The Smoking Foot

THIN SLICING

In his popular book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell, demonstrates that people make decisions based on extremely small amounts of information, and very quickly. They call this “thin slicing”. A significant amount of information is building in research journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology about what thin slicing is, how it takes place, and when it is active. In a recent article in the Journal, Laura Peracchio and David Luna talk about whether thin-slicing judgments apply to the Internet.

ARE PEOPLE MAKING QUICK DECISIONS ONLINE?

Peracchio and Luna cite research that suggests that 80% of Web surfers spend only a few seconds looking at a Web site before moving on to the next site, and that the average Web surfer is unlikely to look past the first two pages of a site. This points to the fact that consumers seem to be forming judgments quickly and in a way that is consistent with thin slicing. Ambady et al (2006) suggest in their research that these visual and perceptual judgments turn out to be amazingly accurate, even without personal human interaction.

DO PEOPLE USE THIN SLICING TO JUDGE EASE OF USE AND TRUSTWORTHINESS?

Chiravuri and Peracchio (2003) suggest that consumers are making thin slice decisions about site security and ease of use. McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar (2002) and Haried (2005) maintain that consumers form thin slice judgments on the trustworthiness of a Web site during brief exposure.

AND WHAT ABOUT BRANDING AND THIN SLICING?

Most thin slicing research focuses on people make decisions and judgments about other people. But some researchers are now arguing that brands posses a perceived personality, and that people are making thin slice decisions about brand. Ambady et al (2006) says that thin slicing forces people to focus on nonverbal cues, and to ignore the actual “message,” information from a previous interaction, or broader context. Peracchio and Luna argue, therefore, that brand perception might be primarily a thin slice phenomenon.

MTV.com redesigns, drops Flash for HTML

http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/004180.php

About nine months ago, we went all Flash with our Web site. It was a technical marvel and it was indeed flashy. But, it was also something of a headache for a lot of users, so we were told.

Luckily, we’re also good listeners, and that’s why a few months ago we started toying with a new and improved HTML version of the MTV site. Anyone watching the live beta site has been witness to substantial evolution, from the overall look of the pages to simplified navigation, a new video player and a vastly improved internal search mechanism.

Today, we’ve gone ahead and flipped the switch. The Flash site is gone. If you were digging that, we’re sorry. We have good reason to believe that you will enjoy our content via the HTML version even more…..

In fact, we’re letting go of the idea of the site ever being “done.” Every few weeks, new features, functionality, modules and other developments will roll out on the site. Some will be minor tweaks to existing elements that may be hard to spot. Some will be major additions, such as planned community features like rating and commenting on content. Our tech folks are working overtime on that one. Plus there’s a huge list of other delicious things we want them to get to in short order, so surf around and stay tuned.

Ego

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/04/ego.html

Just about every book publisher, including mine, has a beautifully lit display case of their books in the lobby. And just about every author, including me, looks at the display case when he walks in, hoping (expecting?) to see one of his books there.

So put it there.

Sure, we’ll know you put it there just because you knew we were coming, but we can’t help but wonder whether it’s always there. And even if we know you put it there just for us, that’s a nice thing, isn’t it? That’s a big part of what the author is paying you for.

And of course, the same thing true is for any business. If I come back to your website and you know my name, why not plaster it across the page? If I come to your fancy restaurant for dinner, why not ask me about some of my preferences on the phone and laser print a menu that highlights some of my faves. Or better yet, the waiter (with help from a computer) should remember that I loved the cucumber soup and maybe he can let me know the chef will make it again if I’d like. If I’m visiting your insurance brokerage for a meeting, how about a little welcome sign on the cube, or my favorite seltzer on ice?

Amazon has raised the bar. Invasion of privacy? Creepy? I think it has become an expectation. People like to be recognized, respected and trusted.