There used to be an annual tradition around Comdex–Every year, a week or two after Comdex (and then later CES) InfoWorld or Computerworld would write an editorial complaining about the use of “booth babes.” at the show.

These editorials and the maturing of our industry seemed to have had a great effect. Each year there seem to be fewer and fewer booth babes at major tech shows–but they are still there–just in smaller numbers.

Attitudes are also continuing to change. More and more companies are realizing that booth babes are out of place at tech shows. In addition, these companies have also begun to realize that booth babes may be a bad business move.

In writing this article I googled to find the gadget and gamer blogs’ annual roundups of trade show booth babes and was pleasantly surprised to find a comment from Daniel Cooper, an Engadget contributing editor, that said:

“Oh, and regarding ‘booth babes:’ scantily clad women trying to tease the über-geeks at CES: if your product needs a semi-nude woman to sell it to nerds, you don’t have faith in your product.”

As a launch consultant, I couldn’t agree more. Nowadays to break through the noise companies need an innovative product, great user experience and clear communications. Booth babes do none of these and can even distract from the story companies are trying to tell. They are the shiny object that can distract for a moment–but only a moment. I have typically found that the companies using booth babes do not have much of substance to show or are trying to mask other problems. And in the unusual case when it is a great product being promoted by a booth babe, many people miss it because they make an assumption that it couldn’t be a great product if it is being promoted by a booth babe.

As we move into an era where we are no longer just selling technologies to enthusiasts but are selling to mainstream consumers, our industry’s collective attitude and image are important. This year it was not an industry pub that was covering the issue but the very mainstream BBC. Not only does this piece highlight the problem but it tries to send the message that the industry can’t see what’s right in front of its face. If we don’t reform as an industry we can expect more of the same. Every bit of negative attention focused on our industry is a moment when the media and customers are not focused on our industry’s products. And lets not forget how many technology purchasing decisions are made by women. Is this the image we want to send these customers?

The industry has done a good job of encouraging women to move into science, math and technology and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) did a good thing in “divorcing” CES from the adult video show, but for the industry to not try to do something about booth babes sends a very mixed message.

For whatever reason, be it business, social or other, as an industry, we should actively encourage a move away from booth babes at tech trade shows once and for all.

Unfortunately, the industry does not currently take a strong stand against booth babes and one prominent press event organizer, Pepcom, uses them at virtually all its events.

Gary Shapiro, CEO of  the CEA, owners of CES, said “As long as they don’t violate show rules, I can’t do anything about it.”   While creating rules banning booth babes will probably never work that does not mean that organizations like the CEA and Pepcom and others should do nothing.

But Gary also says “…and if some companies think it works, they are going to use models in their booths.” and I think that is where the challenge is for our industry:  Educate companies that booth babes do not work and are not welcome.

As an industry we should endeavor to teach companies that best practices for launching products, exhibiting at shows and sponsoring events is more about great products and clear messages than sexy women. These shows should begin to include text to this effect in their exhibitor and sponsorship manuals and work on other ways to discourage this practice.  In addition industry publications and blogs should stop publishing booth babe roundups and not use pictures of scantily clad women showing off tech products.

Lets get together as an industry and once and for all say “Bye Bye Booth Babes.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue.

I’m happy to let you know that today we announced the publication of our Product Success Deck. The card deck teaches any company–startup or established–how to turn technologies into great consumer products.

As consumer technology products entered everyone’s lives over the past decade, we set out to understand what made some consumer tech products succeed and others fail. The card deck contains the best practices discovered along with sample exercises to help companies create more successful products and launches.

We observed during the past decade, one of the strongest and most loved brands, Sony, has struggled while a company left for dead 10 years ago, Apple, has risen to the top. In addition, companies like Bose can charge $500 for a clock radio (and have delighted customers) while others struggle if their product is priced even a few dollars above a competitor.  We found that successful consumer technology products depend on far more then a great product. The entire customer experience is critical. These cards teach companies what they need to do to create these great experiences.

Starting today, The playing-card sized deck is available from Amazon for $29.95 or in bulk directly from us.

More information about the cards is available at digitalLifegroup.com/deck.

Click here to download a copy of the press release.

Consider the example of Acer, whose CEO recently offered a turnaround strategy for the money-losing PC maker that was tied to a simple concept: quit selling cheap and poorly made machines.  On the surface, that sounds like a good first step, but it’s not enough—its only one step.

When it comes to making and selling great products, there are 10 important pieces of the puzzle that come into play. Smart companies will pay attention to each and every one of the phases to ensure that the customer experience is a good one all the way around. Those 10 pieces are:

1. Information gathering: For most products, the Internet is where the research usually begins. Does the site load quickly? Is the site navigation easy to follow? Is the important information about the product – specs, images and pricing – easily accessible? Can the information easily be shared with another person, such as a spouse who might have a say in the purchasing decision? Some sites can get bogged down with splashy graphics that just slow things down at this phase. The rule of thumb: Keep it simple and make the information easy to find and access.

2. Purchase: How is your shopping and checkout experience – either online or in a store? Are there enough in-store cashiers to keep the line of eager buyers moving? Are the display products powered and working so customers can test-drive them? How many hoops does a shopper have to get through before the online sale is finalized? Is there an option to chat online or call a sales agent in case a customer has questions at checkout? Customers don’t want to work hard or go through extra steps to hand over their money.

3. Delivery: If the product is being shipped, how seamless is that process? Does two-day shipping mean two days from the order date or does it mean something else? No one wants to pay for two-day shipping only to receive it five days later because it didn’t ship for three. Can customers track the product? Will it require a signature at the door? How will the delivery person handle a delivery to an apartment complex, where a package can’t necessarily be left at the doorstep? When it comes to delivery policies, consider the scenarios that customers might face and take steps to make sure that it’s as painless as possible.

4. Unboxing: If you’ve ever had to bring out kitchen shears to get into the hard-plastic packaging of a product – risking a gash to your hand or some damage to the product inside – then your first experience with that product is a bad one. Consider how Apple packages its products. Usually, a single seal is broken, the box cover slips right off and the first thing you see is the product itself on display – as if you’ve just discovered a treasure. You don’t get that experience when you fight to open the box and get a first view of cardboard or cables or instruction manuals.

5. Set-up: The PC industry figured this one out years ago when it started color-coding cables and ports and using images with supporting text – instead of the other way around – to help consumers get set-up. The set-up instructions should be clear and easy-to-follow. Don’t assume that the customer knows the difference between USB and HDMI cables.

6. First use: The first use is different from everyday use. Televisions don’t scan for available channels every time they’re turned on and remotes don’t need to be programmed with every use. But that first experience right out of the box is important. You can’t make assumptions about what people will know or won’t know and should offer thorough instructions to make the first impression a good one. Even something basic like a clock radio could use some first-use consideration, such as letting customers know how to set the alarm, how to adjust the length of time for the snooze button and whether the illuminated red light means represents AM or PM.

7. Customer support: There are two times when people call support – during setup and later when things go wrong. In either scenario, frustration levels are already probably high. Are you easing that pain or adding to it? Are customers forced to navigate a lengthy phone tree system only to find out that real people are only available to help during the 8-5 of another time zone? Will support staffers know whether they’re dealing with a first-time user or someone who already knows his way around the product? (Hint: a different phone number for set-up assistance could do wonders here.)

8. Updates: If you roll out software updates for your products, are they easy to find and install or is the process frustrating for customers? Have the updates been tested for bugs and other possible mishaps? Updates are supposed to make the products better, not worse.

9. Disposal: When it comes time to replace an older product with a new one, what is the best way to dispose of the old one? Are there environmental considerations? What about costs? What about the weight and size? Companies have been creative about this in the past. Mattress companies offer free disposal of the old bed when you buy a new one. Many ink and toner cartridge makers now including packaging and labels to easily ship back the old cartridges for recycling or proper disposal. Even car dealers understand that a trade-in eliminates the pain of trying to sell your old car on your own.

10. Replacement/upgrade: It took many years but wireless phone companies now know that customers are going to want their contacts, photos, music and even their personalized settings to be transferred to their replacement phones. Companies want their customers to leave their stores with a ready-to-use replacement product or at least the tools they need to transition to the replacement product with ease. Migration assistants – software tools that help customers decide what data to move to the replacement product – can be helpful, as well.

For consumers to consider a a product to be great, the customer experience – from the moment that someone becomes a potential customer to the moment where they consider being a repeat customer – has to be a good one along every step. Remember: A product can be the coolest, fastest or prettiest – but if the customer is continuously frustrated at different steps, then cool, fast and pretty are easily overshadowed.

One thing that everyone in and out of the industry should be aware of is how the CEA fights for  consumer’s rights.  Now this isn’t necessarily because they are a consumer advocacy organization but more because what is right for the CEA’s members is typically right for consumers.

The latest battle the CEA is fighting is against two pieces of legislation, the Protect IP Act and SOPA. I’m probably not the best person to summarize legislation but take it from Public Knowledge, “This Bill Seriously Screws with the Internet” and Gary Shapiro the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association “the content owners want to take a sledgehammer approach and shut down any website that hyperlinks to an offending site or advertises a product that they view as allowing copyright infringement.”

It’s basically like trying to ban the VCR all over again…. and much much more.

Hopefully these two bills will be defeated–but it hasn’t looked good recently.

More and more often, copyright holders interests are bumping up against consumer’s freedoms–and the copyright owners are making a huge effort to ensure their interests win out over consumer’s freedoms.  Thankfully consumers and the consumer electronics industry have the CEA and Public Knowledge on their side.

If you care about issues like this and other technological issues that affect consumer’s rights and abilities, you should be following the CEA and Public Knowledge.

The industry supports these efforts through CEA membership but if individuals want to get involved, Public Knowledge advocates, informs and organizes on many of the same issues.

The first company is Lytro, which announced an ultrasmall camera of the same name that utilizes light-field technology so users can shift the focus of a digital image after it’s been shot. The second is Nest, which released a new digital thermostat for the home that’s not only easier to set – think iPod easy – but also learns to manage itself based on usage patterns.

If you’re thinking cool and hip and a natural for the holiday season, you’re probably thinking the Lytro camera. After all, it’s small and comes in cutesy colors and offers a funky kind of manipulation feature. But you’d be wrong.

You see, the Lytro – which carries a price tag of $399 – was only made available on “a pre-order basis, ” with shipments expected in “early 2012. ” Yikes! That means coughing up some big bucks for something that seems to be just a prototype and demo and won’t actually be available until after the holiday season – assuming the company doesn’t hit any development and production delays between now and then.

That’s an awful lot to ask of the consumer. And by making a splash out of its “launch” – which really can’t be considered a launch when nobody can actually get their hands on one yet – the company has burned one of its “at-bats, ” the rare moments when it can get a bunch of high-profile media attention. The next time the product launches, the media and the consumer market may no longer be interested.

Technically, Nest’s launch was also a “pre-order” but for a release date about two weeks later. That’s more like placing an order and then having to wait the 7-10 days for it to arrive on the doorstep. It’s a time frame that satisfies our desire for instant gratification. Beyond the actual calendar date, Nest had done some preemptive work by placing the product in the hands of reviewers for some honest assessments of its usage and its value at the time of launch.

That’s important because, using that launch model, the Nest thermostat – which was developed by a team led by iPod inventor Tony Faddell – provided consumers with the information they needed to make an educated purchasing decision at the time of launch.

Within days, the company had sold out of its first batch of units and had folks on backorder into the new year. Regardless of how many units were manufactured in that initial round, the company pulled an Apple with the launch: they created buzz, which led to a scenario where demand outpaced supply.

I reached out the Lytro folks for some insight about their launch strategy and they replied that interest had been high and, as such, they decided to take pre-orders. I suspect this interest came from photo enthusiasts, very early adopters and possibly also competitors. But everyday consumers? I suspect not.

If I had been advising Lytro folks on a launch, I would have suggested holding off on the October launch and forgetting about any pre-holiday buzz. Instead, I would have suggested an early demonstration at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, a place where mainstream media is always looking to give some air time to sneak peeks of “oooh-aaah” products that will be coming later in the year.

The company could have picked up some sound bites, made some contacts with potential resellers and identified some potential early reviewers. And if the product isn’t actually ready until the Spring or the Summer or even the next holiday season, there’s no harm done. It’s not like anyone would expecting to leave Las Vegas with one.

It’s unclear if Lytro has any more “at-bats” left when they finally are ready to put these cameras in the hands of consumers. It looks like a great advance in technology (if the product pays off on promises made) so I personally hope they do. If so, it will be interesting to see if they are as successful as Nest has been.

Clearly from what happened this week, these two principles are in Jawbone‘s DNA.

Here’s what happened:  A few weeks ago Jawbone released the Up wristband to lots of coverage and some mixed reviews but in the intervening weeks it turned out that there were some problems with the product: caps fell off, the product didn’t always sync and the battery life wasn’t great.  None of these were fatal problems but for a new product from a company that was in the process of building a consumer brand, these issues (along with some earlier problems on a different product) could have chipped away at its reputation.

So yesterday, Jawbone issued what The New York Times’ David Pogue called an “extraordinary statement:”

“We recognize that this product has not yet lived up to everyone’s expectations – including our own – so we’re taking action,” it said. “For whatever reason, or no reason at all, you can receive a full refund for UP. This is true even if you decide to keep your UP band. We are so committed to this product that we’re offering you the option of using it for free.”

Pogue concludes his article by saying, “if there were ever a way to go about recovering goodwill and standing by your customers, this is it.”

I have to wonder if the Jawbone executives had studied what Intel went through in 1994-95 with the Pentium flaw because clearly they learned the lesson of that incident.  If you are making consumer products and are not familiar with this part of computing history, pickup a copy of Andy Grove’s “Only the Paranoid Survive” this weekend–and read it.

From the earliest iPods to the iPad 2 today, Apple’s products – the devices themselves, as well as the software products – have been recognized for being easy to use. That’s because, for the most part, Apple products tended to only give you what you really need. The iPod had volume, back, forward and play/pause controls. What more did you need to play music?

I raise this point because it appears that Apple’s latest mobile operating system – iOS 5 – has added some complexity to something that was once very simple: sound settings on the iPhone.

A post on the TUAW blog is singing praises for Apple for finally freeing users from the confines of a handful of tones for things like e-mail, reminders and voicemail. But I think it’s a step backward.

It’s something that I call “feature creep,” the complexity that plagues a simple product when every update brings additional features and settings to the product. Once it becomes too complex, users are deterred from upgrading and maybe even pushed into the arms of a competitor. Consider, through this excerpt from the TUAW post, how much more complicated it has become to manage the sounds on an iPhone over the years:

New to iOS 5 are tone settings for New Voicemail, New Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts, a sound for Tweets via iOS 5′s built-in Twitter integration, and a setting for alerts sent via the new built-in Reminders app… In iOS 4.3 and earlier, the only tones you could use on an iPhone 4 were the built-in sounds – 23 in total. Owners of older iPhones had a still more limited selection, with only the original six sounds available. That’s changed in iOS 5. The old, built-in Alert Tones are still available, with “Tweet” and “Swoosh” (the default “Sent Mail” sound) thrown into the mix… you can now assign virtually any sound you want.

I’m exhausted already.

Certainly, there’s an argument for users wanting to be able to push the limits of a device by changing settings – and that’s fine. Apple has been great over the years, notably in its System Preferences on Mac computers, of offering an “Advanced” tab here and there for users who know how to dabble under the hood and want greater customization.

I usually sing the praises of Apple and its products, but this time, I feel the company got it wrong. The better move would have been to leave the sounds settings in their original state and just add an “Advanced” button for entry into the pro zone. At least under that approach, advanced users would have the ability to go in and customize to their hearts’ content while the rest of us wouldn’t be left to navigate like a pro.

For many, it won’t be easy.

In recent weeks, there’s been some backlash against Facebook for rolling out new features that its users don’t care for – but the company has done little to appease the vocal critics. From the beginning, Facebook’s users have usually reacted negatively to changes – but eventually come around and grow accustomed to the new features.

With a large user base unlikely to jump ship in droves, Facebook has the luxury of being able to ride the storm of negative feedback. But not all companies have that flexibility.

Consider what happened when AliphCom, maker of the Jawbone Jambox speaker, released a firmware update to roll out a new feature called Live Audio. The update included a new audio tuning algorithm that reduced the audio distortion at high volumes. Sounds like a good thing, right?

Unfortunately, with the update, the lower volume turned converted what was once “a booming little speaker” into a “whisper woofer,” even at full volume, according to a blogger’s account. With users unhappy, AliphCom did exactly what it needed to do – it acknowledged the backlash and quickly communicated to its users about yet another firmware update in the works, one that would allow users to turn off the new features and switch the Jawbone back to its original form.

Good for them. By reacting quickly, communicating with transparency and giving its customers an option to fix the perceived problem, the company likely earned a ton of respect and loyalty from customers.

Late last month, Instagram – a photo sharing mobile app best known for its “filters,” – released an update that delivers new live views and faster response times. But it also tweaked the filters and, as a result, the look of the images. And that has left some users far from happy.

What have they done? At first, not really anything. In fact, it took an unhappy blogger to sound the alarm and post instructions on how to undo the upgrade and roll back to the previous version.

While that may temporarily make some people happy, in the long run, it does more harm than good. First, users will know that they’re using an older version and missing out on other new features they like. Second, lack of acknowledgment of the backlash minimizes the concerns of the most faithful users. Finally, it gives competitors an opportunity to come in and do what you’re already doing – but in a way that appeals to the most passionate users.

Update: They finally released a new version that bring the old filters back.

It’s a bit of a cliche – but, this is one of those instances where the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can be applied. Instagram fixed the issue in the nick of time. Hopefully, other companies are taking note of how the company – and its users – move forward.

The parade is cheesy, for sure. And the news coverage is predictable, too. But year after year, news stations broadcast elephants marching trunk-to-tail in front of city hall as a way of letting folks know that tickets are still available. Later, news crews will be on-hand to capture footage of the giggling children in their hospital beds during a “surprise” visit by the circus clowns and to record the inspections by PETA to ensure that the animals aren’t being mistreated.

It’s theatrics at its best – staged events that draw the attention of media and other influential people for the purpose of publicizing the larger money-making event. And the circus example is just one of many.

Consider the annual unveiling of the new car models, being lowered onto a stage amid flashing lights and loud music, or the red-carpet celebrity arrivals at the Oscars, an excitement-building event around a later event that will bring in billions in advertising. Professional sporting events – from the NFL drafts to the title boxing matches to the World Series – are filled with theatrics.

There are reasons that the theatrics around these events are so effective. First of all, they’re anything but spontaneous. The companies have invested in things like staging and lighting to enhance the effects. The venues have been carefully selected and the messages have been professionally scripted. Most importantly, the presentations are rehearsed – again and again and again.

Finally, it’s important to also note that there needs to be some substance behind the theatrics. The smart companies recognize that theatrics cannot mask an announcement or a launch that’s simply not worthy of such fanfare. The challenge that comes with using theatrics around a product launch or news event is recognizing that not every news announcement is worthy of such fanfare. In some cases, a simple press release, an executive press tour or even a short webcast may be a better way to share product updates or offer sneak peeks at what’s in the works.

Unfortunately, there are companies out there that haven’t yet figured this out. Some companies go so far as to plan theatrical events around big trade shows before they’ve figured out what they’ll announce or whether the products will even be ready for launch in time. And when it ends up being a big theatrical spectacle – with no real substance or news – the expression “it’s just theatrics” gets another negative ding. Companies that roll out the bling and glitz for every launch, even the incremental updates, will reduce the effectiveness of the attention-grabbing tactics.

As I often say, if you roll out the red carpet too often, eventually it starts to fade.

If you really want to see theatrics in action, pay attention to the upcoming Apple news event tomorrow. If ever there was a company that could write a book on how to stage a theatrical announcement, it’s Apple. Of course, the company only uses the “event” for big product rollouts and it has an established reputation for delivering products that shine.

Take your seats. The opening act – bloggers speculating wildly on the specifics of the event before it happens – should be getting underway in less the 24 hours.

In my talks I always explain why lawyers should be advisers and not deciders. Lawyers can help asses risk and but they can also tend to try to keep clients from getting anywhere near risk.

This aversion to risk can also be detrimental to a businesses. It can be healthy to take risks–once the risks and rewards are known and weighed.

Today, TechDirt writes a great short piece about the lawyers for The New York Times closing down a site that was really just promoting content from the New York Times. The irony is, the site was created by employees of the Times.

Worth a read… and worth remembering when you are getting ready for a launch and a lawyer tells you not to do something because its “possibly risky.”

I only watched/read/blogged because they caught attention by understanding a launch is theater–and sometimes (but not always) that means bringing in theatrics.

See Arik Hesseldahl’s write up and explanation from All Things D.

If you try to make a lot of noise about every announcement, the major ones won’t be treated that way.

This morning Amazon started allowing lending of Kindle books.  Some of the coverage even noted that Amazon “quietly” turned the service on. Bravo Amazon.

Such is the case with the Google Nexus One.  Google introduced the phone in January of 2010 and pulled it seven months later in July of 2010.

Google tried to re-invent the phone purchase process but seems to have failed.  According to Macworld:

…customers could only buy it online, without being able to touch or try out the phone in a store. They had to have a Google login and use Google Checkout to buy the Nexus One.

Google made it hard to purchase (only Google Checkout) and didn’t offer an option for people to hold the phone… People like to hold or try their phones before they lay out hundreds of dollars or commit to using it for a few years.

There was one more issue with the Nexus One.  There were three different players involved in the phone: Google who directed the design and controlled the operating system; HTC who manufactured it; and T-Mobile who provided the network it ran on, it was never clear who was going to provide support.  Google is used to providing support through online forums, via email or not-at-all.  Which has generally worked for them up till now–probably because most of their products are offered free.  This did not work when it came to the Nexus One which cost $179 (with contract) or $530 (contract free).  With days articles such as this began to appear:

The real problem is figuring out which entity is supposed to be responsible for answering questions and providing support.

…

If you buy a Nexus One manufactured by HTC, directly from Google’s Web site, and use it with T-Mobile’s wireless network–who do you call when you have a problem? Google is only accepting support requests via e-mail, and users are getting bounced between T-Mobile and HTC as neither seems equipped to answer complaints, or willing to accept responsibility for supporting the Nexus One.

Google quickly implemented support but the reputation was already out there already and it was hard to regain control of the story.

Please remember, the product is only one part of the entire experience–and every part of the experience is critical when dealing with consumer tech products.

I give a talk about these issues.  Its full of examples, videos and case studies–but there isn’t a single slide with a bullet in the 45 minute talk.  If you’d like to book the talk, please be sure to contact me.

Just consider: Haven’t we all complained at one time or another how hard a particular product was to get out of its packaging?  Or, if you have ever purchased an Apple product, have you kept the box for a few days just because the box itself was so well made and beautiful?

Packing is a key element when selling technology to consumers.  Hopefully the product is well designed enough that it does not frustrate the consumer.  The packaging absoloutly should not frustrate them even before they have put the product to use.

The New York Times recently ran an article about Amazon’s efforts to encourage “Frustration-Free” packaging.  Its worth a read.  The article states:

Duracell, which offers a 28-pack in a frustration-free version on Amazon, had “been getting rave reviews from consumers about the packs on Amazon…”

For an example of a company that understands the important role of packing, check out how Moo.com packages the business cards they sell.  They understand the issue so much they even wrote a FAQ about their packing.

The company says the following which would be a good lesson for anyone working on any kind of a product:

Packaging is a bit like the icing on the cake, or a happy ending to a good story.

People need a single word to refer to all of these products in one fell swoop.  No one wants to say “Please be sure to turn off your hand-held game, camera, phone, tablet or laptop.”  Or “You can watch the TV show on your music player, phone, tablet, laptop or TV screen.”

Over the past few months a candidate has emerged.  It’s not a perfect word because it’s a bit generic and undefined but it seems to be doing the trick–and catching on.  The word is: Device.

The emergence of this word was driven home when I heard about “Device Design Day,” a conference that took place last month in San Francisco put on by Kicker Studio.  The slogan for the day was “Design for the next generation of products.” (The conference line-up by the way looked wonderful… Unfortunately I had to miss due to illness–but will hopefully be there next time.)

Another example: A recent headline and corporate prediction, “Ericsson CEO Predicts 50 Billion Internet Connected Devices by 2020.”  And the CEO is not just talking about mobile phone like products, he is also thinking of things like health care “devices.”

As you can see from the picture on this post, the airlines have adopted the word.  The airlines are using it with a modifier, “electronic.”  Device has been used this way for a while: mobile device, health care device, wireless device, connected device, etc.  But what I have been noticing more and more is the use of the word without a modifier.

In a recent New York Times blog, Nick Bilton wrote about a conversation he had with an employee in a local coffee shop.”  Bilton was using an e-reader.  The employee said “we don’t allow computers.”  When Bilton tried to explain that it was not a computer the employee basically said it was still a “device.”  The point was made.

Another: An organization is promoting a “No Deivce Day” trying to get people to take a day “to unplug and spend time with family.”  They have a pledge they’d like people to take in which people promise “to have ten No-Device Dinners between now and Thanksgiving Day 2010. Then make Thanksgiving Day a No-Device Day.”

While I think they are onto something with the No Device Dinners, I am more interested for the moment in the use of the word “device.”

A few more: A recent headline in The New York Times: A Device Sold Before its Time; A quote from a former Nokia employee about a product the company chose not to make, “it was an expensive device to produce, so there was more risk involved for Nokia. So management did the usual. They killed it.”

Your turn: Are you seeing growing use of the word “device?”  Have you seen an interesting example of where this word is appearing?  Leave a comment and let me know.

CC Photo Credit: miss_rogue

In today’s New York Times, David Pogue writes an article titled “A Device Sold before Its Time” which is a review of Vulkano set-top TV box.  suffice to say, it’s not a good review.  But what’s more important is that the review points out that the company knew all about the problems before shipping the product–and before putting it into the reviewer’s hands.  Pogue says:

Unfortunately, the Vulkano box is nowhere near ready for prime time. It’s riddled with bugs, problems, limitations and absurd design flaws.

Now, Monsoon Multimedia is a small company. It would seem heartless to itemize the Vulkano’s failings in a national newspaper — if it weren’t that the company asked me to review it. You would think that such a request implied a certain confidence in the product’s readiness for consumers.

And it’s not like the company thought the product was great and the reviewer was the first to discover the flaws.  Pogue says:

Now, the company cheerfully admits to every single one of these problems, and says that every single one will be fixed in the coming months.

And quotes the company saying:

“Some pieces definitely need some work,” said a product manager. “We’re addressing them as quickly as we can and knocking them down.”

Pogue concludes:

For now, though, it’s a train wreck. The real question isn’t, How could a box like this have so many problems? Every new product goes through a shaky stage on its way to commercial readiness.

No, the real question is, Why is the company selling it at this point? [emphasis added]

Always remember, Rule #9: Don’t Launch Until Ready.  For more rules or to book my talk, please get in touch.

[Full disclosure: I am currently doing some work advising TiVo who also makes set-top boxes.]

Louise Baker, a guest blogger interested in creating more links to her site approached me about writing a blog post so I asked her to discuss companies that impressed her with their approach to customer service.

Here are her thoughts:

5 companies that are committed to good customer service

5: Southwest Airlines

If you’ve ever ridden a Southwest plane, you’ve probably seen firsthand the kind of exceptional customer service their passengers enjoy. Southwest Airline flight attendants are lively, happy people recruited foremost for attitude and enthusiasm, who will just as soon tell a joke or sing a song as bring you your complimentary peanuts (still free in Southwest – unlike the rest of the industry which has started charging for them). They’re also dedicated to keeping your trip as inexpensive as possible, forgoing the usual fees for carry-on luggage in addition to offering some of the lowest flight prices in the industry.

4: HyperFit USA

Hyperfit USA is a fitness center in Ann Arbor, MI with a dedication to keeping its customers satisfied and well-connected to the service they’re paying for. Upon joining the center, new members can fill out forms detailing their health and fitness goals – forms that can be accessed by any of the experts on staff for a personalized, customized workout regime. The gym also believes in staying connected with its clients, offering email services and automated reminders after extended absences. If a customer doesn’t show up for three weeks, they’ll receive an email alert or a personal call from someone at the center willing to give a pep talk. HyperFit believes in keeping you not only healthy, but happy.

3: SimplySoles

SimplySoles operates on an old-fashioned approach to customer service: personal, genuine customer interaction despite the barrier of the internet. At SimplySoles, you can call their customer service number and reach the founder directly. After your order, you’ll receive a personalized, handwritten thank-you note with your name and order referenced directly. It’s little touches like these that keep customers that keep them coming back to SimplySoles.

2: Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s has an impressive boast: they taste every product before they sell it. With premier quality and a dedication to serving every person who walks through its doors, over 50% of customers report their satisfaction with Trader Joe’s products, price, and customer satisfaction.

1: Zappos.com

Established in 1999, Zappos has made a name for itself in not only quality products and afforable prices, but in outstanding customer service. Their warehouses are open 24/7 and they offer free shipping and returns. Shoes can be ordered any time, day or night, and still make next-day delivery. Zappos official policy encourages customers to call about anything, and their call center takes thousands of calls a day. Zappos is the place to shop if you want the security of knowing there are real people propelling the site, people who care.

Louise Baker writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. She has recently also wrote about the best schools online.

I’m not what most people (especially my brother who is in the gourmet food business) would call a foodie so its surprising that last night I found myself at a high-end food fundraiser and that I was impressed enough to write about it.

The event I went to was a Plate & Pitchfork dinner where the organization pairs a Portland, OR gourmet chef with a local high-end farm and put on a 5-star dinner out in the farm’s fields.

The dinner is preceded by a talk from the farmer and the chef about their food philosophies and then a tour of farm.  This particular dinner took place on Viridan farm where they grow a huge number of edible flowers.  I was amazed as we walked the rows and grazed the flowers.  Later we got an entire salad made of edible flowers.

The dinner for 150 was amazing, the setting beautiful, and the service steller–all the more amazing every time we looked around and realized we were out in a farm field.

There seemed to be a HUGE amount of work that goes into these dinners so all the more amazing that the organization behind it puts on about 20 a year.

All the funds raised go to various organizations that do food education–reminding youth (and the rest) that there is more then processed or factory farmed food out there and why its important to eat it and support it.

I’d heard about these kinds of events before and researched San Francisco area events–but all that I could find seem to instantly sell out… even at $150-$200/person.

If you can find a farm dinner in your area, you should try to attend or volunteer.

If you’re a social entrepreneur looking for a project with built-in demand, check out these events, the world needs more farm dinners.

So, I was amazed when I opened USA Today on July 22nd and saw a review of the Dell Streak in Ed Baig’s consumer tech column which said “Availability: Dell won’t say but indicates the Streak is coming very soon” and “Price: That’s also a Dell secret for now…”

Why would they let one of the two most important consumer tech writers in the world cover a product that consumers can’t buy and not even give them a clue of the price or when it is coming?  Just does not make sense from a consumer sales/marketing/experience point of view.

Its unclear even today (two weeks later) if its available.  There are reviews on Dell’s site but the page still says “The Dell Streak will be available for purchase soon.”

On the other hand…

This past Tuesday, RIM held an event to introduce a new phone.  Over the past few years RIM has been getting better and better at focusing on consumers–with things like product names (Curve, Pearl, etc.) rather than just model numbers.

In fact they have changed so much that the headline and lead of one article about the announcement said “RIM attempts to create Apple-like buzz with BlackBerry Torch event” and “In an uncharacteristic move, Research in Motion held a media event Tuesday in New York City to generate buzz for its new BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone.”

What else did they do different than Dell?  According to the article. “The device will be available exclusively on the AT&T network starting August 12. It carries a $199 price with a standard two-year contract.”

That’s the way to introduce a product: With a DATE AND PRICE!

Years ago I was in Chicago for a business trip and met up with my college friend Michael Schaffer.  That night he told me he had a disease that would probably kill him in the next few years,  I was saddened but didn’t really know what to do or say.

Years later when I began to do work for David Jacobs the founder of Silverstone I learned all about PKD and realized that’s probably what Michael had described.

I looked Michael up online and was relieved to find that he had gotten a transplant and was living happily and healthy.  We reconnected and I told him about the project.

Yesterday, I tweeted about the latest article written about Silverstone and this morning a got a note from Michael.  The transplanted kidney failed and he was again waiting for a kidney.  Michael’s on dialysis but as David has explained to me, while dialysis keeps you alive, the longer you are on it the more your body deteriorates.

Now I know why I do work for Silverstone.  I do it for Michael.

Over the past decade a number of companies have realized that service and support is a way to build loyalty with customers.  Car dealers, cable companies (yes, them) and Apple, among others have taken this approach.

On the other hand many banks and other companies have gone the opposite way.

Car dealers: Brand loyalty is one reason so many car dealers have upgraded the service department’s public areas.  When a customer is in servicing a car its one more opportunity to sell them on the brand.  It’s all about giving them good experiences.

Luxury dealers (and even some Toyota dealers, etc.) routinely have free wi-fi, espresso and shuttle rides, etc.  Compare that to a few years ago when it was ripped stained furniture and burnt coffee.  If you have a bad experience every time you are in for service, you’d think twice about going back to that dealer or brand for your next car.

Cable companies:  Back in the early 90s they realized how bad a rep they had and sooner or later there would be competition.  Nowadays when I call Comcast I very quickly can get a live person on the phone who will help me trouble shoot the problem and schedule a technician if they can’t fix it.  Typically they get me a next day appointment with a TWO HOUR WINDOW–AND IN MY EXPERIENCE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON TIME!  They get it.

Apple: Read this post from the Consumerist and this one from Robin Raskin.  Both these people will probably be customers for life–and brand evangelists going forward–in fact they already are evangelizing by publishing their stories.

Apple is the technology company that is showing all the others how to act like a consumer company.  It seems like the company’s philosophy is: “Technology is complex but let’s try to make it simple.  When it’s not, lets use fixing the technology to get closer to our customers not to push them farther away.”

UPDATE: In the end, after I made enough noise, BMW came through and paid for the repair.  I am grateful to them and glad that they did the right thing in the end.  But still a bit of a black mark that it took so much work to get some satisfaction.

One of my key marketing rules is “Know Your Brand.”

BMW has always seemed to get this–they understand that they sell more than a car… they sell an experience and a lifestyle.

Maintaining this experience and keeping customers happy helps BMW continue as one of the most successful luxury car companies with one of the best brands.  They continually win brand awards but they also realize the need to always make a strong effort to please customers.

In 2002 the then CEO, Helmut Panke, summed it up when he said. “What I see as our biggest risk is the possibility of complacency. We need to make sure that nobody leans back. We have to remain hungry and to keep up our desire to outperform others.”

That is why I was so shocked when I tried to get a defect fixed on my wife’s 2004 325i.  BMW has refused to take responsibility or pay for the repairs.

Fixing a defect, in warrantee OR out should be one of the easiest customer satisfaction actions BMW performs.

Here is what happened: Intermittently an indicator comes on showing there is something wrong with the rear lights.  I took the car in to the BMW dealer and mentioned this to my service advisor.  I was really surprised when he guessed at the cause before even getting up from his desk.  Upon checking the car, his hunch was confirmed.

Here is the issue as BMW states in their service bulletin: “Minor corrosion at the 8-pin rear lamp connector creates high resistance causing damage to the connector housing.”  In other words, your rear light can melt!

So what makes this a “defect” and not something that should be the responsibility of the owner?  Well, first, the fix is not just to replace a broken or worn out part.  The fix is to actually modify the original configuration.  From BMW’s Service Information Bulletin (SIB 63 03 06) “Correction: Repair the damaged wire(s) and replace damaged connector housing. Install additional ground wires to both left and right rear lamps.” (emphasis added)

Second, this defect seems very common and BMW is well aware of it as evidenced by the service bulletin, the 100s of postings on BMW forums and the numerous filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration–one of which claims there was a fire involved! (Office of Defects Investigation ID Number : 10263031)

I have asked the service manager at my dealer to look into having BMW pay for these repairs but he said they declined.  I also called customer relations, opened a case but was told that they also would not step up to the plate.

We are a loyal two-BMW household who purchases the highest level maintenance packages and always services our car at the dealer (who we love along with our service advisor) so it’s very surprising to see how little BMW will do keep us (and the other owners with the same problem) happy for a problem that is clearly a defect and not a run of the mill maintenance issue.

In many circles, failing is shunned.  You don’t mention it, you don’t admit it and you sure don’t hold conferences about it.

But. one of the first thing I learned about Silicon Valley when I arrived here 15 years ago was that it was a place where failure is expected, accepted and maybe even celebrated.

Some companies even acknowledge failure in their corporate cultures–they will say things like “we believe in fail fast.”  Meaning: Try something, see if it works, but if it’s a failure, realize it quickly and move on to something else.

At most client meetings and at every lecture, I encourage studying launch failures (as well as successes).  You can only get a well-rounded picture of how to launch properly by examining both successes and failures.

Now there is a Silicon Valley conference looking lessons learned from failure–FailCon.  They say: “You aren’t a real entrepreneur until you’ve had to deal with failure, and recovering from it – financially, emotionally, and practically – can be challenging.”

I’ll be covering the conference next Tuesday (Oct. 27) and letting you know how the ideas apply to launch.  If you are interested in attending yourself, you can register here.

In addition, the organizers seem to run some interesting conferences so keep your eye on their site for other upcoming topics.

The article says:

James Pitaro, vice president of Yahoo’s audience group, said, “In our research with users, we found that the more information that was displayed on the page, the greater the anxiety.”

He said Yahoo deliberately adopted what he calls “the Apple model — simplicity in design; a clean, simple look, not overburdening our users with too much information on the page.”

Google seems to pay no heed to such psychology. Google Finance, which was introduced in 2006 and shed its “beta” label earlier this year, hews to its original strategy: offer the best data and charts. And when that doesn’t work, offer still more data and charts.

He says, “AMD is making a dramatic bid to simplify branding of its CPUs down to the bare essentials. In fact, rather than emphasizing specific CPUs at all, it will focus on three levels of performance:” Vision, Vision Premium and Vision Ultimate.

This is clearly (and I think successfully) aimed at consumers–who are typically confused by all the tech references in processor names.

From the simplicity of this scheme (and if it is smart) it appears AMD will keep the names simple even as the underlying technology changes.  Apple does this–it’s always the MacBook and MacBook Pro even as the processor, hard drives, ports, etc. continue to change.

Meanwhile…

In 1993 Intel revolutionized the selling of technology to consumers when it, named its processor the Pentium rather than the i586 (the i386 and i486 had come before.)  Ironically, Intel was pushed into naming processors when AMD began copying the x86 names when a court refused to grant trademark protection on numbers.

So where is Intel today with consumer processor naming?

I hate* to say: Not as good.  On a page aimed at helping consumers find the right processor for laptops is a list of products including: Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Centrino 2, Core 2 Solo, Pentium and Celeron processors.  And while Intel has an explanation next to each (e.g. “Unplug and enjoy great performance in more places.”) there is not a lot of clarity in the names themselves.

Great to see tech companies naming products.  Even better to see good naming schemes.

*Disclosure: I worked at Intel for a few years and still have a small amount of stock.

If you have not seen this talk yet, I encourage you to come and hear the talk. Its got good lessons for anyone launching a product–consumer tech or not. And it’s definitely NOT an hour of bullets on a slide. I’ve worked hard to make the talk entertaining with video clips, props, etc. Come check it out. Details are below along with an interview the organization conducted with me.

Interview: http://marketingsig.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-just-plan-party.html

Subject: Don’t Launch a Product, Launch a Product Experience: 11+ Rules to Learn

Location:
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP
2000 University Ave.(University Circle)
East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Agenda:
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Registration / Networking / Refreshments
7:00 – 7:15 p.m. Announcements and Introductions
7:15 – 8:30 p.m. Presentation and Discussion
8:30 – 8:45 p.m. Wrap-up / Networking

Cost:
$15 at the door for non-SDForum members
No charge for SDForum members
No registration required

Better yet, click here and sign up to attend (at a 15% discount).  I’ve attended the conference (as well as other GigaOM events) in past years and can heartily recommend them.  Om packs a lot into a single 12 hour day!  It’s a great conference to get up to speed with the state of the industry right now as well as what the next six to nine months hold.

Also, unlike some conferences held in the bowels of a some giant hotel (with generic chandeliers, carpets, halls, etc. that we are all too familiar with), the venue: The Mission Bay Conference Center is beautiful and full of sunlight.  It was designed by award-winning architect Ricardo Legoretta.

many accounts so far, a worthwhile challenger to the latest Kindle

As someone who has been critical of Sony product names in the past (as have others), I first have to praise Sony for coming up with a name (rather than a model number) for its latest Reader.  It’s nice to see the people who came up with “Walkman” back on track with naming.

On the other hand…

One of the most basic launch rules is “Don’t launch a product until its ready.” so what I can’t understand is why Sony would launch this product when:

• There is no information about it on Sony.com (other than a press release)
• Consumers can’t buy it for at least four months
• There does not appear to be a way to pre-order it
• There did not seem to be a working prototype at the event for press to try

Compare this to how Bose and Amazon and Apple all launch products.

Bose: Bose announced its QuiteComfort 15 noise canceling headphones on Wednesday, August 19th.  They were available in stores the next day.  In addition, on the 19th Bose.com prominently featured the product on its front page and had a complete product page ready (with product details,  tech support info, etc.)  Reporters were able to go into Bose stores a day before to do an on-site test/preview.

Amazon: Amazon announced the Kindle 2 on February 9 and although it would not ship for two weeks, they immediately began taking pre-orders.  Reporters at the launch event were given hands-on time with the product.

Apple: Apple is rumored to be having an event on September 9th.  Immediately following this event, I encourage you to read the news coverage then look on Apple.com.  If past patterns hold true, the new products will be there front and center… and they will be available for consumers within two weeks… if not immediately.

Announce vs. Launch

In this post I have used announce and launch interchangeably.  I have done this deliberately because when consumers see a news article about a new product they don’t differentiate the announcement from the launch.  Yes, occasionally, a product can be announced to the industry (with a consumer launch following) but in those (rare) cases coverage does not end up in Business Week, on local TV news or in the Arts section of the Times.

Launch when ready!

This month’s (September 2009) Consumer Reports magazine has a fun article on how and why paint companies name paints rather then only giving them a number.

The article talks about the origins of names like Old Pickup Blue, Orange Sherbet, Mermaid’s Tail, Jamaican Acqua and a few others.

What’s most interesting for the consumer technology industry is the quotes that explain why give paints names at all.  “In addition to evoking a special feeling, names can be easy to remember. ‘Lily White is infinitely better then White-937,’ says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.”

“Pantone’s color of the year is mimosa because, says color consultant Leatrice Eiseman, ‘yellow is the color of hope and change and enlightenment, and its also very warm and inviting.’”

Benjamin Moore and the other paint companies discussed are not naming only a few colors.  As the article states “There are thousands of paint colors, and each needs a name.”

So how do they do it?  “At Benjamin Moore, that task falls to senior interior designer Sonu Mathew—not that she works alone. When a new color palette is created, she enlists fellow employees, from workers at the plant to the CEO.”

This is a good model for the consumer tech industy to emulate.

Meanwhile back in the tech industry…

The other day Nikon introduced a first for a digital camera.  They announced a digital camera with a built in projector.  CNET’s Don Reisinger said “I believe that projectors will be the next big thing in the digital camera space.”

Anyone remember hearing or reading about this camera over the past few days?  If so, remember the name?  I suspect not.  Maybe because its called the Coolpix S1000pj.  Coolpix may be a name but s1000pj sure is not.  Revolutionary product.  Not so revolutionary name.

August 6 Addendum: Just after publishing this piece I read Walt Mossberg’s generally positive review of a new Toshiba netbook in which he says: “Toshiba has advanced the netbook category in key respects.”

But, what was one of his comments about the product?  “…inelegantly called the NB205-N310…”  Give products names and avoid one more thing that can distract from the good qualities of a product.

The headline on its newspaper advertisement reads, “It doesn’t play music, take pictures or surf the Internet.”  Bravo!   This company understands that for many consumers more features means more complexity, a harder to use product and in the end more frustration.

The company also understands that less is more when it comes to consumer choice.  You can get the phone in White or Graphite.  That’s the only product decision.  No need to choose memory size, feature sets, carriers, etc.  Pick the color and your done.  Again, fewer decisions means fewer frustrations.

While many tech-savvy consumers are racing to smart phones there is a whole world of non-tech savvy consumers (young and old) who are being dragged into the technological world that has emerged over the past few years.  These consumers should be given technologies that add to their lives but do not cause frustration.

The Jitterbug is meeting this need (and in the process its been getting praised by the industry and the press for its feature set and ease of use. Recognitions include the 2009 Wireless-Life Sciences and Triple Tree I Award for “Best Consumer Experience” and very positive comments in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Washington Post.)

It would be nice to see the philosophy behind the Jitterbug phone applied to more products–either by the folks behind Jitterbug or by other companies.

(Disclosure: In the past, I have done some advising for the PR agency working with Jitterbug)

Few can argue with Kodak’s decision to kill Kodachrome film. However, I see their approach as one filled with blunders. The company saw Kodachrome as a product or a name but not a brand. But a brand it is, indeed a brand that still has lots of positive equity associated with it (as evidenced by the press coverage) And there lies the blunder–they killed not only the product but the brand as well.

In their own press release, Kodak shows that they ALMOST (but now quite) understand that Kodachrome is a brand. At first they say “Kodachrome film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology.” YES! But then they go on to say “…the majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology…” ARRRRGH! Its not a technology. Maybe 74 years ago in a lab it was a technology. But then Kodak gave it a name, people tried it–they had good experiences with it and it went on to become a brand. A good brand. A lasting brand.

In the public’s mind, Kodachrome still stands for memories, quality, deep colors, leadership, etc. Kodak could have taken advantage of this by introducing a series of Kodachrome digital products at the same moment they killed the film product. These products could have spanned a wide range from cameras to color accuracy devices to paper to printing services. All of these products would have had instant brand equity with the public.

While Kodak has become a digital company, most of the world does not yet realize that. People still remember that it took Kodak a long time to admit that digital was going to kill film. This was a great opportunity to help change that reputation. If Kodak had used this announcement to change the Kodachrome brand from a film brand to a digital brand they would have instantly reminded the world that Kodak had successfully made it through the digital transition and has remained a leader.  But with the way they handled this announcement, the public will still see them as a film company desperately dumping obsolete products.

Brands are not synonymous with names. Brands are the collective experiences people have had with the products that carry the name. Kill off obsolete products but keep great brands.

What many people don’t know is that the organization spends a tremendous amount of time and effort on lobbying/government affairs/public policy (take your pick of names) on behalf of CE companies.

It turns out that more often then not, what is good for the CE companies is good for the consumer.  The CEA has been especially active in trying keep consumer’s rights to fair use/recording media for personal use.

Here are a series of statements from the CEA’s Current Policy Initiative Web site the illustrate some of its positions:

Broadband: CEA believes that market-based competition among all communication channels is the best way to promote rapid deployment of broadband technologies…” “…the government should work toward reserving spectrum to support future rollout of broadband wireless technology.”

Copyright and Fair Use: “First Amendment and fair use rights must be safeguarded to preserve consumers’ freedoms, the creative spirit and advancement in the digital age. Consumer electronics products are a vital link allowing the world’s citizens access to information, education and entertainment. Increased access to this technology will shrink the digital divide and produce a renaissance in arts, science, music, academics and creativity across the entire world. Copyright owners must resist the temptation to restrict technology. If successful, restrictions will deprive the public of equal and fair access to information, entertainment and education. CEA is committed to ensuring consumers’ continued access to legal, non-infringing products by ensuring the preservation of the Betamax standard, both through legal action and public policy.”

Sales Tax: “CEA supports sales tax holidays, or temporary sales tax exemptions, for purchases of home computers and related products.”

Telecom Reform: “[Current telecom] regulations, however, have become outdated and are no longer relevant to the new services and technologies that have arisen over the past few years. Attempts to classify these new services into outmoded regulations stifles innovation, creates uncertainty in the marketplace and diminishes the increase in productivity that is directly attributed to such innovations. Policymakers understand the need to establish a new communications policy framework that encourages the continuing transformation and modernization of communications networks through broadband and IP-enabled applications.”

Unlicensed Spectrum: “Over the past decade, the amount of commercial licensed spectrum has nearly doubled, while the amount of unlicensed spectrum has nearly quadrupled. CEA supports the market-oriented, deregulatory approach that Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have taken with regard to our nation’s spectrum policy.”

If you’re interested in following an advocate for consumer’s keep an eye on the CEA.

Even after just two sessions I am realizing this is a huge topic–for two reasons.  My first realization is that there is not really a limited area called “Tech” Policy.  As technology moves into everyday life, everything becomes tech policy.  For example, we know that spectrum regulation or rural broadband tax incentives could be considered tech policy.  And we can even stretch to think of copyright as tech policy (e.g. is linking to an article violating a copyright).  But couldn’t we consider education policy as tech policy if it effects how many engineers the country is creating?  In fact is there anything (ok, many things) that could not touch the tech industry in some way or another.

Second, what is policy?  Yes, its legislation and its tax incentives and its stimulus spending allocation.  But isn’t fear (as in fear of legislation or fear of consumer advocates) as powerful a policy force as the actual legislation.  And can’t inaction be policy as much as active regulation?

Just some thoughts from a policy novice.  Any thoughts from others?

While I have not studied this issue that often, it is clear that it can have great effects.  For example, allowing unlicensed spectrum allowed consumers to have cordless phones, walkie-talkies and WiFi without the need for the end user to apply for licenses, etc.  On the other hand, there is no absolute guarantee of freedom from interference with these devices.

I’ll be doing a lot of thinking on this issue over the next few days and post here as I think of or hear ideas about how policy affects user experience.

Thoughts?  Add them in comments.

Now Asus seems to be getting the message.

According to New Zeland PC World:

Asus will only launch two or three versions of the Eee PC this year, such as the Eee PC Touch and Eee PC Seashell, a company representative said Friday.

The new netbook strategy differs greatly from last year.

Asustek sold over 20 different versions of the Eee PC last year, with different names such as the Eee PC S101, Eee PC 1000H, Eee PC Surf and more. Analysts said the strategy hurt Asus in its bid to fight off competition from newcomers to the market segment, such as Acer, Dell and Lenovo.

Hopefully this move will allow customers to make better choices and help the company’s success.  I’ll be watching.

BudFits are simple flexiable molded plastic pieces which grab onto Apple ear bud headphones and then loop around the ear to hold them secure.  They could have been engineered to be much more complex (e.g. rotating parts, various sizes, non-right/left interchangeable, etc.)  But they were not.  They are simple when simple is called for.

In addition, Innovelis has done a number of other things right:

Packaging: The BudFits come in that plastic clamshell packagaing that nowadays makes us reach for our scissors in fear of the opening processes–BUT!  The package actually opens simply and easily without knife or scissors.

Name: BudFits.  Could you want a more descriptive, simple or memorable name?  Why can’t all companies follow their lead?

Price: Under $9.  In an era when even the simplest iPod and iPhone related items seem to be $14.95, $29.95 or $49.95, $8.99 is refreshing.

Performance: So far they seem to payoff of their promise.

Simple is not always easy to achive but its important to strive for.  BudFits is a good example of a company that has achived simple.

The two new photo printers from Sony aimed at the average point-and-shoot camera owner are the (horrifically monikered) DPP-FP67 and DPP-FP97, updates on last year’s DPP-FP75 and DPP-FP95.

Apple at 8:30 a.m. Eastern is expected to revamp its entire desktop line, including the Mac Pro, while also introducing new versions of its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products, a leaked parts and specifications list reveals.

If you are a non-technical consumer (ok, even if you are a technical consumer) which company’s product names will you remember long enough to ask for them in a store?

According to Valleywag

If you care about the issues I have been writing and consulting about, my recommendation is not to wait for the autobiography but to go out today and get a copy of  Leander Kahney‘s book, Inside Steve’s Brain. I have been plowing through this book and getting amazing insight into what Apple does to remain successful.

The book has been getting good reviews but I am baffaled why it is not getting more attention.  Maybe thats because it wasn’t pulled from the shelf like iCon.

Kahney’s Wired article on the birth of the iPod inspired some of ideas in my Apple Launch article.

If you have read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on the book and any insights you gained.

The summary: (In Ken’s words… edited)

Nikon had been pimping a BIG announcement of its MX camera at WPPI’s BIG night.

Whatever it was, it was a product announcement so Earth-shattering and so definite that Nikon stuck its neck out for months promoting it.

What did we get after months of teasing?

Nothing!

All WPPI attendees got was a hastily-booked Blues Traveler concert instead when Nikon couldn’t deliver the goods.

All of this points out the importance of:

1) Expect and prepare for delays.  Companies have to expect them.  Rarely does Apple have only one announcement.  They que up a number of new products so that if one drops out at the last minute, the press’ time is not wasted.

2) Don’t hype early.  When talking about the level of hype, Ken uses the words “for months.”

On the other hand:

1) If the delay was because the product would not ship anytime soon, its good that Nikon held the announcement till closer to ship.

2) If the product was delayed because it was not ready for primetime, its good that Nikon held the announcement till they could showoff a great product.
Thankfully for Nikon this was an industry announcement (aimed it seems at wedding photographers) and not a general consumer announcement… (Although the product may eventually also be used by them).

But, nonetheless, Nikon still lost some credibility with (at least one) press.

Ken again… edited:

Oh well. Nikon botched BIG. The only thing BIG about it was that it was a huge failure and a humongous embarrassment. Nikon loss-of-face was incredibly BIG…

I almost went out to Vegas to cover it, based purely on that tease. I’m glad I stayed home.

For a while, Las Vegas tried to position itself as a family friendly destination but gave that up a few years ago to bring back the idea of Vegas as Sin City.  This was epitomized in the “What happens here stays here” campaign.

This campaign was very successful…  Now Vegas might even be thinking that it was too successful.

You see, Vegas is not just Sin City.  Its also Business Convention City.  That unfortunately was not part of the branding campaign so all people think of is Sin City.

So, not totally surprisingly last week President Obama said “You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime.”  Of course he did, the city does not advertise how many conventions it hosts.  Just that you shouldn’t talk about what goes on when you are in town to  attend them.

The “shocked” (as in: shocked, shocked that gambling is going on here) mayor is demanding an apology and retraction.

What can we learn here?  First, the “What happens here stays here” campaign did not reflect the total Las Vegas story.  And the lesson that if your brand does not reflect your true or full story, sooner or later it will come back to burn you.

Launch when Ready: Immediately following the announcement of Google Oceans, the Google Earth 5.0 software was made available for download on Google’s site.  Jornalists, bloggers, reviewers and just curious customers could download and begin taking a “plunge into the oceans of the world.” And while the product will expand over time as more people add addition ocean related content, on day-one there was lots and lots of content to look at.  I’m sure there were many happy experiences that day that began to build positive feelings about Google Oceans and reinforce the Google Earth brand.

In contrast, when the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) launched back in February of 2008 there was hardly any content available.  One article wrote “The version of the encyclopedia to be introduced Thursday is far from the finished product, Edwards warned. ‘It’s going to be rough,’ he said. ‘We’re releasing early to get feedback from people.’  And while there were technically 30,000 species listed, there were only 24 detailed fully written pages on launch day.

And while the site proved immensely popular (The encyclopedia’s Web site logged 11.5 million hits over 5½ hours) nowadays on a typical day there are just over 6,000 people who look at the site.  I’d guess that the initial lack of content was one factor for today’s low traffic.

And while the EOL claimed at launch they were targeting the scientific communiuty their launch reached a dream list of consumer publications.  Consumers saw, tried and developed impressions.  And we all know first impressions are lasting impressions.

Be Ready for Launch: When Google Oceans launched there were no reports of download problems. Everyone who wanted to try it probably had a good experience.

When the Encyclopedia of Life launched, FoxNews.com titled its article “Huge Online ‘Encyclopedia of Life’ Crashes Even Before Launch.”  (A similar thing happend to the search engine Cuil earlier this year after a New York times article.)

What’s interesting (scary?) is a quote from an EOL executive: “We’ve been overwhelmed by traffic.  We’re thrilled.”  Thrilled?  How many people tried to access the site that day, got slow or no results and never came back?

I understand how hard and expensive it can be to gear up for peak demand but if a comapny is going to spend marketing and PR dollars to reach the masses they need to be ready for the masses to respond.  You only make a first impression once.

In its usually secretive way, Apple does not usually discuss its values.  The only other statement of values I have seen from Apple is this 21-year-old document.  So, these few sentences give great insight into its approach and philosophy.

Here is what Tim said:
“The values of our company are extremely well entrenched.

We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products (and that’s not changing).  We’re constantly focusing on innovating.  We believe in the simple not the complex.  We believe we that need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.

We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.  We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.

And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company and we have the self honesty to admit when we are wrong and the courage to change.”

I am back from CES now but one of the companies that I was most impressed with was Eton.  They are the US distributor of Grundig shortwave radios.  If you’ve seen the Grundig lineup you know how daunting some of those products can be to use.

That is why I was so pleasantly surprised by Eton’s own line of crank radios.  First, the products seem to be engineered to be easy to use even though have many functions.  For example you’ll see in the picture that the main, most used functions have giant knobs while other lesser functions are controlled by much smaller buttons.

Eton clearly understands the philosophy of “be ready to support what you sell.”  The very first thing in their manuals is their phone support numbers and office hours.  Also, every product page has a downloadable PDF manual.

Finally, they seem to understand that “the little things count.”  Most of their radios have a port to charge a cell phone. So, Eton offers to send a charger tip to match a customers specific phone for free. Other companies would tack on a shipping charge or require customers to copy receipts, send in proof of purchase, etc.  In the same vein, Eton has a online parts store with many battery covers listed at reasonable prices.  How many electronic devices have you had in your life that had lost their battery cover?

I hope to be able to talk with Eton more to study what else they have have been doing right.

One of the companies I found today seems to be on the right track.  Myine Electonics has created an Internet Radio “Designed for the Non tech Savvy.”  Jake Sigal, the founder (who also invented the USB turntable for ION Audio) has a very strong philosophy about how a consumer product should be created and how a consumer company should run.

When I asked about support he let me know “There is a giant 800 number printed on the box.”  He has all employees in his company answering questions.

Jake seems to believe that you can create products that don’t need manuals but still understands they make people comfortable so he includes only quick start guides.

His advice for others who want to create great consumer products is that you can’t do it based on research but you need to “listen, listen, listen” to your customers.

Most important of all, Mynie has embraced the idea that less is more when it comes to consumer technology.  In fact, one of the company’s slogans is “Get Less.”

Keep your eye on Mynie, its products and Jake and I’m sure we’ll see more things done right.

Having spent nearly two decades launching consumer technology products and observing how others launch products, I tend to see the same mistakes come up again and again. It appears that different companies make similar mistakes because they allow the same corporate culture that drives the company every day to drive the launch process. For example, in mid-sized companies, while a CEO may be the best spokesperson for corporate news, investors and major sales pitches, sometimes they are not the right person to talk to the consumer technology press about a new product. The consumer technology press is often more interested in the product details than seeing how the CEO is doing or finding out how it fits into a corporate strategy. But often, because the corporate culture says “they are always the spokesperson,” the CEO is the person who ends up briefing the press. A CEO will often try to pack 40 hours of meetings and 36 hours of travel into a week when they are also trying to deal with every other activity that happens at launch time. Typically there is someone left in the office who is articulate, knows the product inside and out,  exudes passion and has more time to work with the media on the media’s schedule.

I have found that the following 10 tips can help companies avoid this big mistake and others companies typically make when launching consumer technology products:

1) Know a product’s weaknesses and problems ahead of time and figure out a way to address them. Nothing hurts a product more than negative comments in the press. All too often companies work so hard on trying to explain what is great about a product and never stop to look at the weaknesses. This can result in a product going to market with serious flaws-that are never addressed. When the press find these weaknesses the products typically take a beating. But if these weaknesses are addresses through slight repositioning or an explanation like “tradeoffs made during the design process,” the products tend to fare better in the end. The media will find a product’s weaknesses and problems, so it’s best to have a company’s own explanation out there.

2) Understand that there are two distinct audiences that need to be educated about a product at launch: Techies and consumers. While consumers are the purchasers of many new consumer technology products today, buyers still often turn to technically savvy friends for advice before purchase. If these techies don’t know about and believe in a product, consumers may stop considering it for purchase. Both consumers and techies learn about new products in different ways, from different media and with different vocabularies. A successful product launch will address both of these groups with separate strategies.

3) Send the best spokesperson as the spokesperson. Companies often default to sending the CEO or product manager on press tours, because “that is the way it’s always done.” Around launch time, the CEO or product manager sometimes gets so busy they don’t have adequate time to prepare for press tours and interviews.

If there are charismatic, articulate people who can represent the company and product well, let them be the spokespeople. Different media outlets also require different spokespeople. Send the passionate techies to the technology publications and send the plain-speaking, fashion-conscious people to the lifestyle publications.

4) Remember it’s still about messaging. Creating great messages is critical to all PR programs–especially product launches. Great product messages go beyond talking about what a product does to explain why that product is important. One of these messages always needs to be about newness or differentiation.

5) Consider that every product may not be for every person. The more a company can choose a target customer, the more successful the PR campaign. With so many products in every category and with so many niche media outlets, customer targeting is more important then ever. Products that try to target too wide an audience usually end up succeeding with none. The digital camera companies have mastered this. These companies understand that a $900 digital SLR is for photo enthusiasts, while a $249 point-and-shoot is family memory keepers. They design different PR campaigns for each audience.

6) Launching a product requires an integrated marketing approach-but not necessarily an identical marketing approach. Advertising, PR and other marketing functions need to be coordinated early in the launch-planning process. Although the campaign may carry some common themes, they do not need to be identical. One may be a brand building campaign and the other may be a sales driver.

7) Don’t launch too early. Often, the purpose of the PR campaign is to drive sales, so articles about the product in mainstream press should not appear until the product is available for consumers to purchase. Even with the best planning, there will be last-minute product delays, so this needs to be taken into account when planning the PR campaign.

Great PR photography is critical. The better product photos a company gives to the media the better chances it has of an article. Newspapers, magazines and online sites are always looking for great images but too often companies just repurpose advertising or packaging images. Companies need to study the media they want to be in and create photos that match the images those outlets typically use. In general a “pop-out” shot that shows the product on a white background and an “environment” shot that shows it with a simple subject (like a hand) are good starting points.

9) Realize how much the media has changed in the past few years. We are currently in the midst of a media revolution. Newspapers are becoming about analysis, not news. Talk radio is growing rapidly, and blogs are influencing the influencers.  The media in general, is moving faster and faster, and, thankfully for the technology industry, it’s once again interested in technology–even the most consumer-oriented publications. For companies, this means that the media list and approach that worked for last year’s product launch may not be the one that works for this year’s.

10) Hire a launch specialist. Launches are completely different types of activities than ongoing PR and marketing efforts. Launch specialists not only bring unique experience but they typically inject fresh energy and perspective just at the moment when others are burning out need it most.

Below is some of the coverage so far along with the release explaing it all.  I’ll update this post throughout the conference.

If interested in following DEMO, it will be broadcast live this year.

1) In USA Today, Ed Baig writes:

Silverstone Solutions Matchmaker: This may be the most unusual idea to appear at Demo in years, but it’s also potentially a lifesaver. Silverstone uses complex mathematical algorithms to match up incompatible “paired” kidney donors.  Founder David Jacobs (formerly with Microsoft, Macromedia and Marimba) got to work on the idea after his own (successful) kidney transplant.

2) CNET’s Daniel Tierderman writes an extensive article in which he says:

When President Obama talks about employing technology to improve the health care system, perhaps he’s talking about something like the kidney donation software developed by Silverstone Solutions.

(Personal comment: If you have not discovered Daniel‘s “Geek Gestalt” column/blog before, be sure to bookmark it.  Following Daniel’s annual summer tech road-trip is one of the most fun series on the Web.)

3) Larry Magid of CNET/CBS Radio does an extensive radio interview with David where you can hear David talk about the idea.

4) In the Wall Street Journal, Don Clark writes:

In one of the most unusual offerings, an entrepreneur named David Jacobs is describing a new version of software that was inspired by his struggle to find an organ donor when his kidneys failed. His start-up, called Silverstone Solutions Inc., has been working to help hospitals speed the process of matching patients with compatible living donors of kidneys — a tough mathematical problem that involves screening test results for blood types, antigens, age and other factors that could cause the body to reject a donated organ.

Mr. Jacobs said the system has already been used by a San Francisco hospital to match 23 pairs of donors and recipients, and he hopes to offer it to other institutions.

Finally, for Anyone interested in reading the press release itself, a copy can be obtained here.