8 Principles Presented By Feedburner's Co-Founder,
and my own take on how they apply to off-line networking.
Matt Shobe, co-founder of Feedburner (now apart of Google), gave a presentation in Seattle last night on UX design at the tech startup accelerator, the Founder Institute. He explained that user design and experience is about how people perceive you (and your company), and he provided 8 Principles to creating positive user experiences.
I am writing about them today because I was struck by their potential for other uses. It may require stretching the imagination for a few (take #1, for example: fast is not always better), but these principles are applicable for professional, in-person networking, as well as in the online community.In short, it's a good chunk of general advice:
8 Principles To Providing Positive User Experiences
Presented by Matt Shobe, 01/24/2011
1. Be Fast - As fast a technical experience as possible and no unnecessary roadblocks.
In other situations, it may be a good idea to be direct, straightforward, and/or to not waste other people's time.
2. Be Yourself - Allow your personality & style to reflect in the experience.
In person, this shows authenticity and also leaves a unique impression on the people you meet. This will not only keep you memorable and honest to others, but it will help you identify people who you do and don't want to work with.
3. Engage In Conversations - Your user's experience will increase tremendously if you go out and say "hey, I heard you and am working on it"., and if you have the humility to say "we screwed up and it won't happen again", you're winning yourself a 2nd or even a 3rd chance.
My own experience tells me that if you don't bring it up- at a party, at a networking event, etc- nobody will no about "it" or you. You MUST start- and engage in- the conversation in order to get what you want. Engaging others in a conversation also helps them know where you're coming from- which is less stressful than trying to guess.
4. Be Willing To Give Up Control - Meaning, unless you're product is photography, save your time and energy and just use iStockPhoto. You don't have to do it all from scratch.
Similar to Matt's explanation, you don't have to do everything yourself. It is okay to seek help. John Assaraf and Murray Smith, authors of The Answer
, suggest that you "find people who play at those things that for you are work". Plus, you'll be happier and more fun to be around if you're willing to give up some control.
5. Be Polite - This refers not only to you as a person, but your product. Put yourself in the user's shoes: how would you like the product to address you?
Use this principle if you don't want to leave a bad impression with people after doing anything that involves other people. Period.
6. Prepare for Failure -
... On your user's part. Users will come up with ways you never thought of to use- or screw up- your product.
I would apply this one as preparing for events to unfold unexpectedly, despite your careful planning and coordinating. I'm confident there are other uses to this Principle and networking...
Any ideas, people?
7. Be Reliable - Example: nobody will use the online product if it crashes often & without warning.
Reliability translates to "trust capital". If people can't rely on you to be somewhere at a certain time, or to provide top-notch work regardless of your personal life, then they'll find somebody else.
8. Be Surprising - Provide good surprises that will delight your users.
This eighth principle is what started me on this blog in the first place. How can somebody be surprising? A "surprise" means that the action or thing wasn't predictable. Thus an idea for a great exercise in expanding one's comfort zones:
Ask, "How can I be surprising?"
I actually managed to intimidate myself with the vastness of the question. So I clarified:
"How can I be surprising today?"
I ask myself this question as a challenge to push myself beyond what is is comfortable and normal.
In networking, I challenge myself to approach someone who I was intimidated to approach in the past, to ask for something that I was to afraid to ask for before, or to create original business cards whose colors and shapes stand out among the many collected during an event.
I surprised myself when I started this blog and realized that I love to write.
These are only a few examples in the context of networking, and I would like to hear your own thoughts beyond this:
How can you be surprising today?