This and That: 04.02.10

+ I have made it to Friday! Woohoo. Heres's a few things I've been reading today.

52weeksofUX.com is a site with tons of great reads on User Experience. I have only gone through a few so far, but it is definitely worth it. 10 Principles of UX is perfect for sharing with those who aren't totally hip to the benefit of good UX. I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks posts (and going back to read the prior ones I've got waiting for me).

WSJ looks at how location-based social networks (LBSN) might have a drop off rate if people experience "check-in" fatigue. During my vacation last week, I experimented with FourSquare, Gowalla and Yelp. Prior to that, I'd kept up on the news about it, how it worked, etc, but wasn't actually using it. I didn't get the point. Why do people care where I am? Do I want to let people know where I am? What's the value? This is a bigger question being asked by quite a lot of people, especially now as the LBSN arena grows. Yelp added the ability to check-in on their mobile application earlier this year. There are rumors that Facebook is going to be incorporating a similar feature.

“It’s about looking beyond the check-in,” said Josh Williams, chief executive of Gowalla. “The gross marginal value of checking in will go down over time” unless people keep finding new reasons to check in.

Rather than viewing location broadcasts as compromising one’s privacy, millions of users are happy to constantly apprise the world of where they are – provided there is something in it for them, the panelists said.

What's in it for them? Rewards for being the mayor? Founder? Unlocking coupons? It will be interesting to see where this goes in 5 years from now.

Brands need to become cultural artifacts rather than existing in vacuumed silos or categories, argues Colin Drummond, head of Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s cultural and business insights. He brings up some great points that are definitely thought-provoking and something I will keep in mind.

It means every single brand out there has a golden opportunity to be more broadly relevant than they are today. Every brand can be telling a bigger story that will in turn help people in culture tell their own story better. We must think about how we can be useful to people as they negotiate culture. Instead of just thinking about how our brands can be of benefit within a category, we must think about how our brands can be of benefit within culture. Instead of just thinking about how our brands can differentiate on the basis of product or service attribute, we must think about how our brands can differentiate within culture.

It requires some bravery on the part of clients and their agencies - a different vision and definition of success. It’s so tempting to focus on category because it gives a specific reason to buy. When you go outside the category, you’re likely treading in more emotional territory. Strategy grounded in culture works on a different pathway: on conversation that leads to a deeper and broader relevance, seemingly indirect but ultimately way more intriguing.