At this year's SXSW I didn't feel like pulling out my laptop to take notes. Instead, I mastered the iPhone keyboard and jotted down some quick notes from the more interesting sessions. Here are my notes from Kathy Sierra's excellent talk on helping your users kick ass.
20 Things You Could Do To Help Your Users Kick Ass
How do we help our users kick ass?
We don't want the user talking about us or our product. We want them talking about their experience.
The hi-res user experience: Change the way you view your world.
Nueroscience: Environment can inhibit brain growth.
Difference between natural and acquired talents.
It's not about natural talent its about the ability to take the time to practice.
You just need to put in the time.
You need to give them shortcuts.
"We need a rage to master."
1. Use telepathy
it started with a monkey.
two flavors of mirror neurons
Just being able to read expressions. It's like you're simulating what they're thinking.
For visualization - if you imagine seeing what you would see if you did it.
2. Serendipity
Psychic shuffle
people believe the random selection on the iPod shuffle know what they wanted to hear next.
3. Add dog ears effect
Attention to detail
Fluidity
4. Use Joy5. Inspire first-person language.
how can we build our products so that users talk about their experiences and not the product I company?
7. Easter eggs8. Tools for evangelism
Twitter in plain English video on youtube
help users defend this "totally lame waste of time"
Sleeptracker
9. Exercise the brain
Increase the performance of your brain?
Exercise
10. Help people exercise their body11. Give them super powers13. Speeds their knowledge acquisition
what can we do to keep people pushing forward
learn to do knowledge acquisition
give people patterns
15. Help with the reinvestment of mental resources into new problemsSpeaking of twitter - we have to give people a chance to focus
Attention offsets
Maybe a meditation retreat
16. Make users heros
No dumb questions
No dumb answers
Teach the community how to ask good questions.
17. Do NOT insist on "inclusivity"
Jargon is good
Passionate users talk differently
18. Practice seductive opacity.
Brains like mystery
19. Atoms are not old school19.5 Do what this guy does - in reference to Gary Vaynerchuk.