“Is There an App For That?”
A few ways in which online services have messed
with the ways in which we see the real world
A few ways in which online services
have messed with the ways in which
we see the real world.
Jennifer Bove
Dot Dot Dot
June 10 2009
Hi, I’m Jennifer Bove. I’m a founder and principal at Kicker Studio. I’m here to talk about
online and offline services and the relationship between the two.

Technology has changed our
approach to solving problems
the real world.
Our relationship with technology, and specifically web services has changed the way we relate
to the real world.

It bothers me that I can’t ⌘-f finding my wallet.
Who hasn’t wished they could hit ⌘-F to find their missing wallet or keys?

Why can’t I make my iPhone into a ruler?
And a friend of mine mentioned the other day that she often finds herself reaching for her
iPhone when she needs to measure something, instead of looking for a ruler, as if measuring
with a phone is easier than a ruler. Turns out there are *several* apps for that.

(btw - I also found this.)
And I also found this, which has nothing to do with technology or services. Just another
approach to the measuring problem.

Our expectations of
real- world services have changed.
As service designers, this ever-growing reliance on technology means two things: Our users’
mindsets have changed, and this makes designing offline services more challenging. But this
same technology provides new opportunities for seamlessness when combining the online
and offline within a service experience.

Immediacy
We want everything yesterday. And thanks to smart phones, we walk around with answers in
our pockets.

Realtime
Services like Google text and KGB provide near-realtime responses to dumbest questions -
who texts these things?

Realtime
And there’s lazyweb. I don’t even have to do the research myself anymore. I just throw
questions out there and the internets answer it. Instant gratification. Love it.

Still takes two days
But we’re so used to near real-time internet response times that our expectations for offline
timelines are skewed.
The U.S. mail takes *two* days -- how many of you still send letters? This is something to
think about as service designers -- what is the timeline of your service? What is the response
time? How do you design for your users’ appetite for instant gratification?

Co-created
The online services are all about participation. Many of the websites we know and love are
often crowd sourced, or co-created.

• listings
• zagat
• recipes
• mashups
Crowd-sourced
information authority
Sites like Wikipedia...

Everybody’s home movies
and You-Tube rely on users to create the content that other users will consume. For these
services to work, users have to *participate*. This is co-creation model presents an
opportunity for service designers as well.

“...the biggest untapped resource in the NHS is people themselves: how can we
harness the power and expertise of patients and their families to co-create better
health outcomes?” - http://www.designcouncil.info/mt/RED/health/
The UK Design Council has done several studies in co creating services, like this service for
encouraging activity among seniors called “Active Mobs.” They’ve found that by involving
users in the creation process, giving them accountability for the service, they’re more likely to
participate and it’s more likely to succeed.

A voice
With participation comes a sense of voice. Everybody has an opinion, and the web lets
everyone share it.

News that people dig(g)
Digg surfaces news stories based on readers’ votes.

Scoring designs
And Threadless chooses teeshirt designs based on popular scoring. These sites capitalize on
the opinions of the masses, giving users a place to express their preferences and see the
impact of their opinions online.

Connecting consumers
to companies
Many offline services have started using the web to a similar effect. Some use Get
Satisfaction, an SF-based start up that gives people a neutral platform for communicating
with companies (and other customers) for questions, comments and customer support.

Customer outreach
Comcast was one of the first companies use Twitter to actively address service needs and
concerns. They *pay* people to tweet, and it works.

Consumer wrath
Consumers are not shy about to telling companies exactly what they think, in public, and real
time. Technology-enabled social media makes it easier than ever to create a groundswell of
feedback, and companies listen. These new ways of speaking up aren’t going anywhere, and
can be incorporated into service delivery and quality assurance in new and interesting ways.

Expertise
These days we’re armed with much more knowledge than we used to be.

How much does a carpenter charge?
Thanks to the web, we have access to myriad experts, and can quickly learn all we need to
prepare ourselves for new service experiences.

What do I do about a bee sting?(true story)
We can find expert advice without ever dealing with an actual person.

Will this cartridge work with my printer?
The availability of expert information online has changed our expectations of offline services
-- it's easy to forget that people are not computers, nor have they memorized the contents
therein. However knowledgeable a service provider may be, their differentiator is no longer
exclusive access to information. But the opportunity lies in how they use the information and
the human quality of their expertise. There's a reason we still consult doctors instead of
relying on WebMD.

Customization
One of the advantages of online services is that they can track user behavior and provide
opportunities for customization.

I can program my TiVO to
pick shows I might like
I can train TiVO on my TV taste...

I can make lists, or shop
based on previous orders
And keep track of my staples at my online grocer. Sadly, my Safeway Grocery down the street
never remembers what I usually buy from them -- I have to do all the work myself.

Zipcar knows what I need from
them at each stage of the service
Zipcar uses multiple platforms well to customize their service delivery based on context.
Because they’re tracking your experience over time, they can surface what you might need
when and where you’re most likely to need it. So one the web the service experience starts
with searching for available rentals. But when you’ve rented a car and you call them, the first
option is to extend your rental time. And now they’ve got an app for finding and unlocking
the car you’ve just rented. It all fits together to enable a seamless offline experience.

real example
But “quick cash” always
asks me “how much?”
It has to make you wonder... how come the ATM still doesn’t know what we mean by Quick
Cash?

How do we decide whether
there should there be an app
for that?
What are the qualities we
want to hold onto in a world
where everything is data?
All of this is to say: not everything needs to be online and in our pockets, but our habits have
come to expect that. How do we design for smart and effective use of technology to enable
better experiences in the real world? And what are the qualities that can differentiate the
services we design in a world where our users are so plugged in?

Thank you.
Thanks!