Taking a first step is hard. When you are faced with a massive undertaking or a big life change, taking that first step can be the hardest part to actually do, the rest is usually just a matter of momentum.
Having that last cigarette. Not that cigarette that you say is the last one, but deciding not to have that last cigarette at all and throwing out the whole pack is a very big deal.
Deciding to exercise regularly is easy. Actually getting up an hour earlier every morning so you can start you do a three mile run or take a yoga class before work is really hard to do.
Sometimes its good to have a push or a pull. I like the metaphor presented by these two robots - Pushya and Pullya.
One is gentle while the other use more urgent methods to get you going in the right direction. These mechanical imps could help overcome the usual barriers of doubt, procrastination, and the entrenchment of habit.
So how can we apply this to marketing? A lot of times marketing is about getting people to change their behavior to use or use more of your product or service. How do you get consumers to change their behavior to buy or use more of your product? Changing entrenched behavior can be hard, so what would Pushya or Pullya do to say, encourage people to use public transportation more often?
Pullya would get you bus passes and help map your route to work, while Pushya would empty your gas tank and put your car on Craigslist.
How would they get people to use more laundry detergent?
Pullya would organize a game of capture the flag with your friends in the park (think grass stains, sweat, and dirt) and help you plant a garden in the backyard, while Pushya would buy you an incontinent puppy.
How would the get people to put more money into savings and investments?
Pullya would take the change from your cash purchases and put them in a piggybank, while Pushya would take money out your paycheck for investments and automatically payoff you credit card bills every month.
How would Pushya and Pullya change your consumer's behavior?
Have you heard about Google Wave? No? Where on Earth have you been?! Check out these search stats:
That may not look that impressive in comparison to the best science fiction film to hit theaters since the venerable first Star Wars trilogy, but for something that was presented only to a bunch of Google devout application developers within the last month, that's pretty impressive.
So what is Google Wave? Google Wave pretty much recognizes the different ways in which people communicate (IM, email, blogs, photos, links, microblogging) and creates an open source hub where all of these communications can be integrated.
Here is a the video of the Google IO presentation. It's an hour long, so get comfy.
What are the key benefits?
Open source platform - this makes anyone with a great idea for the system capable of creating something for it. It also allows any individual, business, or network to use it as a private communications system or one that can link to other networks with a Wave.
Integration - move seamlessly between your blog, twitter, email, and IM. Suddenly conversations take place everywhere in every digital medium. Post your pictures once, share them via multiple channels. It makes everything that much more spreadable and actionable communication that much more efficient.
Automatic Archiving - it's one of the reasons why I prefer using Gmail over Hotmail. Using the archive button is so much less permanent than the delete button. If something becomes relevant later, I can always search for it and find it again. I can't do that after I delete an email.
So what does this mean for marketers?
Imagine online focus groups, webcam interviews, and message boards conducted on Wave's hub and spoke system. Suddenly all of your web conducted primary market research is in one place and can be played on a timeline.
How about entire social media campaigns capable of being run from one integrated dashboard accessible from any computer?
Better tracking for project management and more productivity inside and outside of meetings.
These are just a few potential options from off the top of my head. What marketing potential do you see from an integrated communications hub?
Update:
Ms. Jen has a marvelous (and much shorter) demonstration on her blog of how Wave works.
I've have always had a secret desire to be an international woman of mystery. Some jet setter fluent in multiple languages, ballroom dance capable, expert in multiple sports, able to bend computers and security systems to my will, a master escapist, and a menacing kung fu opponent with a slightly antagonistic relationship with the CIA, but so deftly good at my job that they keep sending me on missions critical to national security, but do not require actually killing anyone.
So the actual life if a spy is probably not for me, but the wealth of knowledge definitely has its allure. The trick is how do you learn everything? Enter TED and Tim Ferriss:
I wouldn't actually term it as feeling like the Incredible Hulk, but I do liken it to obtaining the skills to be your own International Man/Woman of Mystery by having the mindset capable of learning anything.
I've almost never learned anything of value or staying power in a traditional manner. Lectures and tests were well and good for short term knowledge, but nothing beats the Montessori method of learning through experience, fun, and practice. I have always believed that I could learn anything, I just needed to find the right way to think about and experience the task at hand.
I learned to swing dance by going dancing every weekend and dancing with lots of different partners. Am I a good technical dancer? No. Can I dance with almost anyone and follow just about any step? Yes. That makes me a good social dancer, and that's good enough for me. Now I just need to find a way to help Dave understand dancing well enough to feel comfortable leading me for the first dance at our wedding.
Dave and I plan to go to Japan for our honeymoon, so my next big learning project for myself is learning Kanji. I don't expect to be fluent by February, but I would at least like o be able to read a sign or a menu without being thoroughly confused. I bought a book on learning written Kanji, my friend Felicity gave me another book mostly for conversational comprehension, and I downloaded a few application on my iPhone for learning spoken and written Japanese.
Everyone has a slightly different way of learning things. Just because one method doesn't get you to that Ah Ha Moment, doesn't mean that you should give up. It just means that you need to figure out the method that works for you. Quitting is what impedes learning, not personal ability.
So, I have arrived in Vancouver, Canada to reside as long as they will have me or until find a permanent job somewhere else. Whichever comes first.
I'm jobless at the moment and leeching off Dave's surprisingly steady freelance income until I can start bringing home some bacon of my own. If anyone knows of any freelance projects going on at the moment, let me know. I'm trying to build a client base, so I can be flexible about the type of project and the compensation for the time being.
Crossing the border was surprisingly easy. I thought that my excessive amounts of luggage would draw the wrong kind of attention to myself, but the agents barely batted an eye and waved me along.
The weather up here has been gorgeous so far. Warm and sunny every day. I know it's a lie, but I'm enjoying the lie.
So, I'm on my way to becoming a Permanent Resident of Canada. What are the first things I need to do? Open a bank account (check), get a credit card to build a financial history (check), obtain a Canadian mobile number (check), and learn the metric system (???). I have been avoiding learning the metric system since I started dating Dave three years ago and trips to Canada became a regular occurrence, but I can avoid it no longer.
It's going to be a while before the conversions become second nature, but Dave gave me a way to do the Celsius conversions fairly easy in my head:
0˚ Celsius = 30˚ Fahrenheit
10˚ C = 50˚ F
20˚C = 70˚ F
30˚ C = 90˚ F
I could guesstimate the points in between. It wouldn't always be exact, but it would be pretty close.
Another surprisingly good conversion method/table is via the ubergeek web comic XKCD (click the image for the full size):
Got it? I don't either, but I'm trying.
Lucky for me Canada isn't pure metric. They measure weight in pounds and fluid in Liters and fluid ounces, and height in feet and inches. I'll still have to learn how to measure distance in kilometers, but it's still less of a challenge than say, Europe. Yay cultural permeability! Making the pot one of a melting nature since the beginning of time.
