Focus on the What not the How
On Slashdot there’s a post about holographic storage which is obviously something geeks find interesting. While some folks talked about how this is awesome and radical, I was surprised to see that many others spoke about the benefits.
Rather than spending tons of time talking about How holographic storage works, some of these Slashdotters actually spent time talking about What this means. In business terms, these hardcore geeks spent time on the benefits versus the features. That caught my attention.
Example 1: “I don’t want a disc. I want something small we’re able to use in smaller portable devices, something where the medium doesn’t need to move.”
Example 2: “From the look of it, there won’t be affordable writers for home use. So what’s left? Another huge storage medium which could hold a lossless movie?”
These two examples demonstrate that geeks are people too. They have real world concerns and while it’s true they love technology, they are not complete slaves to features, gizmos, and blinking lights.
The general rule that applies to geeks and non-geeks alike is pretty simple. You can’t just describe something without discussing and explaining the real world impact. There are emotional considerations. There are alternatives and financial considerations. A simple product explaination in terms of features doesn’t cut it.
And finally, if you’re interested…
Here’s what I said: “Personally, I don’t care how my data is stored. It can be holographic, electromagnetic, or paper-click-o-matic. I care about how much I can store. I want it secure and I want it instantly available. Getting excited about “holographic” is pretty much a waste of time. Just tell me how much I can store, tell me how it can be (easily) set up and secured, and how much it is going to cost. After that, I’m just hearing 01010100101010. No thanks.”