Comedy – retirement update

This blog entry is to come clean.

On March 9, 2012 I did my last spot – a great evening spent with some of the finest stand-ups this country has to offer. And somehow they also had room for me.

On April 3, 2013 – I did a spot at Absolute Comedy in Toronto.

Why?

I felt the itch – and I had to do something about it. Is that out of retirement? Does somebody say that Gretzky can’t lace up, or that Magic Johnson can’t drive the lane. Nope. But Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan did come out of retirement – the main difference is that they got paid. So, on that technicality I’ll state that I am still retired. And you never know – maybe I’ll get the itch again. So far I’m good.

And in case anyone is asking – I did well. Far better than I thought I was going to do – although I went a little long.

Will I back back – I dunno – never say never.

The Marketing of …

Computer technology truth Number 1 – if you can’t buy it – is dosen’t exist.

Computer technology truth Number 2 – if you can buy it – it’s out of date.

This was never more truthful than yesterday as SONY presented the PS4. Their new gaming console replacing the (gulp, it’s really been that long – crap I’m getting old) 7-year old PS3. Ultimately SONY presented air. How they were even allowed to get away with that is a testament to our content-based society.

We are so obsessed with content – we are willing to accept it in any form – even if it’s vapour-ware. And the PS4 is the king of vapour-ware. I would not be as upset if there was a box, a hint of what was to come. But nothing.

I know that all the big guys present products to come – Apple, Microsoft – hell it even happens at Auto Shows (with concept cars galore). But at least in all of those cases there is something tangible (even if it’s only tangible for our eyes, it’s at least something). Specs. That’s pretty much what we were offered. A piece of paper with numbers. The actual console won’t be available until later this year – even the date is vapour-ware. It’s like meeting a couple that says they are engaged and have no date for the wedding – guess what – you’re not engaged.

Guess what – there really isn’t a PS4.

There may be one in the future – but now there is not. So, thanks for the tease SONY – but until I see a machine and a delivery date you might as well nickname it Unicorn.

(what is a) User Experience

• User experience (UX or UE) involves a person’s emotions about using a particular product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership. Additionally, it includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such as utility, ease of use and efficiency of the system. User experience is subjective in nature because it is about individual perception and thought with respect to the system. User experience is dynamic as it is constantly modified over time due to changing circumstances and new innovations. As defined on Wikipedia.

I find this a bit confining and misleading.

To hyper define User Experience as completely related to computers is – well – limiting. I believe that any form of communication is, on some level, a user experience. Whether it be a business card or poster, retail outlet or wayfinding. Any time a user has to engage and react to information is a user experience.

When you are looking up that business card for that guy you meet – user experience. All the way.

The act of identifying the card (shape, colour, typeface) is the beginning, but is not remotely the end of the experience. How is the information presented – how easy (or difficult) was it to get the information you required;

• Phone Number
• Title
• Address
• E-mail

That fact that user experience has been a strong part of design (all disciplines) needs to be considered when looking at User Experience in the modern, computer realm. Understanding how people move through a space, how they retrive information, retain information, etc. bodes well in considering the dynamic aspect of screen design. I’ll call it screen design because saying computer, tablet, mobile, etc. becomes too cumbersome. User Experience in today’s emerging markets can greatly improve with the Disney (Alcoa-originated) approach to problem-solving – Imagineers. A group – blended together from different areas of expertise meant to push the limits of thinking (engineers to poets, designers to psychologists, etc.).

Too often screen design can get hand-cuffed to either the technical or design prowess of teams. But expanding teams to include secondary thinking can only improve the process.

What skill-set would you like to see added to computer-based user experience teams/projects? 

Agenda? What agenda?

Everything we do has some sort of finish, some end game that we are striving to achieve. Regardless of the vocation or activity.

Whether working out, eating better, attending workplace conferences or doing projects. There is a destination.

The problem with projects that involve many people is making sure that everyone is good in knowing the destination. The end game. What is the ultimate goal? Better sales, more visibility, higher profits, better skilled team – whatever. And if members are not clear on the result – or have a eye on a different prize (an individual end game per se) – the finish line might be tougher to get to than originally thought.

We all have to make decisions about paths we take for many different endeavours – family, work, finance, sports, etc. But we need to make those choices that we feel best serve the end game (collectively or as an individual). It’s when we make those choices without really thinking about the impact on the end game that can trip us up. Short-term gain kind of stuff.

So – first and foremost – we need to have destinations. And then we need to pick our path accordingly. Will it be straight and correct all the time? Hell no. But it’s the re-adjustment to set the route back on track that makes us better.

Here’s to aiming at the target we want.

message delivered (maybe)

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, 4Square, E-mail, etc.

There are now so many ways to connect and broadcast that it’s time consuming just to list them.

At what point does it become burdensome to just to try and keep up. There are some services that connect and cross broadcast (like this Blog – it gets publicized through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, e-mail list and Subscribers once I press the publish button). The idea of one button pushing out content to a myriad outlets is ideal.

But once we get the message out – how do we know that it gets to where it needs to be (in front of a pair of eyes – man I’m going to get a load of hate-mail from the cyclops Society of Canada). How do we really measure that result? It’s not just a question of broadcast math.

My blog is (according to my WordPress stats) broadcast to 750+ people on Facebook, 50+ followers on Twitter and 300+ connections on LinkedIn. Plus about 15 people have subscribed to this Blog. That’s the broadcast math. My daily viewing stats are much more humbling – in and around 10-20 views per day when I’m generating new content.

So – that’s a big difference. I would love to be in a better position. One day. But producing content (and content worth reading) is key. Above and beyond that sometimes it’s luck, finding a niché, or getting recognition in other venues (speakers, being quoted in an article, etc.). Which ultimately becomes a weird vicious circle.

How often do you check or block content from people that constantly are broadcasting? Do you find yourself using curating apps/sites (like Zite, FlipBoard, Currents, etc.) to help filter and consolidate topics or areas of concern and interest?

It’s not just retail

I happen to be shopping for a few things yesterday and found myself in two different stores with very similar experiences. Neither good.

The stores envolved were Wal-Mart and The Bay – I mention it only to let people know to what scale I believe that bad employee connections are happening.

At Wal-Mart I was in line when an employee waltz’d through the line of customers waiting to pay – without once uttering the words Excuse me or Thank you. Getting to her cash area, she then proceeded to set up the area – then once ready turned to the next consumer and said ‘Next’. Not ‘next please’, ‘I can help you over here’, ‘I can assit the next customer’ – I don’t know, something that remotely resembles human communication in a polite manner.

After that I made my way over to The Bay – which is looking more and more like a scene from Omega Man (poorly stocked shelves and evaporated staff). The Bay used to be the beacon of Canadian shopping – a place to go and be proud. Those days have long been captured by history only to be read about in books. I headed to the ‘Service’ area – which is a nicer way of saying ‘Pay Us’, ‘You Pay Here’. I waited for a good three–four minutes while the only sales rep in the area sorted shoes on a rack no more than 10 metres away. I made the customary loud noise when putting my purchase on the counter – nothing. After a minute – I did it again – nothing. All the while standing in a place to catch her eye as she sorted the shoes into pairs. Finally I had to ask, out loud is she was working!

I had to ask her is she was working. Willing as a front-line employee of The Bay to accept my money-for-goods transaction. And bricks and mortar stores are wondering why people are moving more and more purchases online? Why indeed.

There are always excuses offered up – minimum wage, students, crappy working conditions, etc.

These are some mitigating aspects to the situation – but overall I think people are unhappy to be working (they hate their job). The problem is that I can see you hating your job. People might hate their job at Amazon – I just don’t see it.

You can hate your job. Just don’t do your job with hate.

iWrong

Steve Jobs was right (mostly) but every once in a while – stubborn.

He and (his road trip buddy) Jon Ive have shaped and paradigm shifted the crap out of the computer experience sphere. From the iMac to the iPod, from Siri to iCloud. They have put the user first.

And it is because they create such glorious user experiences that I can’t understand their total lack of experience for users’ when it comes to input devices. I speak directly about the mice that Apple has produced since the puck (c. 1998) and the iPad.

Of mice and Jobs

The history of the Apple mouse (or mouse like parts) from 1998 – Puck, Orb, Orb (with micro ball), Wireless touch and Trackpad. All of this to avoid (for whatever reason) a mouse with actual 2-buttons. And the micro ball to try and be a mouse on a mouse (instead of a scroll wheel). I believe that Mr. Jobs had such anger for all things MicroSoft (or PC) that his refusal to even consider these options has kept me from using any of the above mentioned Apple products. I have proudly used various MS mice over that 15 year period. Both wired and wireless (my preference is wired).

I like the fact that it has two buttons – plus a scroll wheel (which is also a button) and two alternative buttons (any of which) can be programmed via software in the system preferences. I find the functionality of the mice to be far superior to that of Apple and the ergonomics kick Apples’ products (which hurts a little to type out loud).

A fist full of stylus’

The main thinking that gave us the touch mouse and trackpad is front and centre in the iPad. In the Jobs biography, Walter Isaacson indicates that Steve felt that no stylus was needed for the iPad – people have five stylus on each hand. Here, fundamentally is where these products fail.

If, in the history of creating artifacts, we only accepted what our bare hands could achieve – we would be living in a world not unlike the sets from the original Planet of the Apes. One of the things that makes us (humans) us, is our ability to leverage tools into more tools. It is precisely this standing-on-giants-shoulders that allows us to move forward – bigger – smaller – faster.

If Steve was correct that we each have up to ten stylus available for the iPad (and other devices) – then that should show in other areas. For instance, art galleries would be filled with finger paintings! But they are not. It’s not that a finger painting can’t be good, it’s just very limiting.

How do you feel about these Apple input devices?