Persuasive Technology
Originally published on September 26, 2010
I’ve been reading through the book, Persuasive Technology by B.J. Fogg, and have found his systematic breakdown of technological adoption very interesting. I just finished the chapter on Social Learning Theory which defines two ways in which we are influenced by others —Normative Influence and Social Comparison. Simply put, when it comes to adoption strategy, Normative Influence is dependent on peer pressure and Social Comparison is dependent on an individual’s assessment of themselves and how they compare to others.
Personally I’ve never been a fan of peer pressure and oftentimes find myself pre-maturely jumping on a grenade to disrupt the hive mind—not always a good thing (Google the importance of job security). I’m wired to see Normative Influence as a bad thing no matter what the moral intentions behind it is. That is why a non-smoking campaign such as ‘thetruth.com’ annoys me in its attempts to counter peer-pressure with peer-pressure. It has all the disingenuous plasticity of the ‘goth’ movement, where its cool to be uncool.
Status-based grouping by any name is one of the most base examples of ignorance and intellectual devolution. It has a short lifespan and quite ultimately fails to persuade as any form of independent thinking appears. Why? Because any form of group mentality is directed by an individual who is motivated through self-importance and has a clear agenda. Though it may be born of good-intention its susceptibility to the tyrannical is inevitable, and when it is revealed through resistance it breaks down.
Fogg writes, “In sum, while connected technologies can leverage conformity dynamics, they also can undermine the pressure to conform by providing non-conformists with an awareness of others who have resisted this pressure. This is a liberating use of persuasive technology, helping people choose what they want to choose—not what a peer group chooses for them.”
I hate to keep using the iPhone/Android example to defend my stance, but its a great and very relevant argument to make these days. The biggest criticism that will continue to plague Apple is that iPhone users are beholden to the ‘Apple way’. This is a PR nightmare that Apple will always have to deal with. Apple is no longer a company that encourages people to ‘Think Different’, but have crossed over to Microsoft territory where the scarlet letter is permanently etched into every product they sell. I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but feel sympathy for John Hodgman’s PC character in the ‘Get a Mac’ advertising campaign. Justin Long’s Mac character is such a snarky, evil little creep under his fluffy-white sheep’s clothing.
Becoming a victim of their former selves, and trying to convince consumers otherwise, is a fail. Perhaps that’s why Apple has begun to embrace their inner-Marxist by claiming they’re providing the best user experience by sacrificing individualism and choice. This is commendable. At least they’re being honest.
