In this chapter of Made to Stick, Heath and Heath discuss simplicity. Simplicity is key when people are planning something, such as an event or, like the book said, an attack, or when people are communicating a message to a group of people. The Army planning their next moves play in to both of these aspects. The authors mention that in the end the long, drawn out, and complicated plans do not work. They need a plan that focuses more on the next step/the 'how to' complete that next task.
Heath and Heath talk about decision paralysis. I found this section very interesting because I find that this is true in my life. I do not like to make decisions, but when I am offered options, I do not like to choose, especially when there are more than two options. When someone suggest three or more places to eat or things to do, I find myself stumped and I choose the one I would most likely not choose if the person had offered a good choice and a bad choice.
It is good to remember not to focus on so many details. It is good details flow together and create a clean overall image or idea, but it is also good to not be so nit-picky. This is represented in all types of print journalism and other things, like blogs or websites.
I think you're right that most people would rather not make decisions. There's definitely a catch-22 because people want to feel like they have a choice, but ultimately want the choice to be made for them. This really resonates with the social media format, because while users really appreciate the options of all of the different sites at their fingertips, once they're committed to a site, they don't want to make many decisions after that, and if they do, those decisions need to be fairly low impact. Twitter for example, does a great job at maximizing the simplicity factor you mentioned at the beginning and they also allow for customizability with who to follow, while not overwhelming the user with decisions.
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate to what both of you have to say. I'm not the most tech savvy guy in the world, and once I'm comfortable with something I finally know how to use, I generally stick with it for a long time. A social media site to me is like your first car. You never really want to let go. Not only am I committed to a site, I'm also knowledgeable about it too. In addition, I know exactly how decision paralysis goes. It is easy to become indecisive when you are presented with too many options. Therefore, social media sites that offer too many options at the beginning are often intimidating and overwhelming. I'd rather stick to what I know, unless that other site wants to make it simple for me. Give me one direction and let me run with it!
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