Feel the power of disruptive technology
Sometimes we get into the mode of accepting the status quo as well, acceptable. But often it isn’t and deep down we know there has to be something better. Well, a month ago a colleague and I ran into what I would consider something as close to disruptive as you can get. And we found it in all places, the Montreal Airport washroom. How many of you have cursed when you wash your hands and look around for paper towel only to discover it has been displaced by the dreaded wimpy air hand dryer. With so much emphasis on being environmentally friendly these days you’d think we’d be happy. But alas, the old wimpy traditional air hand dryer is just that – wimpy. It barely does anything to dry hands. In fact I think just standing there holding your hands out sans dryer is pretty close to the same in the effectiveness category.
But hark, what goes there in the Montreal Airport. The Xlerator. So powerful is the wind coming out of this puppy that you swear your skin may peel off. But boy does it do the trick. It actually does what it should – it dries your hands as quickly as a paper towel but without the waste.
Something so simple yet so effective. And viral as well. The Xlerator does such an amazing job that in every place I’ve seen it installed strangers are talking to strangers “Wow, that’s amazing.” Kids are telling their parents. Colleagues are joking to colleagues. And it’s just about a hand dryer. Just goes to show that if you invent something purple, it doesn’t matter what the category is, word will spread and the traditional will quickly become passe.
March 11th, 2008 - Posted in Seth Godin, viral | | 3 Comments
Joining Twitter requires a purpose
Jason Falls is trying to make Twitter relevant to a whole new audience with his new experiment. He’s trying to see if Twitter can be used to build up an audience for one of his clients – Robby Gordon Motorsports
As Jason points out himself he’s not sure if it will work but you can’t know unless you try. For sure, Jason understands one thing about Twitter which will hopefully serve him well for this effort – to join Twitter you generally need a reason.
I had heard of Twitter a number of times in the past. The idea of tweeting about what coffee I just drank or that I was standing in line for a movie ticket seemed like a waste of time. What was the point? I had no context. I couldn’t understand why anyone would bother.
But then one day I had a reason. It was Kami Huyse’s twittering of the PRSA conference that made me finally start to understand the reason to join. I was going to be working at the Radian6 booth during the whole conference. Kami’s tweets could give me insight into what was being covered at the conference sessions. I was hooked.
Jason hopes to do the same with his experiment but with those folks who follow racing. Will he unlock the entire cross-section of North America who follows the sport – hard to say. But he may just pry the door open enough for some of some early adopters or influencers to jump on-board. And if you follow Seth Godin’s teachings on viral marketing then this is a pretty good place to start.
So good luck Jason. We’ll be watching.
November 11th, 2007 - Posted in Jason Falls, Seth Godin, public relations, social media, twitter | | 2 Comments
