Product Metaphor

[Joshua Kerievsky]

Hi Folks,

I recently blogged about Product Metapor.  Would love to discuss that topic if it interests you. 

http://bit.ly/ch1ztZ

--
best,
jk

--
Joshua Kerievsky
Founder, CEO
Industrial Logic, Inc.
Web: http://industriallogic.com
Twitter: @JoshuaKerievsky, @IndustrialLogic

Amplify Your Agility
Coaching | Training | Assessment | eLearning

[Nat Pryce]

I find interesting that you left out features that did not fit the metaphor. For example, replies and threading.

That can be a good thing. Fir example, Apple do well by releasing products with fewer features than their competitors but ensuring those features work well & combine into a truly compelling product (if you disregard iTunes & the MacOS Finder!).

But conversely, picking a metaphor too soon might constrain how a product can do while remaining coherent.

--Nat 

www.natpryce.com

[Joshua Kerievsky]

On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 1:09 AM, Nat Pryce <nat....@gmail.com> wrote:

I find interesting that you left out features that did not fit the metaphor. For example, replies and threading.

Hi Nat,

I wasn't comprehensive in the blog, so leaving out "replies" wasn't intentional. 

"Replies" and TV certainly have a fit.  Viewers "reply" to questions on TV all the time - they phone/text in, someone replies, they may have a chance to say more...another caller phones/texts in... etc.  

I also didn't bring up the idea of "TV show" in the metaphor -- I think it would take a bit more thinking to decide where the concept of "show" fits in.  Is a "show" some topic that you like to discuss?    Certainly "shows" in TV land usually have designated times when they air, yet with DVRs/VCRs, people these days watch them whenever they want, fast forward through commercials, etc.  I wonder if the concept of "shows" would be useful to us in Twitter?

 

That can be a good thing. Fir example, Apple do well by releasing products with fewer features than their competitors but ensuring those features work well & combine into a truly compelling product (if you disregard iTunes & the MacOS Finder!).

But conversely, picking a metaphor too soon might constrain how a product can do while remaining coherent.

All of my real-world experience with product metaphors has been "redesigning" to the metaphor, not really spontaneously thinking of it before a product exists.  

Something like Flipboard (http://www.flipboard.com/) feels like it couldn't exist without Facebook/Twitter/etc. existing first and folks wanting a better experience from those products/services.

best

jk