Product Behavior

We had a snowstorm in New England yesterday, which wasn’t a big deal unless you were driving in the same direction as everyone else. Before the storm, I checked to make sure I had all the essentials, and realized that my snow shovel was broken. So I went to the store and bought a new one, which led me to ponder the value of a manufacturer’s warranty. Bear with me.

It’s been pretty interesting lately to look at how companies have been aiming technology products at an aging population. Two I’ve noticed lately are the Jitterbug cell phone, and the Jumbo Univeral Remote.

I’ve previously written about making products “approachable.” The ukulele is my favorite approachable product: it’s recognizable, it’s safe, and it’s direct. As a “culture product,” the uke instantly fits in with your crowd – it’s like the funny guy who shows up at the party. Even if you don’t want to hang out with him for an extended period, he’s fun to have around.

So what do we make of products that seem to be the opposite of approachable?

“The Story of the Product,” a simple tool I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, can be easily altered to help understand and support the issues around a product’s Archetype. Recall the Star, the Hero, and the Genius – your product can be one but can’t be all of them. So use Stories customized [...]

Yes, I love bacon. I’m a firm subscriber to the “Anything is better with bacon” rule. Here are a couple of bacon-related products that tell different stories about themselves.