Comments on: The Disposable Experience http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/ Tasty Little Nuggets of Design and Innovation Goodness Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:34:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: niblettes http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-160 niblettes Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:52:34 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-160 Stew, Really good point (yeah, i've heard that rumour about MTV having played music at some point in time--i think its just an urban myth though). Check this... http://www.slowlab.net/ideas.html Stew,

Really good point (yeah, i’ve heard that rumour about MTV having played music at some point in time–i think its just an urban myth though).

Check this…

http://www.slowlab.net/ideas.html

]]> By: Stew http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-152 Stew Fri, 17 Mar 2006 11:07:44 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-152 It's fairly simple. There are so many people and so many companies. Marketing and advertising companies want communicate and get their experiences in edgewards when ever they can. So instead of a paper cup, you have themed cup. Instead of a coffee store it becomes an experience. Everyone wants you to have an experience, their experience. The web is full of microsites with expereinces, going to see a film isnt just goign to see a film but it's about the whole experience. People are not content with just keeping things simple and in the raw because it makes less money. Therefore any good experience is jumped upon to associate another expeirence that can make money. For example in the US some bright spark descided to add an ad break before the credits - just to get a few more experiences in there (an ad is an experience after all). It's a bunch of folks competing to give us the best experience but are spoiling it all for everyone by shouting over everyone. And the prime example? MTV (what used to be music TV but is not money TV). Didnt they used to play music videos (self contained experiences that lasted the length of the song)? The solution. Don't buy in. You don't need 1000 songs carried around with you. You don't need more. You don't need it here and you don't need it now. Things need less, slower, possibly ten minutes walk away. Become part of the Slow Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_movement). Stew Dean It’s fairly simple. There are so many people and so many companies. Marketing and advertising companies want communicate and get their experiences in edgewards when ever they can. So instead of a paper cup, you have themed cup. Instead of a coffee store it becomes an experience. Everyone wants you to have an experience, their experience. The web is full of microsites with expereinces, going to see a film isnt just goign to see a film but it’s about the whole experience. People are not content with just keeping things simple and in the raw because it makes less money.

Therefore any good experience is jumped upon to associate another expeirence that can make money. For example in the US some bright spark descided to add an ad break before the credits - just to get a few more experiences in there (an ad is an experience after all).

It’s a bunch of folks competing to give us the best experience but are spoiling it all for everyone by shouting over everyone.

And the prime example? MTV (what used to be music TV but is not money TV). Didnt they used to play music videos (self contained experiences that lasted the length of the song)?

The solution. Don’t buy in. You don’t need 1000 songs carried around with you. You don’t need more. You don’t need it here and you don’t need it now. Things need less, slower, possibly ten minutes walk away.

Become part of the Slow Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_movement).

Stew Dean

]]> By: niblettes http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-143 niblettes Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:02:18 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-143 All hail McLuhan! His echoes seem to be everywhere. All hail McLuhan! His echoes seem to be everywhere.

]]> By: Niti Bhan http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-140 Niti Bhan Thu, 16 Mar 2006 05:05:40 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-140 niblettes said : I listen to it in a very different way from how I listen to it as an mp3. It seems to be a function of the medium itself. Echoes of Grandmaster McLuhan, of course niblettes said : I listen to it in a very different way from how I listen to it as an mp3. It seems to be a function of the medium itself.

Echoes of Grandmaster McLuhan, of course

]]> By: niblettes http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-113 niblettes Tue, 14 Mar 2006 16:51:12 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-113 Admittedly, some of them will be going back to the .99cent bin. Douglass, Yes I'm sure the kids love the Rainforest Cafe. When I was a kid we loved McDonalds. Surely we aren't going to judge the meaning of experiences by how much children enjoy them? Enjoyment is beside the point though. One can easily enjoy something complete disposable--that doesn't change its essential disposability. Let me ask this: after they're done with the Cafe, does it have any lasting impact? Does the experience have any meaning for them beyond the visceral thrill of its theme-park atmosphere? Even though it may be thoroughly enjoyable for the kids, is it not still an entirely disposable experience? Admittedly, some of them will be going back to the .99cent bin.

Douglass,

Yes I’m sure the kids love the Rainforest Cafe. When I was a kid we loved McDonalds. Surely we aren’t going to judge the meaning of experiences by how much children enjoy them?

Enjoyment is beside the point though. One can easily enjoy something complete disposable–that doesn’t change its essential disposability.

Let me ask this: after they’re done with the Cafe, does it have any lasting impact? Does the experience have any meaning for them beyond the visceral thrill of its theme-park atmosphere? Even though it may be thoroughly enjoyable for the kids, is it not still an entirely disposable experience?

]]> By: tamberg http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-112 tamberg Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:20:02 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-112 cautious. cautious.

]]> By: tamberg http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-111 tamberg Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:18:46 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-111 Be caucious with vinyl records. Just moved more than 3'000 of them to my new home. Be caucious with vinyl records. Just moved more than 3′000 of them to my new home.

]]> By: Douglass Turner http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-109 Douglass Turner Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:04:39 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-109 Ah, Rainforest Café. Do you happen to have children? I do and mine go nuts for the place. Erzatz? You bet. But hey, I'll take. The lame mechanical snake and alligator is actually kinda cool. For about 5 seconds. -Doug Ah, Rainforest Café. Do you happen to have children? I do and mine go nuts for the place. Erzatz? You bet. But hey, I’ll take. The lame mechanical snake and alligator is actually kinda cool. For about 5 seconds.

-Doug

]]> By: niblettes http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-108 niblettes Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:18:35 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-108 I'm glad you brought up LPs. I never owned a vinyl record till about 6 months ago. Now I have a stack. And I listen to them on one of those single speak record-player-in-a-suit-case kind of things. One of my new LPs is a scratched copy of Miles Davis's Something Blue I found in a 99cent bin. And you what? I listen to it in a very different way from how I listen to it as an mp3. It seems to be a function of the medium itself. Certainly new distribution technologies open up all sorts of new possibilities. But as Picasso says, every act of creation is an act of destruction. If this is true, then as designers we need to always wonder what we're destroying with our creations? Is this worth it? Can we find a way to harmonize the new and old values? PS I thought of The Experience Economy as I wrote this. But I thought of it because I always felt they really misunderstand experience, beyond something to be packaged and sold. Take their Rainforest Café example. I cannot imagine a less fake, less authentic, less fulfilling experience. Yet they laud it. <a href="http://confablab.com/blacksheep/" target="lacksheepblog" rel="nofollow">Black Sheep</a> even <a href="http://confablab.com/blacksheep/?p=44" target="blacksheepexperience" rel="nofollow">mentions this example recently</a>. Ironically, I did feel somewhat transformed by music back in the day (jeez, I’m gonna start sounding like grandpa Simpson soon) long before the experience designers of Yahoo! started clicking their keyboards. I’m glad you brought up LPs. I never owned a vinyl record till about 6 months ago. Now I have a stack. And I listen to them on one of those single speak record-player-in-a-suit-case kind of things.

One of my new LPs is a scratched copy of Miles Davis’s Something Blue I found in a 99cent bin. And you what? I listen to it in a very different way from how I listen to it as an mp3. It seems to be a function of the medium itself.

Certainly new distribution technologies open up all sorts of new possibilities. But as Picasso says, every act of creation is an act of destruction. If this is true, then as designers we need to always wonder what we’re destroying with our creations? Is this worth it? Can we find a way to harmonize the new and old values?

PS
I thought of The Experience Economy as I wrote this. But I thought of it because I always felt they really misunderstand experience, beyond something to be packaged and sold. Take their Rainforest Café example. I cannot imagine a less fake, less authentic, less fulfilling experience. Yet they laud it. Black Sheep even mentions this example recently.

Ironically, I did feel somewhat transformed by music back in the day (jeez, I’m gonna start sounding like grandpa Simpson soon) long before the experience designers of Yahoo! started clicking their keyboards.

]]> By: Dmitry http://www.niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-107 Dmitry Mon, 13 Mar 2006 21:57:34 +0000 http://niblettes.com/blog/2006/03/13/the-disposable-experience/#comment-107 Interesting question. I would say that we are now seeing the emergence of a spectrum of experiences (from mass-made and disposable to customized and memorable) similar to that of products. To use your example of musical experience, even as the market for portable and disposable musical experience is growing, so is the one for rare and one-of-a-kind music experience (cf. the rebirth of the LP). At the same time, to use Pine and Gilmore's terms, the Experience Economy is still young, and it may take some time before it is replaced by the Transformation Economy. Interesting question. I would say that we are now seeing the emergence of a spectrum of experiences (from mass-made and disposable to customized and memorable) similar to that of products. To use your example of musical experience, even as the market for portable and disposable musical experience is growing, so is the one for rare and one-of-a-kind music experience (cf. the rebirth of the LP). At the same time, to use Pine and Gilmore’s terms, the Experience Economy is still young, and it may take some time before it is replaced by the Transformation Economy.

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