{"id":3996,"date":"2016-10-22T12:47:51","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T11:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marvel7077.wpengine.com\/?p=3996"},"modified":"2020-09-03T12:53:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T11:53:34","slug":"in-search-of-the-ultimate-user-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/blog\/in-search-of-the-ultimate-user-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of the Ultimate User Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part I: Experience is everything<\/h2>\n

The origin of imagination<\/h3>\n

Around 70,000 years ago, Sapiens figuratively ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, and a mutation occurred that scientists still can\u2019t explain to this day. According to Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind<\/em>, between 70,000 and 30,000 years ago, new ways of thinking and communicating suddenly propelled Homo Sapiens to the top of the food chain.<\/p>\n

This \u2018mutation\u2019 led to the invention of boats, oil lamps, and the bow and arrow. The sewing needle enabled entire tribes to shed the fig leaf and stay warm during harsh winters. Spear technology (circa 45,000 B.C.) was useful for hunting and defense from predators. Shelter gradually improved and gave sanctuary from sabre-toothed tigers and those nasty honey badgers<\/a> (wretched creatures). This period also saw the birth of religion and commerce.<\/p>\n

According to Harari, many archaeologists and researchers attribute these accomplishments to a revolution (or mutation) in Sapien\u2019s cognitive abilities. Specifically the unique ability to transmit information about things that do not exist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\"We evolved to the point that many people can no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality.\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s right. The capacity to make things up<\/em> not only accelerated our development, but fashioned the world in our image. Before the rise of this superpower, anthropologists speculate Sapiens could only communicate about things that were real\u2014like animals, trees, and immediate threats.<\/p>\n

Sapien\u2019s \u2018creative gene\u2019 kickstarted the collective imagination and led to the birth of storytelling, tools, weapons, and the formation of new social structures. We evolved to the point that many people can no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Making things up<\/em> not only saved our species from extinction, but opened the spigots for a new world of makers and users.<\/p>\n

Makers and users<\/h3>\n
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\"Makers make new things or make things better. And users use something that someone made.\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

There are two roles people take on when it comes to products and services\u2014either you\u2019re the maker<\/strong> or you\u2019re the user<\/strong>. Makers make new<\/em> things or make things better<\/em>. And users use<\/em> something that someone made. Pretty simple, right?<\/p>\n

Initially, our species\u2019 survival depended on this relationship. But when survival is pretty much guaranteed, why would people continue to make more things?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simple. Because we can always improve<\/em>. It\u2019s as if there\u2019s a universal law that rejects perfection<\/em>, making evolution the natural order of the universe. Perfection teases you like the distant horizon. You can walk toward it till your shoes fall off, but you\u2019ll never get there. Still, many makers commit to the journey of perfection\u2014knowing they\u2019ll never reach it.<\/p>\n

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\"Perfection teases you like the distant horizon.\" <\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

Besides, all this making<\/em> and using<\/em> over the centuries spawned new sets of problems. Solutions meant to solve critical issues of the day morphed into even bigger headaches later down the road. For makers, it\u2019s difficult to predict how someone will use any given product. How often are products misused or overused by users? The very definition of unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

Take the wheel, for example. Sure, the wheel made transportation easier, but what if wheel technology ultimately results in non-stop pollution and uninhabitable environments? Take a look at Beijing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"For makers, it\u2019s difficult to predict how someone will use any given product.\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

Still, inventions improved over time, and new tools enabled makers to produce things faster and with less effort. But advancements in technology don\u2019t always translate to a better world to live in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.\u201d \u2014Buckminster Fuller<\/span><\/p>\n

The empathy gap<\/h3>\n

Maybe you heard some old-timer say, \u201cWe made things better<\/em> back in my day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks for the reminder, gramps. But it\u2019s helpful to understand why<\/em> that is. Perhaps you made things better because you were less dependent on machines to finish the jobs for you. Or maybe you were better craftsmen and women. There could be a number of reasons.<\/p>\n

But we do know one contributing factor. Sometime during the Industrial Age (and well into the Information Age) the empathy gap between makers and users widened. In his book, Wired to Care<\/em>, Dev Patnaik points this out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all of the Industrial Revolution\u2019s wonderful impacts on the ability of the average person to go into business, it also created a giant rift between producers and consumers. Nearly overnight, we went from a world of face-to-face commercial transactions to a world that was simultaneously more connected and further apart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Opportunists ran after fast money, ignoring users along the way. While other makers focused on solving real problems for people, including themselves (makers often begin as their primary users). Digital technology disrupted markets to such an extent that a team of 13 people (Instagram) could take on a company of 6,500 (Kodak) and eat their lunch.<\/p>\n

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\"Users aren\u2019t stuck with a single product or service anymore, and they know it.\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

The spike in the total number of makers means that users have more options. Users aren\u2019t stuck with a single product or service anymore, and they know it. Today, makers have to rethink the entire process of building things just to remain competitive.<\/p>\n

For many, this means getting back to basics.<\/p>\n

Everything\u2019s made up<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget in your day-to-day affairs, but it bears repeating: everything\u2019s made up<\/em>. Well, everything except nature, obviously, and the known universe. Besides those things, humans created everything else.<\/p>\n

Phones, computers, apps, and all technology\u2014made up. Companies, nonprofits, and the organizations that shape and move economies\u2014made up. Books are too, and all the ideas within them. The publishing companies, distributors, and Hollywood itself (turning all those books into movies)\u2014all made up.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it\u2026 Once you learn that, you\u2019ll never be the same again.\u201d \u2014Steve Jobs<\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t stop there. Policies, rules, laws, and the governments that enforce those laws\u2014all made up, too. Buildings, houses, streets, neighborhoods, communities, and cities everywhere are the product of zillions of people\u2019s ideas. You get the point.<\/p>\n

If I were to sketch the miraculous process of stuff-making<\/em>, it would look something like this:<\/p>\n