Wires+Tubes

Meat made the machines

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:01:54 -0700

We have a rule around the Bistro.

Let humans do what humans do well, let machines do what machines do well.

If you're technology stack requires a lot of meat to function; pushing out CSVs, manually entering anything, emailing files, manual pushes and/or pulls, filling out forms or anything a machine can do faster or better or both with modern technology; then you have opportunities to do better.

Simply, humans do great with unstructured, real world data. Machines do great with structured data.

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Map Fixation Disorder

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:31:20 -0700

Being a part of a large organization it's interesting to observe how the company or it's people behave when trying to deal with completely new territory.

The problem, and possibly the solution, can be summarized with a simple analogy about maps.

We navigate our world using our world view. The collective understanding we have about spatial relationships, cultural relationships, personal relationships, markets, economics, trade, etc, that give us an abstract framework, a map if you will, of our extended environment. Maps are useful when used correctly, and terrible when their use leads to map fixation disorder.

Map Fixation disorder has two phases. One: not realizing you are using a map. This is very closely related to mistaking the map for the territory. This kind of attachment disorder leads people to bend reality to fit their map (See Sarah Palin).

Two: Using a map that doesn't represent the way you are traveling. Using a map of hiking trails to navigate highways won't work so well. Using a climate map to find a bus route, well, you get it.

Seems pretty obvious right? Yet, this is what organizations and humans do all the time. They are so attached to their world-view, that they can't conceive of another version of that same reality. So when empirical evidence suggests a different angle on the truth you start to witness some serious crazy.

Protestant vs. Catholic. Arab vs Jew. Democrat vs. Republican. These are examples about people arguing over whose map is better. To be plain, these arguments are not about reality, they're arguments about the map. People die every day over maps, not reality; maps.

As organizations encounter new territory, like API's, open data, social media, mobile, internet of things, and the competition born in those spaces, beware the crazies bearing old maps.

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Feedback

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:05:00 -0700

The problem with many kinds of feedback is that the loop is prohibitively large. So large as to render the feedback absolutely useless. Decision making based on large-loop feedback is an exercise in absurdity.

Time is the pivotal factor in large-loop feedback; too much of it passes between when an event happens, and when the participant(s) in that event receive the feedback.

The purpose of feedback in any context is to assist in choosing what to do next. Generally speaking there are two fundamental decisions to make via received feedback: keep doing what you are doing, or do something different.

Feedback done right

Take the example of video games. As you play, the game tells you how you are doing at every moment via your score or other indicator. If your score goes up, you know to keep doing what you are doing. If your score goes down, you know you have to do something different. The point is, in video games the feedback system is perfect because you get the information you need, when you need it to make your next move; right now. This allows for fantastically steep learning curves with video games.

Have you ever watched a child pick up a video game, start playing it, and master it in a very short time?

Feedback in business

Retail employees in most cases have rather poor feedback loops. Customer service surveys go out, or secret shoppers come through, and in most cases that feedback gets to them too long after the event that led to the feedback (anything not instantaneous is too long). Their memory of that event has faded. Learning can still happen in this situation, but the pace of learning is much slower and less fine-tuned than if the feedback were closer to instantaneous.

In the context of the human brain, near instantaneous feedback is what allows you to successfully walk across the room, or drive to work or successfully do anything, really everything, moment to moment. In the context of business instant feedback allows you maximize profit, minimize loss, be more helpful and relevant to customers, and allow employees to learn.

This IBM commercial featuring Jeff Jonas offers a perfect analogy.

The ability to progressively choose the better "different thing" quickly is the single determining factor for consistent success in any endeavor; driving to work or running a business or anything.

In looking at most businesses today, there's no end of opportunity to improve on feedback systems.

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What the thing does

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:18:31 -0700

A consistent problem when humans encounter new technologies is that the apparent "new-ness" of the thing distracts from its actual function. This is a natural part of the learning curve. However, it becomes a problem when you get stuck at that stage.

I believe the phenomenon of the Social Media Guru comes from this stuck-ness. I also believe this is what leads ad agencies and marketers to do things that are so often cool or novel, but not useful, not relevant and not used.

QR codes are a great example. People get a little too attached to the code and the fact that you can scan it with a phone and how fucking fantastic and futuristic that is! I'm scanning a code! I'm scanning a code!! I can put these on things and get other people to scan the code!! Scan-gasms ensue and lamp posts are greased. Marketers high five, ad people spray them on anything and satisfy their clients with "innovation" and "forward thinking" and "leveraging new platforms".

I get it. I agree, it is fucking fantastic. It does have a futuristic feel to it. It's not about the code though. If your thinking stops there, you'll start to do things like putting QR codes on walls above urinals and in TV ads. Who has time to whip out their phone, get the scanning app started and hit the code before the commercial is over? Will it even scan given the resolution of the TV? Also, when I'm standing before a urinal I have other things to occupy my mind and hands than to scan your QR code to get to your lame ad.

Marketers will for now, live on the numbers generated by 'novelty' scans by people new to the experience. After that I predict a collective "so fucking what?" response unless we can all do something a bit more interesting and useful than leading people to more ads. For me it starts with really understanding what the thing does.

QR codes connect people to a place and the unique purpose created by that individual in that place at that time.

Person + place + time.

If you think about it, a person in any place has a purpose related to the purpose of the place. Some places can benefit from an enhanced experience via QR, some not. Urinals would be in the not category. I'm there to pee, end of story.

In case you've been under a rock, there are other technologies emerging that do the same thing; NFC for one, google goggles, AR applications, and others. The dynamic is the same; people + place + time = unique purpose.

Our job is to figure out the most helpful, useful experience for the person we want to scan the thing in that place. I can assure you, it's not showing them another ad.

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Constraints

Fri, 27 May 2011 13:06:12 -0700

The key with constraints is calibration. Knowing when they are prohibitively tight or chaotically loose requires knowing the signs and symptoms of both cases.

Tight constraints:

- chafe

- stagnate progress

- prohibitively limit options

- materially change the solution

Loose constraints:

- fractures productive momentum

- confuses direction

- decreases the need for creativity

- allows complacency

Useful constraints:

- clarify your purpose

- speed things up

- help you edit

- simplify

- encourage creativity

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Purpose

Thu, 26 May 2011 11:29:58 -0700

When you edit, purpose informs what you keep and more importantly, what you don't.

Purpose can be lofty, mundane, fine-grain or coarse, simple or multi-faceted, short or long term. Purpose can have a definite end point, or be a perpetual practice you return to periodically. Purposes can be complimentary or at odds. Purposes can be operating together successfully if they are complementary; walk and talk, or unsuccessfully if at odds; driving and texting. You aren't limited to having a single purpose in your life. Moment to moment, they can change or persist.

The main thing is clear awareness of your purpose in each moment; add clear editing and you move toward effortless action.

"Spinning your wheels" is a symptom of trying to run too many purposes at once or running a contradictory mixture. Do this for too long and you start to dig a hole where you stand that is progressively more difficult to escape. Eventually your purpose narrows to just one thing; get out of the hole. Paying attention to what's in front of you right now solves this.

Despite appearances, no one is ever purpose-less; they either have clear awareness of their purpose or not.

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Edit

Wed, 25 May 2011 13:14:00 -0700

What you write

Use enough to get the point across. If doesn't add, it subtracts, delete it.

If they don't understand, they'll ask. If they don't understand, and don't ask, they have problems bigger then not understanding.

If they don't agree, they'll tell you. If they don't agree and don't tell you, they have bigger problems than disagreeing with you.

If they need more, but more isn't necessary, they have bigger problems than needing more from you.

What you say

*see above

Everything you do

If it's not interesting, it's not worth doing and you're probably not good at it.

Make every movement mean something.

Your attention

One thing at a time. Multi-tasking is actually hyper-tasking; moving rapidly from one thing to another rapidly and repeatedly; leads to messes.

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The implications of Google TV

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:03:13 -0700

In case you've been trapped under a heavy object for the last 24-36 hours or so, you probably already know about Google TV and some of the other announcements from Google IO. Perhaps the biggest relates to Google TV.

Take 2 minutes, 7 seconds, and watch this...

The first thing I was struck with is that now all screens (desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet, mobile, and now TV's) will have access to any and every kind of content. This fundamentally changes what TV is on a large scale. The TV is just another screen now. It's no longer a black box, with limited access to content, it's now going to be connected to any and every kind of content available on all aforementioned screens. It's been this way on a limited basis for awhile, Google TV and its associated protocols simply takes the concept deeper into the mainstream.

I think this has huge social, cultural, and economic implications. Rooms won't necessarily be defined by the type of entertainment or content devices you typically would have there. Your living room can be about living, working, playing, learning or whatever via your TV. Your living room can also be your office and vice versa.

Sure, with wifi and mobile devices this has been somewhat true for awhile. Now, the content is unlocked and open across most any device.

What are the old school networks and their executives thinking right now? "Run like hell" I would think is in the top 10.

What do you think?

Normals and the things they say on Facebook

Fri, 14 May 2010 07:08:38 -0700

I learned a couple of interesting things this morning.

The first thing is that Will Moffat built a tool called Facebook Search. It allows you to search status messages from Facebook.

Oh yeah, didn't you know? Unless you change the default setting, your Facebook status messages are public, and searchable.

Will has kindly offered up some one click searches for us. Go see who's talking about playing hooky, their stupid boss, their rectal exam, or enter your own search. Genital warts returns some interesting stuff. He also provides a bit of education for those who want to get out of the stream.

The second thing is a new term; 'normals'. Not to be confused with Norml.org , 'normals' are essentially that part of the population that follows the default, without questioning it. The non-geek among us who for example wouldn't be aware of the privacy implications of Facebook's settings for their personal accounts.

I first heard the term on a Hacker News discussion about Will's Facebook Search tool. If you are one who builds apps, considers user experiences, or does any kind of marketing via social media; normals are people you'd be wise to research and understand. Both in terms of what motivates them to act, and also in terms of what they understand and don't understand about the technology you're asking them to use.

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What the Hell is going on?

Thu, 13 May 2010 06:38:00 -0700

Four part video interview with Robert Stephens, Gary Koelling, and Ben Hedrington from Best Buy. These are videos that we do every so often at Best Buy to reveal what we are thinking on a range of topics.

In this short series the lads are sharing our current thinking on how technology is affecting our business, and what we're doing about it.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

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Google Chrome is really, really, fast.

Wed, 05 May 2010 14:57:20 -0700

This must have been a fun shoot.

Google Chrome is fast. Great illustration video.

"The making of" video.

I'm going to give Chrome another try.

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The Program

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:09:01 -0700

The Mayor of Mount Holly recently shared an inspiring video. It was of Douglas Rushkoff speaking at SXSW. Worth 6 minutes of your time.

The worldview he describes is to me, imminently clear and useful. To that end I've realized in my job and life that I want to be the higher order, the "programmer"; or if I'm not the one writing "the code", I can at least be conversant in its syntax, it's place in the ecosystem, its influences, it's flavors and be able to explain it, to anyone. Even more, be able to understand the ramifications of our architecture and our method to their world.

I've been trying to decide what I want to do with this blog. I landed on it sometime around 4:30am this morning. My job is really about being the interface between the real makers, our developers and designers, and the people who need stuff made; the business. My role is to help the non-makers understand the makers (and what gets made) and how and why it works, and how and why the business would need it or not need it.

So here, on this blog, I'll be learning in the open. I'll be sharing what I'm learning, and attempting to do so in a way that is in plain english and provides context, so that regardless of your technical understanding, you can understand it. It's practice for me in learning about and explaining things that I only superficially understand now. Maybe it will help some others understand and explain this stuff better as well.

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Mr Splashy Pants

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:04:00 -0800

Alex Ohanian is the founder of Reddit, I think his TED video below represents most of the key elements of social media done right. Let the people play. If you're the brand, in this case Greenpeace, let them influence decisions, then you find a way to give those decisions life in your offerings. You're not giving up total control, just control within certain boundaries.

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