Inbox Zero to reclaim your emailbox

Does it feel like you are spending more time in your Inbox than doing actual work?

I recently came across a great ten-part blog post on how to reclaim control of your email life:

http://www.43folders.com/2006/03/13/inbox-zero/

I keep trying to remember the link, and thought it would be best to post it in a place I would remember! Let me know how your “inbox zero” is going.

New Research Shows People Ignore Most Banner Ads

I subscribe to a great email list from the Jakob Nielsen that presents some great findings about usability of web applications and keys to web site design. The most recent “Alertbox” posting presented some startling research in relation to advertisements on websites and whether or not users look at these ads, let alone click on them.

The article is called “Banner Blindness: Old and New Findings”, and the most compelling piece of research are the eyetracking heatmaps for several test websites.

It turns out that common web surfers doing normal tasks on websites have essentially taught themselves, most likely sub-consciously, to avoid areas that appear to be ads. Eyes track away from headers or side bars, even if they contain relevant content that is not advertising. I know this happens with me: I find myself focussing on areas that are not ads.

So what does this mean for web advertisers? Just paying to place a generic ad into random websites, even if it is well produced, will most likely not result in many people clicking on that ad. In fact, the “impression” from that viewer will most likely not be an actual “impression”, because despite the fact that they viewed the page, they probably didn’t view the ad itself. This means the web advertising needs to be more site specific: work directly with the site you plan on advertising on to tailor your ad, or even for a “type” of site, and don’t rely on the fact that an impression means that you reached that individual person.

Cell Phone Block–A Hoax Email

I often receive emails, usually forwards from well intentioned people, about some dire situation that may or may not effect me. Generally I delete these emails, since I realize that if something is of that level of importance, I doubt I would only be hearing about it in a forwarded email.

One such email landed in my inbox this morning, and I thought I would take the time to, first, dispel the rumor in the email and, second, give people a resource to start tracking down whether information is true or an urban legend.

This version of the email goes:

REMINDER; 11 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. ……YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. It takes about 20 seconds   

The first thing I did was Google and it turns out that the phone number in the email is indeed the toll-free number for the National Do Not Call Registry. What’s ironic is the fact that if you actually visit their website there is a link explaining why you do not need to add your cell phone number to the Registry. Right there with a Google search, visiting the first website (an official Government website), and clicking on a link, the email is essentially debunked.

I have seen this email before and have researched it previously. The resource that I used before, and have for other Urban Legends from supposed credit card scams to Mircosoft paying you to forward emails, is Snopes.com. In this case, the article debunking this particular email forward can be found here.

Use this as a resource when you receive a forward that you are tempted to believe…and especially before you forward the email on yourself and continue to perpetuate the legend!

The New Apple iMac

I waited quite some time to upgrade my old iMac to a new iMac recently. I worked on one of those cool iMac G4’s from about 5 years ago–the one with the screen that sort of floated above the body and could rotate around–and it served me very well. Unfortunately earlier this year the hard drive gave out, and that coupled with the fact that my little iBook was now more powerful that it, made me realize it was time to upgrade.

I upgraded to a new iMac 24″, and couldn’t be happier. Then several weeks later, my friend Steve Jobs informed me that there in fact is a new iMac, and the machine that I just bought is in fact an old iMac! “Just my luck,” is what I said to myself (in addition to muttering like Yosemite Sam).

After checking out the new iMac, comparing the specs for the latest machine to my “new” machine, I realize that there’s not much difference. I mean sure, I don’t have a cool Aluminum looking unit with glossy screen that doesn’t coordinate with the iPhone, but I can live with that (ask my wife, I’m not too big on coordinating or matching). It turns out that I still have a top of the line machine which is a pleasure to use and runs like a race horse!

Lessons from Apple’s iPhone

I have a feeling that many people by now are familiar with Apple’s latest gadget, the iPhone. Many attribute it to Apple, Inc.’s powerful marketing machine, or maybe just Steve Job’s aura, or possibly die-hard Apple devotees that would buy anything Apple (anyone ever hear of Apple’s Newton?). Either way, awareness was amazingly high prior to the iPhone going on sale. Not only were they able to make most people aware of their version of the cell phone–a product market that has been around for quite some time–but people wanted it…craved it…and ended up standing in line for sometimes hours to get one! That could be chalked up to some sort of early adopter craze, but they went on to sell hundreds of thousands and may even pass the million mark by the end of this fiscal quarter! So what gives?

My take on this boils down not to the “coolness” of the gadget–by George, it’s plenty cool–but to their successful execution of the software. I have a Motorola flip-type phone, and sometimes fancy myself as “tech savvy”, but I honestly have the darndest time figuring out features on the thing. I get the buttons, but it’s more than that… I long ago gave up on trying to figure out the many features that I’m sure exist and I’m too lazy to dig up the manual to figure it out. I’ll make my calls, check my voicemail, and leave it at that, thank you very much.The iPhone, on the other hand, is truly intuitive. Apple is truly the master of software in terms of intuitiveness and user experience, and the iPhone is no except. I get how to use all of the features! Everyone that I know who has one, from tech-guru to regular person, “gets” how to use it. That speaks volumes for there software design. They designed their software so well, made it so much easier to use than the entrenched competitors’ software, and were able to immediately gain market share from them even in the face of large barriers like switching carriers and getting new phones (I’m sure that many AT&T/Cingular customers just bought new phones, but it’s been reported that a large portion that bought were new customers that had switched in order to buy the device).

The lesson, which applies to our business as a software design firm but can be extrapolated to other industries, is that if you are able to create a product that is simpler and works like the customer thinks (well-executed, of course), you may be able to gain market share rapidly despite going up against some long-established competitors. This may not work in all cases, but I think the iPhone experience speaks volumes for this.

Focus on what the customer does. Focus on how they think and how they would expect to use the software. Focus on slimming down features to what is essential–streamline. Make it look easy…make it look simple. If you’re able to do this well, and get the customers to try it and give them a sort of “night-and-day” experience, such as using the iPhone is to all other phones, you can expect to win over customers!

Key to Success in Business

Having worked in a number of different fields, from the beer industry to the nonprofit sector to the computer programming industry (which I still remember lovingly referring to as essentially the “New Economy” on my B-School application essays), I’ve had a chance to observe in action a wide variety of businesses and see what makes them tick, and why X business succeeds over Y business.

Of course, this is not to say that I’m some sort of expert on business. I think that my first-hand exposure to multiple industries, coupled with my amazing experience at UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management, really made me realize that I’ve only started learning about business, and I’ll never know everything. (I’m sure there’s some quote out there to the effect of ‘the more you learn, the less you know’–just too lazy to Google it right now!)

That said, the one common thread that I have observed for a business to be successful is that at its core it must help people. It sounds rather prosaic and not very earth-shattering, but over time this realization that a business must, at its core, help people (i.e., customers, other businesses, etc.) has been rising to the surface of my consciousness.

I think innately many entrepreneurs and business people are working from the perspective that they are out to help, whether it be by solving some problem with an invention, finding an easier way for people to do things, or by lending their expertise to help people in turn succeed. If, however, a person starts a business with the main goal of enriching themselves, they ultimately are setting him- or herself up for failure.

Taking a step back to this foundational level when starting a new business or even a new project–thinking “who are we helping, how are we helping them, and what is the best way to help them”–is critical for long-term success. Many do this already, in a sense, when the are identifying the customer or the target audience, but specifically taking this step from the outset will align your thinking and priorities with those you’re setting out to help.

Once you know who you’re helping and how, then you can focus on all the other critical components of business, but you will be heading in the direction of success from the beginning!