Allison’s Insights

This is an interesting and somewhat eerie collection of photography found in the corners of old desks and in between that 1970′s vinyl and your grandma’s power bill from February of ’65. I think it’s an interesting look into the informal & unscripted (or perhaps upset script) life of former days– http://www.accidentalmysteries.com/home.html

I’m sure by now no one really needs an introduction to TED talks, but I just loved this one. Shawn Achor talks about how positive thinking makes you more effective, more successful…even smarter! It is definitely short, sweet, packed with a lot of though provoking information, and is pretty hilarious too – http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html 

Beth’s Insight

Pinterest has been a topic of discussion this past week at the office. I personally don’t use it, but after reading about Chobani’s success (via @fastcompany) and then seeing this infographic about Pinterest’s social stake in online retail, I started thinking about what kind of tool Pinterest is for companies, not just everyday users.

Pinterest isn’t successful because it capitalizes on users’ innate need to share content on the Web, instead it’s successful because it has provided a new outlet for the information they are already sharing. Brand’s get to host user-generated content that not only promotes their products but also encourages others to try them, love them, and talk about their experiences with them. Could the UX community turn this into a bigger strategy engagement with clients to gather original data in the process of creating a broader social network? http://columnfivemedia.com/work-items/monetate-infographic-is-pinterest-the-next-social-commerce-game-changer/

Talk to Beth @bethyeckley.

Michael’s Insights

I do love infographics. But a good chunk of the ones you see out in the wild seem like they’re just short, bullet-pointed articles with some clipart inserted to pretty it up. More like a PowerPoint slideshow with all of the slides printed and stapled together top to bottom. This article goes into what separates sets good infographics apart. The key, to me, is the non-linear way that they read. The viewer is free to explore the information in their own way; I think that’s really empowering! Here are a few of my favorites – http://www.fastcodesign.com/1668987/why-infographic-thinking-is-the-future-not-a-fad

A representation of what flavor combinations go well with one another.  I want a big print of this in my kitchen – http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/taste-buds/.

A nice, succinct explanation of the political spectrum in the US. It’s interesting to see where both sides are similar and yet how the differences set them apart – http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/left-vs-right-us/.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m a fan of Information is Beatiful.  This is a timeline of “global media scares.”  Interesting to see how things can get overblown – http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/mountains-out-of-molehills/.

And, since it’s Friday, a fun one.  But also a nice reminder to get to work.  :) – http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-hierarchy-of-digital-distractions/. 

Rachel’s Insight

Ahh, Pinterest.  It seems like everyone is jumping on board.  I’ve had training sessions with friends, clients and coworkers. So often I get the question, “What is Pinterest all about? I don’t get it.” I saw this cartoon the other day and thought it was so appropriate, for those of you that are on Pinterest…Enjoy! (For those of you who aren’t – this too can be you. Give me a call –I’ll give you a tutorial!)

Love is in the air! We here at User Insight swung by some local universities to find out how social media has impacted young people’s social and dating lives.

Jonathan’s Insight

I suspect many of you reading this are Gmail users and have recently been bombarded with notices about the updating of their privacy policy. I encountered this article on Wired.com that suggests ways of hiding from “Big Brother” Google – http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Hide_From_Google.

I began thinking of how this change in their privacy policy would effect all of us or would we even notice? Simply put, this change in their privacy policy means that Google will combine all of the data that they gather about your actions across their multiple platforms (YouTube, Gmail, Search, Buzz if any of you are still hanging on) and profile you more completely. As a project manager here at User Insight, I have witnessed more than one thousand in-person interviews over the years. One persistent truth I have heard from users is that advertising content must be relevant, otherwise it will be ignored. Users like to “see themselves” in the digital experiences our clients have to offer. Seen through the rosiest of glasses, this big change in Google’s privacy policy should be a good thing. Advertising content should be more relevant and better fit the context of our digital lives. After all, Google’s motto is “Do No Evil.”

There’s a flip side to this argument, of course, that the monitoring of our activities will undermine the basic concept of the liberty we hold dear as Americans. Who will Google share our activities with? For now, I’m willing to give Google the benefit of the doubt and am probably unwilling to go the extent this article’s author suggests in “hiding from Google.” How about you?

Jonathan’s on Twitter @jonyard.

Beth’s Insights

Your local Amazon… store?

http://www.fastcompany.com/1814671/four-reasons-why-amazon-might-make-the-leap-into-the-physical-world

Aside from the fact that I can’t even logistically fathom how Amazon would launch and manage a brick and mortar presence, I think there are some flaws with the perspective on this article.

It’s hard to build brands online... I don’t deny that at all. But, what I don’t understand is this: “But now that Amazon is going into the publishing business and serving as a self-publishing platform for more aspiring unknowns, having a shelf-presence is more important to establish new brands with customers.” Isn’t the new “shelf the Kindle? Or the iTouch? Or your phone or tablet? @Rachelmwalsh has been discovering unknowns through Amazon for months via her Kindle and now Kindle Fire…so where is the need for physical shelves?

Upselling and cross-selling are better in person? Perhaps, but it depends what you’re selling.  And what happens to all those customers who you almost convinced to purchase the extra protective case, screen protector and charger for their iPhone? Do you call them later to see if they’re still interested? No, that would be creepy.

Amazon successfully uses your browsing history to remind you of what you were perusing an hour ago and prods you in the direction of fellow consumers who have like minded purchasing interests. And, if the Amazon customer isn’t convinced they need to charge an extra forty bucks to their card, they can conveniently access the products later through their cart, or their wishlist or even their homepage.

Virtual products need a better retail experience? On premise virtual consumption… why not just do what millions of tablet and smart phone users already do and download content wherever you are? I struggle to understand the logic behind in-store virtual consumption when Amazon just launched a device that lets you get all that content whenever and wherever you want.

New synergies, new partnerships...  I love Amazon and I love Starbucks and I still call Seattle part of my home – but daydreaming about them making a retail love child seems to undermine the very nature of what those two businesses stand for. They are, within their own realms, makers of experiences that are unique and successful with their users. The two experiences work in conjunction now because Amazon conquers the digital space and Starbucks the physical. It’s like having your cake and eating it too.

My take, if you can’t tell, is to let Amazon grow fat off of its ever expanding online empire. Besides, if there’s an Amazon down the street I’ll have no reason to love my Prime membership. Not to mention all of the lines I’ll have to wait in…

Talk to Beth @bethyeckley.

Rachel’s Insight

My pick this week is a great website. I LOVE http://mymakedo.com/ for so many reasons:

Sustainability / Creativity / Imagination: They have sustainable, awesome projects that encourage creativity and imagination in children. One of their projects recently popped up in my Pinterest feed and it reminded me to explore makedo’s site again.

Integration of User Feedback: What companies can learn from this site is how successfully they’ve integrated User feedback into their website (people can share projects easily in the gallery) and they promote cool projects on their blog.

They make $$: Oh, and they also sell kits and tools to create all of these items. Makedo has a great model for creating user generated content, inspiring others AND also selling product.

Check out what I’ll be working on this weekend with my daughter. Too fun!

Chat with Rachel @rachelmwalsh.

SoCon is a social media conference put on by the Center for Sustainable Journalism (CSJ) at Kennesaw State University each February. The event draws about 300 metro Atlantans representing marketing, blogging, new and traditional media, academia and public relations. This year’s conference, SoCon ’12 (#SoCon12) was another great day of networking with social media and business leaders from all across the metro area. Our CEO, Eric Holtzclaw, gave a presentation on the viewers in the Social TV space during the first break-out on Saturday. If you missed the conference, check out all of the great sessions here and view some of the materials.

And, to learn more about our social TV personas, check out the below materials:

• View our SlideShare Presentation

• Meet the social TV personas and hear them speak for themselves on camera

• See the social TV personas react to social TV products on camera

• View the persona boards from the research and view the feature/function grids

Rachel’s Insight

This article highlights the important building blocks to constructing a “courageous and vibrant culture.” Corporate culture is something I take very seriously at User Insight; helping to shape it and making sure we as a company stay committed to cultivating the amazing spirit we’ve built over the last 10 years. With a strong culture, you have a solid foundation to do great work. Building a strong culture within a company can not only come from the top down, it has to live within the company. Our strategy team recently had a team offsite to generate ideas; if you could have stepped into the room for a moment, our culture would have knocked you over! We live it and breathe it: passionate for the work we do, empowered to do our best work, detailed in the way we look at end Users’ lives, and consistent in our delivery of high quality work.  I’m honored to work for such a great company with an amazing culture! http://www.fastcompany.com/1810674/culture-eats-strategy-for-lunch

Chat with Rachel @rachelmwalsh.

Allison’s Insight

I guess that I’ve been on a house kick lately! But, I do love the idea of turning the building paradigm upside down. The company FACIT uses CNC mills to custom build full-sized homes that are extremely energy efficient, one to two people can assemble, and are (from what I understand) affordable! Check it out – TreeHugger: FACIT Homes.

Darryl’s Insight

Rethinking the Oreo. Here we have a product which has been successful for 100 years being humbled by the consumer. Chinese consumers were not impressed with America’s favorite cookie. After doing some user experience (UX) research, a new Oreo was created which has penetrated deep into the Chinese market showing once again the power of the type of work that we do here at User Insight. Kraft Foods had to be humble to reconsider the Oreo. If the Oreo can be improved, then I wonder what else could be better? http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/01/27/145918343/rethinking-the-oreo-for-chinese-consumers – I recommend listening to the audio as it contains a little more content than the written article.

Darryl’s on Twitter @UX_Life.

Michael’s Insight

As a big fan of board games, this is really interesting to me. Moving physical board games into the world of electronic games almost seems inevitable. Yet, there’s still something about getting together in person and having that tactile element as well. It’s interesting to see what the future will bring, especially the idea of combining physical and electronic elements.  http://www.fastcompany.com/1810959/board-games-risk-factions-ticket-to-ride-reiner-knizia

Beth’s Insights

Check out http://iampacked.com. Epic. As UXers, we are constantly looking for better ways to visualize Users, their behaviors, and their motivations. But sometimes, I think to myself, “if I hear the word ‘infographic’ one more time, i’m going to scream!” (slight exaggeration).

It’s true though, we are always working towards a more accurate representation of the world around us. What has always been good to us is the ability to tell a story that can engage, entertain and enlighten our clients.

I love this site because I am a packing freak (I checked a bag once for User Insight travel and have since always gone with a carry on) and because I love to see how others around the world are similar, different, or more efficient than I am in packing.  Traveling light has changed the way I buy shoes (buy a pair that can be dressed up or dressed down–loafers are great!) and interact with technology (if i have my iPhone, do I really need my mac?) This is site is almost as awesome as http://scanwiches.com/. Scanwiches has a slight edge because everything looks tasty.

Also epic: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/01/27/145986052/the-dolphinator And completely silly! Dolphin jet pack – get on it!

Talk to Beth @bethyeckley.