Hypeless Blog

HYPE CAN RUIN YOU

Sun, 16 May 2010 17:38:00 +0100

Hype is a weapon which takes skill to wield.

Apple is a master at creating hype, and delivering on it. For an ameteur, hype is a millstone. It sinks a solid idea into mediocrity, as easily as a stone sinks a leaf. I saw this firsthand in two creative pitches recently. Based on my experience, here’s how to ruin something with hype.

STEP 1: OVERHYPE THE CONCEPT

Both pitches started with a classic hype session on the iPad, something I already know a little about. The hype came thick and fast, with references to to storytelling theory, experimental artists, award-winning applications, and the success of Apple.

References to the iPad’s limitations as a business or creative device were unsurprisingly absent.

The message was clear - the iPad is an exciting platform, which can support unique applications. It’s not a PC. It’s not an iPhone. When used properly, it’s better than both.

STEP 2: FIRE UP THE IMAGINATION

Hype is fuel for the fires of the human imagination. Naturally, everyone begin thinking about impossibly wonderful, as yet undiscovered applications for the iPad. These apps would revolutionise humankind. iPad Aps wouldn’t be anything like a website. They wouldn’t be anything like an iPhone App. They’d be different. Unique. Better.

STEP 3: DELIVER SOMETHING AVERAGE

Now comes the killer blow. The hype session has everyone thinking of the amazing possibilities. But the actual concept is in fact solid, but underwhelming. It bears a remarkable resemblance to a website. With a few bits of an iPhone app thrown in. The same. Old news. No better.

THE RESULT

Want to over-promise then under-deliver? Want others to think your work is underwhelming and pedestrian? Then hype is your tool!

You may think this would be a rare occurrence. Then why did I experience the same thing, from two different companies, in the same week?

HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY

Keep the hype part of your pitch short, punchy, and relevant
Hype up areas where you concept is strong
Show how your concept delivers on the hype

Hype is powerful. Learn how to use it. Hasta la proxima, see true the hype.

A FREE HYPELESS CLASSIC

Sun, 16 May 2010 17:32:00 +0100

A FREE HYPELESS CLASSIC:

Portal is critically regarded as one of the best games of all time.

Find games violent and dumb? Then Portal’s astounding spatial puzzles are as clever as they are gun-free. Love a good shooter? Then you already know that games developed by Value are AAA.

Does it live up to the hype? Rather than hear my verdict, try it for yourself on PC and Mac, free until 24th of May.

What’s the catch? Well Value are trying to drum up some hype for the upcoming sequel. Note to other games publishers - this is hype we like!

iPhone: Hypeless Classic

Sun, 09 May 2010 19:27:00 +0100

The iPhone is a classic: it delivers on its astronomical levels of hype. And when we’re talking about the most hyped phone of all time, this means it’s a seriously great product. So what exactly are the elements of greatness? In honour of the iPhone’s impending third birthday, let’s look in detail at why we love Apple’s black talkbox.

COMPLETE VISION OF A NEW PHONE

Touchscreens weren’t anything new when the iPhone launched. There were plenty of smartphones that allowed you to navigate an ancient version of Windows with a little pencil, furiously poking at tiny text links. Whereas Apple put a large, sensitive touchscreen together with icons that even fat American thumbs can press. Without the baggage of a legacy operating system, Apple was able to identify what people wanted to do with their phone, and create a new system to do it well.

Let’s look at going into silence mode. On the iPhone, it’s a simple rocker that shuts your phone up. You can feel if your phone is silenced without looking at it. It’s second instinct to flip your iPhone into silence mode as you slip into a meeting. With most Nokias at the time, you needed to set you silence mode preferences as part of a “profile”. Then you select this “profile” by clicking the on / off button, and scrolling down the list, hopefully not accidentally turning off the phone.

APPLENESS

The first mac revolutionised computers with the one-button mouse. It’s no coincidence the iPhone features only one real button - “home”. No matter how lost you get, you can always find your way home with a single press - and then quickly find your way to the app you want.

Apple’s iPod experience meant the iPhone was instantly the best music playing phone out there. By the time the iPhone launched, Apple had already gone through six major version of iTunes. They’d mastered selling music, and just needed a few tweaks to create the outrageously successful App Store.

Then there’s how Apple wields usability testing as a weapon, making sure every experience works better than you’d expect it, and then gets even better with subsequent software updates.

IMPROVEMENTS

Imagine you’re a company that makes money from people buying the latest and greatest versions of your product. Imagine that the typical time a customer keeps the product is 18 months. Now imagine you decide to create significant improvements to the product, and release them for free over three years, giving your customers less incentive to buy your new products. Madness? Not to someone who’s running the third version of the iPhone OS on their 2007 handset!

Naturally, there are still compelling reasons to get the latest hardware. The second iteration brought 3G coverage, while the 3GS brought more subtle improvements of processing speed, battery life, and a compass. Why a compass? Well if you’re using google maps, try clicking on the little geo-location icon twice. You’ll then get the map oriented perfectly for you viewpoint, meaning even spatially challenged people can find their way. Ah, the little things…

LITTLE THINGS

Thanks for lying to me iPhone. I know, deep down, that when I change between landscape and portrait modes, the fancy swirling animation is hiding loading time. But this animation looks a whole lot better than staring at a bland screen, like on the Nokia “tube” 5800.

Speaking of giving the accelerometer a workout, have you tried turning your iPhone to landscape mode while using the calculator?

Then there’s the auto correction on the keyboard, the genius being that it not only corrects for poor speling, but also for accendebtally hittimg buttpns closr to the ome you meamt to hit.

Then there’s there’s the way the apps flow together. Got an address saved on your contact? Then click it, and it’ll load up the address in Google Maps.

GRUMBLES

The same Google Maps mashup should work for calendar items too, right? If you’ve diligently entered where your meeting’s location, you should just be able to click the address and see it on a map? No. Why not?

Other than minor quibbles like this, there’s the infuriating lock into iTunes, meaning that popping your iPhone into another persons PC for a quick charge could result in all of your music and Apps getting wiped. Great. Just accept it as the price of admission.

Buying an iPhone also means you’re likely to have the same phone as everyone else. A quarter of all working professionals in London have one. All the “stars” present at the Adult Video Awards in Vegas have one. Your Mum probably has one. Your phone is supposed to be the extension of your individuality, and the iPhone’s symbolism here is worrying.

THE LOVE

So why do so many people have an iPhone? Taking a Hypeless perspective, perhaps this running joke between iPhone owners has the answer.

iPhone owner #1 “Y’know what’s great about the iPhone?”

iPhone owner #2 “Everything!”

Hasta la proxima, see true the hype

Which has More Hype? Aston Martin DBS or Mazda MX-5?

Sun, 02 May 2010 19:51:00 +0100

One is a cheap, mass-produced sportscar, driven by fat middle-aged people. The other is a hand made, unaffordable supercar driven by James Bond. How can the MX-5 possibly compete on the hype stakes?

Actually, the MX-5’s Hype Resume is pretty impressive:

Best selling sports car of all time
Jeremy Clarkson Review: “Perfect”
“Sports car of the Decade”
Bulletproof reliability
Single-handedly revived public interest in hedonistic motoring

But does the idea of the MX-5 set your pulse racing? Not nearly as much as the DBS?

This tells you ‘exclusivity’ and ‘unattainability’ are part of the nature of hype. You’ll never afford a DBS, so you’ll never have to know the pain of breakdowns when it’s hand made components eventually fall apart. You’ll never notice how over time the nose vents look garish and cheap. You’ll never have to shed a tear when you gouge a chunk out of your wheel against an unexpected curb.

No, to you, the DBS will remain hyped-up, unfettered perfection, like an impossible summer romance.

The MX-5 is the complete opposite. You can buy one for a song. They’re found on every suburban street, complete with fabric roofs that have faded to grey, paintwork covered in scrapes, and blown speaker cones. An appetising package, no?

Well yes, actually. Most people fail to see beyond the overcute styling to the insanely fun sports car hidden beneath. The MX-5 has a fever, and the only cure is more powerslides. Going around a corner, the car communicates when it’s at the limit of its grip. Jab the throttle just a little bit more, and the rear end will swing out, perfectly controlled, and you’ll experience the fun of going sideways.Then you’ll instinctively right the car, take a deep breath, pull over and take your heart medication. Then it’s time to do it again!

The short-throw gear-knob, light curb weight, and perfectly balanced front-rear weight distribution all come together to make a car that’s all about losing control, then bringing it back again. This car didn’t shift a million units by being just a pretty face; it’s a bonkers, proper sportscar!

Yes, the DBS wins the hype game. Whereas the MX-5 has lived up to every element of it’s hype over its twenty-year lifespan: bringing back the popularity of the sports car, delivering extreme thrills for a bargain price, and having incredible reliability. The MX-5 has outgrown hype, and transformed itself into the rarest of the rare:

A Hypeless Classic.

Next time we’re going to look at another Hypeless Classic, this time one that was born in 2007 and is still going as strong as ever. Any guesses?

iPad: Innessential

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 12:32:00 +0100

The iPad is inessential. Inessential like dining at a Michelin star restaurant, when you could eat at McDonald’s. It’s unnecessary, like buying a bottle of vintage wine; cheap table wine gets you just as drunk. It’s not a question of needing an iPad. It’s a question of whether the price justifies the improved experience.

With so much hype flying around the machine, it’s a hard to sort the reality from the spin. Is the iPad closer to Apple’s flawless, perfect photographs, or the fingerprinted mess you see in the photo above? Get the HYPELESS perspective.

LIVES UP TO THE HYPE

Apple’s hype carries so much clout, because they deliver exceptionally good experiences with their products. Here’s where the iPad excels:

Consuming media. From looking at photos, to watching YouTube, to flicking through the pages of a magazine, things just feel “right”. Using the simple USA Today Newspaper App, it’s clear this is better than reading the paper, and better than browsing the web. And the media companies have just started to tap the potential.
Battery life. Getting a real-world ten hours of use is simply outstanding. Standby mode is ultra-efficient, meaning it can do days without a charge.
Interface. Slick, fast, accurate. It’s everything you love about the iPhone. The extra screen real estate is like adding a drop of water to fine scotch: the extra room to breathe lets the excellence of the design shine through.

UNEXPECTED GREATNESS

These are the hidden elements of greatness. Ones that don’t make snappy soundbites, but which make living with the device worthwhile.

Great for a quick dive into the internet. By the time my notebook has booted up, I can have already found my way using Google Maps on the iPad.
Sharing. “Hey look at this” – passing the iPad around like a magazine is second nature. Something that doesn’t make sense with a netbook.
Apps that work on both iPad and iPhone lead to hidden surprises. After installing the piano app “Virtuoso HD” on the iPad, it was a delight to find it automatically sync into my iPhone, so piano fun on the go!
Appeal to kids and pets… if you haven’t seen this, you should http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9NP-AeKX40&feature=fvw

FALLS FLAT

Bitter disappointments. Things raging anti-Apple supporters will love.

The screen is nearly useless in bright sunlight, killing your dreams of reading your digital morning paper in the garden.
Did you see the fingerprints in the photo? Apple claims the screen is “oleo-phobic” (meaning ‘oil resistant’), but fancy semantics or not, this iPad is in the running for biggest fingerprint magnet of all time.
Want to watch television on demand? The iPad is perfect for this! Except most web-based services use Abobe Flash, which the iPad doesn’t support. So now we need to wait for each network to create a bespoke on-demand player for the device.
Weight. I’ve shown the iPad to a lot of people, and the common refrain is “it’s heavier than I thought”. Now consider watching a two hour movie. The reality is this isn’t really a handheld device; it’s designed to be put on the top of your lap. Sound familiar?
Mobile? Not with the current model which only supports Wi-Fi. This device loves the internet, so taking away from Wi-Fi coverage makes it as useful as a Porsche without fuel.
Limited web browsing with a “lite” version of Safari. Web browsing is fun on the device, until you want to search for some text within an article. Or want to quickly jump between tabs. Or want to use advanced feature such as “layers” on Google Maps. These little things stop it being the best-ever web browsing device.
Software keyboard. You need to hold the iPad with both hands, so you can’t casually type away with one hand, as you do on the iPhone. And if you want to do some semi-serious typing, you’ll need to rest the iPad on a table or your lap, which feels awkward with the curved back. So you end up with an unsatisfying solution for both casual and serious use.
A device built for consuming, not creating. The iPad is great for looking at stuff, but if you want to create anything more complex than a Facebook post, then the awkward soft-keyboard, the limited power of the browser, and Apple’s restrictions to what software runs on the device means it constantly feels awkward. Reading a blog on the iPad is great, writing one is torture.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Wouldn’t it be great if…? Well too late, the product is out, and your wishlist of features didn’t make the cut.

Home entertainment integration. I’ll just plug my iPad into the TV to watch this movie. Oh wait – it doesn’t come with the cords for that. Surely I can then stream it via Wi-Fi to my network connected television? Nope.
Wouldn’t the iPad be the best home theatre remote control in the world? But as it doesn’t support infrared, this is just a dream.
Video Skyping on the iPad would be great! The magic of your friends and family appearing in the “photoframe”. Sorry, no camera, no joy.
Saturday morning, lazing in bed… time to check Facebook, it’s iPad time! However, lying down with the iPad becomes a chore, as the weight of the device, coupled with the awkward keyboard forces you to sit up and put it on your lap.
My iPhone has 3G coverage. My iPad only has Wi-Fi. Surely they can work together to give me internet coverage on my iPad wherever I go? Actually this does work, if you’re prepared to hack your iPhone. If you go the legit route, you have to stump up more money for the upcoming 3G iPad to get truly mobile.

THE HYPE FACTOR

How the hype surrounding the iPad makes a lasting difference to the experience.

There will be some fantastic apps made specifically for the iPad. Companies around the world have bought into the hype of the iPad, meaning you have an amazing App Store to look forward to!
On the downside, the price and hype of the iPad are leading companies to charge US$10 for games – serious money for what are currently underwhelming games, and a step away from the impulse buys which makes the iPhone App Store so great.

HYPELESS

Great for consuming photos, video, apps.
Easy and satisfying to use.
Built for the couch, or at least a comfy seat on a plane or train.
The Wi-Fi version isn’t really mobile. If you travel, wait for the new version with built in 3G mobile internet coverage.
If create content, don’t sell you laptop – or even your netbook - anytime soon.

Hasta la proxima, see true the hype

Photo

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:45:00 +0100