The Headspace app, My Dad, and the rise of the value-driven product designers.
My father just started getting into meditation for personal reasons, I don’t blame the guy for wanting to try something new. Upon learning he asked the question most of us ask when beginning something new “Where on tarnation do I even start”?. *My dad doesn’t talk like that but it’s fun to imagine.
After a couple google searches, and some youtube videos on meditation, we ended our search at a promising guided mediation app that “Makes Meditation Simple”, called Headspace. Headspace provides:
- Hundreds of themed sessions on everything from stress to sleep
- Bite-sized meditations for busy schedules
- SOS exercises in case of sudden meltdowns
My father who knows pretty much nothing about meditation and has minimal knowledge of technology, first doubted the promises of this app but proceeded to download it and try it out. Fast forward 5 weeks later, my father, the lone-ranging, easily to anger elf, is now a practically changed man. An average dinner conversation entails him speaking to us of mindfulness tips and strategies “Watch your thoughts pass you like clouds” he says, through a mouthful of quinoa.
We were shocked that a mobile app would provide enough context to provide value to someone’s life. So much so that their actions and behaviors even change in a positive manner. It was amazing how much he enjoyed meditation, diving into about three Headspace lessons per day, exiting meditation as if the world was as fresh and new as a morning sunrise.
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It goes back to the old saying:
“Give a man a fish, and you’ve fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed a man for a lifetime”
“Too much of our products simply give people a fish instead of teaching them how to fish. That is, most products act as a dumb tool…can do a particular thing but doesn’t teach someone how to use it well. “ — 52 weeks of UX
But teaching is increasingly part of the deal…if you’re building products, you might consider how this product teaches people how to improve a certain aspect of their life. Give them some value, give them a reason to download your product and integrate into their daily routine. These are the products that will win today, not the ones that take away your time and distract you. Products should be designed so they not only provide the tool to do something simply, but actually teaches them a way to do it better.
Give value to your customers, design your product so that it assists people in elevating their lives. The products below are examples of such:
- iTunes — Stores your music for you in logical ways (by artist, album, etc)
- Salesforce — Organizes your sales process by specifying lead strength.
- Headspace — Teaches meditation and mindful living
But some apps take it step further, actually teaching you better ways to work. This is the software of the future.
- Mint — Teaches you how budgeting works and how to be better at saving money.
- Campaign Monitor — Teaches you how to be good at email marketing and designing emails
- Google Adwords — Teaches you how to run efficient ad campaigns
The products that will win in the years to come will be specifically designed to add some type of value to people’s lives. This is technologies purpose, people will expect nothing less.
