How do we design for the realities of human behavior?

That seemed to be the driving theme in BJ Fogg’s Designing for Behavior Change: Human Nature, Hot Triggers and New Habits workshop in Day 3 at UX Week in San Francisco.

The premise was clear: much of first generation of digital design (websites, applications, and related tools) has focused on providing as much information as possible to audiences in order to encourage them to take action. This is commonly referred to as the information (action) fallacy. And it’s been proven to not work. A lot of evidence shows people don’t consume vast amounts of  information in the way that typical information systems present it.

Another reality advertisers are coming to terms with: most research shows attitudinal change in people doesn’t correlate to changing behavior. People generally say one thing, and then do another. In addition, a lot of advertising focuses on enforcing ambient/passive awareness of messages and brands in traditional channels of communication. These also have been proven to not be terribly efficient or effective, either.

So, what really works?

In digital experiences, we need to rethink our context. We need to learn how to trigger able, motivated people to take action while in the normal flow and environment of their habitual lives. To understand this landscape of behavior change in people is to master this guiding principle of designing systems and tools for user experience:

Put “Hot Triggers” in the the path of (able) motivated people.

Let’s start with the “motivated” person. For instance, it’s easier to place carrots or “triggers” in the paths of able, motivated people than it is to go after unmotivated people first, and persuade them to do something differently.

•    Example: To encourage bicycle commuting, experience designers hand out easy-to-access bike trail maps to people who own bikes (bike owners are “able”) and want to bike to work (they are also “motivated”), but don’t know the best or most effective routes, or simply need that extra incentive or reason to take action. The activity of the hand out, of course, occurs at the right time–when people are considering their biking routine, for example.

Let’s now talk “Hot Triggers.” Hot triggers are devices that entice, instigate or catalyze action or inaction at the appropriate time (my definition). For example, digital tactics used in the correct context, like email and texting, have proven to be effective in this regard. Mostly because the penetration and adoption of these two channels of communication are so ubiquitous (many of our audiences are ABLE to use these channels). Sometimes these very simple tools are overlooked when trying to engage online audiences. Examples:

•    Facebook has mastered email triggers to drive traffic back into the social experience to enhance engagement and encourage ongoing interaction.
•    Facebook also uses simple behavioral devices (the ‘Like’ button) to tip users’ affinities in the direction of digital communities they associate with.
•    Ebay encourages honest online behavior by incorporating rating systems for buyers to comment on and rank sellers.

Apparently simple stuff, right?

There are a lot more dimensions to this concept that I simply cannot cover in one blog post. So I’ll end by asking some questions that, if answered correctly, can put you on the track to designing better, more productive human behavior in any user experience:

•    What behavior do you want to change, or trigger, for your audience?
•    What is the simplest behavior that matters to your audience?
•    How do you trigger the simplest action for them?
•    How do increase your audience’s ability to do something?
•    How do you reward or promise to reward your audience?
•    How can the little touch points over time create shifts in value exchange for your audiences? For you?

Example of Ben Fry's Interactive visualization of "The Cost Of Getting Sick"

In the world of digital performance marketing, three things matter most: (1) measuring customer activity; (2) analyzing the measured activity and (3) activating sound strategies that better serve customers in their own desires to seek out products, services and solutions for themselves.

As an evolving practice at Bolin, our insights team is constantly seeking new methods and tools to help understand the data that’s collected from customer activity. One way to aid understanding of data is to visualize it.

In day 2 of UX Week here in San Francisco a select few of us worked with Ben Fry, computational information design expert and key developer of the open source Processing language. Processing has evolved as a straightforward visualization language that’s been used by information designers and programmers to communicate complex data relationships. Fry’s work on visualizations like the cost of getting sick and the health visualizer are just two examples demonstrating the power of visualized data to help people understand complex relationships and make better policy, business or other decisions. (you can find more of Ben’s work here, including his fascinating albeit extremely complex work on visualizing the human genetic code).

The power of visualized data in decision making has enormous potential. Humans by their very nature are visual people. So, as marketers and user experience practitioners, how can visualization take information and make it more meaningful, more actionable for us? For our clients? For our clients’ customers?

Nicole Lazzaro speaking on game play and the future of UX

I have the fortunate opportunity to converge with 474 other user experience (“UX”) professionals from around the globe for the Adaptive Path 2010 UX Week Conference here in San Francisco.

As this conference gathers some of the best and brightest minds in user experience thinking and practice, I wanted to share some of the latest ideas being tossed about in the UX community and give a little insight into how we at Bolin Marketing think about operationalizing user experience strategy, planning and execution for our clients, based on our ever-active approach to learning and applying new ideas.

While I won’t go into detail about the first day’s schedule of events, the most important themes were obvious: (1) UX practitioners need to design interactive experiences that account for human emotion-based decision making (not just rational thinking); and (2) incorporating game play in these experiences enhances adoption and engagement of user audiences.

Thinkers like BJ Fogg and Nicole Lazzaro have done significant work in helping software designers understand that (1) people not only need to interact with things that are natural by habit but (2) people often can be motivated to immerse themselves in experiences that are fun, exciting or even challenging (in a good way). If they don’t, boredom, annoyance, frustration and abandonment quickly ensue.

Some examples here beg questioning, but have been proven to tap into this type of behavior:

• Why do you want to learn about what your favorite brand is saying (Facebook fan page)?
• What compels you to want to know what your friends are doing, or share what you are doing at 10:47pm on a Tuesday night (Twitter news feed)?
• What motivates you to strive for the next level or achieve the highest score (Xbox, Wii, Playstation)?

So, how do we as UX designers motivate our audiences to continue on a journey that is meaningful and valuable to our customers’ lives as well as our clients’ business?

These are the questions that drive us as designers to go beyond mere design of a website or marketing campaign. As marketers in the new world, we have to spend time understanding better ways to appeal to basic human needs and wants, especially over time. Simply put, maybe that means creating more “fun” for everyone.

John Saarinen – Grandpa, originally uploaded by TaulPaul. (note: When he says “Heavy Duty” he’s referring to the HD label on the camera)

Two weeks before SXSWi I was in my home town attending the funeral of my younger cousin. My aunt had told me that my 91 year old grandfather wanted to see me. “He wants to see you. He says he doesn’t think he has a lot more time left.”, she said. See my Grandpa John had a stroke a couple months ago, and he has short periods of being lucid; knowing who is around him. This isn’t his first medical scare.

Several years ago, I went to visit him in the hospital. As I sat by his bedside, he started telling me stories. My Grandfather was never a talker, so when he talks, I listen intently. He imparted this knowledge to me: “The thing that mattered most to me, were the friendships I was able maintain throughout my life. My friends mattered more to me than anything.”, he said.

I don’t know if Grandpa John was right, but I made the most of my trip to Austin, TX. I’ve made a lot of good friends throughout the years, and love to share stories, tales, and knowledge with people. Honest connections are one of the things I cherish most, at SXSW or anywhere I go.  If I shook your hand and we got to speak, I consider myself a lucky individual. Thank you for your time, and I hope to meet again.

Senator Norm Coleman speaking at the 2008 Minnesota Housing Summit

Here are my notes from the 2008 Minnespota Housing Summit. Keynote speakers, NAHB Sr Economist, Dr Elliot Eisenberg, MN Senator, Norm Coleman and 9th Dist Fed Reserve Economist Toby Madden.

Sen Norm Coleman:

Coleman says the holiday season has him counting and recounting his blessings!

Coleman blames regulators, banks for current woes. Says change in leadership will help no matter who it is. Leadership is about credibility and Obama has it.

Bottom line: 1. Do no harm. 2. Need short term fixes. 3. Need vision. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. However, MN is north star state and we will lead nation out of this situation.

Pawlenty administration says we need to build consumer confidence.

Toby Madden, 9th Dist Fed Reserve:

Derivatives and credit default swaps were the incentives created that built 40,000 homes in MN and each state. Problem is these were not regulated.

2009 9th Dist Fed Reserve forecast:

7% unemployment

-17% housing starts

 “Remember all recessions end and expansion happens.” Not worried about the long term because we have good system.

NAHB Sr Economist, Dr Elliot Eisenherg:

2009 will be the bottom of the housing market in MN but not in states like FL. In MN, overbuilding of multifamily construction was the issue. Population will save the day. US growing at 3 million people a year. US needs 1.6 to 1.8 million new homes a year. Housing prices largely driven by land prices. Land prices driven by govt regulation. That is why CA, Boston and Seattle are expensive. Regulators need to understand that each action causes an equal and opposite reaction.

Builders concerned that credit available but appraisals prohibit equity needed.

Recessions last on average 18 months.

McDonalds Corp at American Dietetic Association Show

At the American Dietetic Association’s Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, McDonalds Corporation had a booth. At the booth was a wheel that attendees could spin. On the wheel were a number of McDonalds menu items. Based on the menu item you landed on, you would guess what the calories were. It is one of those type of tradeshow “games” to get attendees to your booth …

However, what the real point of this post is this: McDonalds is a huge corporation with thousands of restaurants in over 100 countries worldwide. They do millions of dollars in sales every quarter. Their market cap is $64B — that is nine zeros! Worldwide, they have over 390,000 employees. It isn’t a company; it is a global powerhouse. A machine.

Despite its sheer size and worldwide dominance, McDonalds Corporation is concerned with talking directly to food and nutrition professionals. I think it illustrates what is happening with healthy living through food and nutrition. A corporation the size of McDonalds wants to establish a presence with food and nutrition professionals. These professionals work directly with patients to help establish eating and nutritional habits for people. It is admirable.

In my years working in marketing in the health care arena, I’ve heard it is restaurants like McDonalds’s fault the majority of Americans are obese. About two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) … we are talking 200,000,000 Americans.

Fast food restaurants like McDonalds are getting into the game. They want to be part of the solution and not be exclusively labeled as part of the problem. McDonalds still has a way to go, but they should be applauded.

The response has been amazing. What is interesting about the show is the large amount of enthusiasm for Truvia. To me, it is a statement to people wanting to live more healthy lives and not sacrificing taste and what they enjoy eating. Thoughts?

Dane and Jack with Gwen Biasi of NARI

Originally uploaded by Dane Hartzell’s Building Industry Blog

Bolin presented an integrated online and offline branding campaign to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) at their spring 2008 Board of Directors Meeting in St. Petersburg. On the digital front, Bolin will create search optimized Remodeler locator sites for each market that will compete with Angies List and Service Magic.