HEAD BLOG

When it comes to understanding technology I like to think of myself as no slouch. I’ve done my share of programming from Z80 Assembly to Action Script and I know how to set the video recorder. The washing machine baffles me and fax machines just plain annoy (which side down again?) but overall I’d say I’m comfortable with using it and discussing it.

Yet sometimes I understand how my mum feels.

The big companies mostly get it. Apple, Canon, IBM, even Cisco – they all know that you don’t advertise the technology, you advertise what it can do for you. What  works for hair care products doesn’t, oddly enough, work for products that boast the most advanced engineering processes on the planet. Maybe Intel’s next chip should feature pentapeptides, I hear they are very good.

Many companies don’t take this approach. Maybe it’s because everything is vetted by the chief technology officer whose knowledge built the product to what it is today or maybe it’s just a desire to impress us, like when the owner of a new car tells us what the engine is capable of. Hey, as long as it’s capable of moving then all I’m really interested in is whether or not it will keep my arse warm in winter.

Recently, a job slipped its way into Head First. It was technology based but not game related. It was the kind of job we love because it enables us to apply our experience in new ways.

Trouble is, at first I didn’t have a clue what the product was.

They said their product is “the market leading social media platform for brands and agencies.”

I said, “what?”

I felt a bit thick.

If I bought it, what was I buying? Was it something I installed or something I stood on?

What did it enable me to do?

I wasn’t sure.

After five minutes I understood. They built websites on which their customers could share ideas, stories, videos – anything they wanted to really.

So I said, “ah” (I did, I really did) “you mean that with your software I can be my own Facebook?”

They said “yes”.

So why didn’t they just say that?