in this demographic have fled to new social software platforms that are less intrusive, more mobile and that have an auto connect to Facebook. (i.e. four square, loopt, friend feed, flickr, friendster, buddy cloud etc.)

Heffernan article outlined seven people who have left the site. She hardly highlights or proves a mass exodus.  After a bit of research, the numbers reflect a significant drop in Facebook's college and youth demographic. In Jan of 09 its largest demographic concentration was amongst the 18-24 year olds, 40.8% which was a significant drop from 53.8% six months prior. (Download 2009 Facebook Demographics and Statistics as an Excel spreadsheet)

By no means do I see this trend as the demise of Facebook. If it can sustain the older demographic it could be a rich place to target, reach and engage with a demo that has been slow to adopt the social net in the past.  The demographics are changing rapidly and seem to reflect a mass market media tool.

If you are looking for the youth population, Facebook is not the one stop social shop.  It is merely a small fragment of the media consumed by youth today.  The combination of mobile and television seem to be the best bet as their world revolves around entertaining content, location based connectivity, the search for fame and personal expression.

ON: Microsoft's The Break-Up + Consumer Conversations

Consumer conversations... Microsoft seems to think they get it. I must say I was surprised and delighted that they seem to be turning the Microsoft machine on to the biggest change in the advertising world. 

“We want to try and tell that digital media is not about technology but about quality of communication, about the interaction between 2 people. There is no better medium than a movie to symbolize the one-to-one communication between people, in this case between an advertiser and a consumer.”

 

The Break-Up
Uploaded by Damon_Crepin-Burr

She is a consumer. He is a advertiser. All she wants is genuine affection. All he gives is loyalty reduction. THE BREAK UP. A story of love gone wrong...

See http://bringtheloveback.com/ By Microsoft Digital Advertising Solotions