The Blog
I spent last week on a road trip to Los Angeles and back. We visited family on the Oregon Coast, swung though San Luis Obispo to see our son, and relaxed at Avila Beach. Then we drove on down to Los Angeles for a couple days of meetings, a tour of the Mad Men set, and dinner with friends. On the way back, we reconnected at the Hopland Wine Festival with Jim and Ann who we hadn’t seen for years.
When my wife got her picture taken with Jon Hamm, the first thought I had was, “that picture is going on her Facebook.” And it made me think about how much more successful technology is when it connects with behavior from the real world. Facebook is like a road trip. Traveling to different places, reconnecting with old friends, and staying in touch with family and business colleagues. People have been doing it for centuries. Facebook just made it easier.
Unfortunately a lot of discussion about technology is about technology, not the people using the technology. New technologies that succeed understand the basic human behavior they facilitate and mimic. The emotional need they fill.
Ipad is another great example. A lot of technology experts spent a lot of time talking about its technological “limitations.” But people looked at it and thought, wow, I can just point at what I want, take it wherever I want, and wow, that’s really light.” (Which is the brilliance of the outdoor campaign for the Ipad, it communicates all that without a single word.)
Social media will never totally replace a road trip. But yes, posting the picture of Jon Hamm on her Facebook was the first thing my wife did when we got back from our trip.
