Lessons in UX: “Ego-driven design”

“Look at me. Look at me, look at me, look at me!” – Laurie Anderson

One of the major topics of discussion on tech news sites and discussion boards recently has been the launch – one could call it “failed” launch – of the new “social photography” app for the iPhone called Color. I won’t bother to review the app here, because it us so remarkably bad in it’s UX design I wouldn’t know where to start. Also I don’t need to – there are scores of reviews in the app store and online that are absolutely devastating. Color did accomplish one thing for me, however: it reminded me I needed to write about a topic I have been thinking about for quite a while, something I call “ego-driven design.”

I’ve already written about addicting experiences, and how so many companies have focused on creating product offerings that hooks users. These products appeal to the Id, the primitive emotional drivers of pleasure (and let me state also for the record my knowledge of Freud is thinner than it used to be). What I think is another approach, and one that what silicon valley is obsessed with right now, is the creation of products that appeal to the ego – the sense of self-worth, or importance. These are the experiences that users have alternately

Where ego-driven design has worked (and why):

Twitter

The poster-child of egocentric web services. Yes, it let’s you follow people and keep in touch with the “hive mind,” but what it really does is let you bring attention to yourself. It’s less a communication platform and more of a self-centered marketing platform, especially when it comes to the tech gliterati and celebrities.

Why it works: It has taken “game theory” to a personal level. The more followers you have, the more you are #winning. It’s succeeding for many reasons, but a core one is that it is very self-involved… And it’s about telling people about the cool (and not-so-cool) stuff you are doing.

Personal note: I’m very close to being over Twitter. The ubiquitous spam, the inane tweets, the noise noise NOISE in my feed has me at my limit. I’m tired of trying to get more followers, and therefore “raising my score”. Maybe I’ve matured… Or maybe I’ve decided that other things in life are more important.

Facebook

Well, duh. An online system that allows you to share everything about your life, and also judge your self-worth by the number of “friends” you have… Well, it’s all about you, isn’t it?

Why it works: it allows you to keep in touch with friends and family without having to actually, you know, do anything. They come to you, via updates and your news feed. It gives you a sense of connectivity without effort.

Quora

Talk about ego-driven design! Quota is a question and answers site combined with a Wikipedia-like self-policing/voting mechanism. It let’s you show the world how smart you are.

Why it works: it provides a platform for pontification for people who may not “blog” otherwise. It also let’s you “help” people by answering their questions, and improves your sense of self-worth and self-satisfaction.

Instagram

What Color (and flickr should) aspire to be, Instagram is a photo sharing service that is targeted to mobile devices and users. It allows you to post photos, like other user’s photos, and is well integrated with other social services.

Why it works: it strikes the right balance between your photos and the friends you are following. It is simple and its controls are obvious. It’s about you AND your “friends” and it is new every time you use it (because the photo feed changes), producing amusement, delight and awe – depending on who you are following, of course.

XBox Live

Why it works: again, It’s about #winning. The reputation system, applied. XBox Live accounts lets you collect points for achievements, which is a point if pride and can be publicly shown. The way to get more points? Keep playing (and buying more games). While this can be a potential negative influence (especially with someone who is OCD, like, oh, Charlie Sheen) you have to acknowledge it works.

Where ego-driven design has failed (and why):

Digg

Ah, Digg. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened – they revised thier service to take power AWAY from their users (you couldn’t ‘bury’ stories anymore) and made it far too easy to spam the system. Users weren’t in control, and they left.

MySpace

The classic example of what happens when you give users too MUCH control – they screw things up. Myspace was a jarring cluttered and ugly experience, because the service gave customers the ability to customize the design too much. The site became a self-centered inconsistent nightmare… And when a simpler cleaner and more efficient platform, Facebook, came along… Users left.

Color

A self-centered app that was all about location, location, location… But what if you were in a place that isn’t that interesting, which is, well, most of the time? This app brought that to the attention to all of it’s users, and made them feel… Well, uncool. And an egocentric app can not let people think that their lives are lame.

So, what’s the takeaway here? Design to the ego, not the superego – and design it well. Give users control, never take it away from them… and make the app focus on the user’s personal life and self (and the simpler and more obvious way you design it, the better).

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