The Microwave Society: Gratification and Communication
Posted by junger - 08/30/06 at 10:08:22 amProduct development takes time. Gaining an audience takes time.
For example, my RSS goal has been over for almost two weeks, but today, the number of subscribers hit an all-time high of 40.
Considering that the site launched on August 4 — not even 4 weeks ago — 40 subscribers is great.
One of the problems with my generation is that we expect things to happen quickly. It's not that we are necessarily impatient (although we probably are), but it's that we live in a society with instant communication and gratification.
This is the microwave society.
But offline, not everything comes quickly — and that's good. Things that come quickly tend to leave quickly, and when you are developing a product, you don't want a short lifespan — you want longevity.
CNNMoney had a recent article on the clash between Baby Boomers and Gen Xers in the office. Although I'm technically not a Gen Xer, similar comparisons can be made.
Often, the tensions are subtle and unspoken, but they're there: Baby Boom managers, those in their mid-40s and older, have a tough time understanding the group coming up behind them in the corporate ranks – Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1979, the first generation to grow up with the Internet.
Accustomed to everything happening more and more quickly, they are an impatient bunch. Rather than pay their dues and work patiently toward promotions, they'd rather quit and go elsewhere: Xers change jobs, on average, every two years.
To Boomers who spent decades earning their stripes, Xers often look like spoiled brats. By Xers' lights, meanwhile, Boomers just don't get it – and when are they going to retire and get out of the way, anyway?
The article does make Xers seem a little harsh — "when are they going to retire and get out of the way, anyway?" — but the general theme is right. We expect things to happen so quickly that if we don't achieve success soon, we've essentially failed.
The two things we expect to come quickly are communication and gratification. With e-mail, IM, text messaging and cell phones, today's communication is instant. Gratification, however, shouldn't be instant.
We have to separate communication from gratification. Gratification is worth something; communication isn't. Gratification has depth; communication doesn't. The quicker the gratification is, the less it is worth; communication doesn't have that problem.
Successfully developing a product provides the ultimate gratification. But you want that gratification to last, so the product development has to (and should) take time.
Keep that in mind the next time you try to reach a goal in short period of time.
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