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Breaking news! This just in... if you haven't heard. Simple works....
No kidding, it does. SHOCKING, I know. Yet, inevitably, in classic link-bait fashion, somebody with a vested interest (darn consultants!) is trying to reinvent what we all have known by making up a lame buzz-word.
Introducing... Simplexity! From Mediapost.
Market researchers believe that 2007 will find consumers seeking out a new trend, which Robbie Blinkoff, managing partner of Context-Based Research Group, is calling simplexity.
"Consumers have been trying to simplify and organize their lives," he says, "but they've also been going down the complexity path, and the two are converging. Simplexity will be a synthesis of the two, yet distinctly different."
So let's break this down for you in case you didn't get it.
1. As the future rolls on, things get more complex in our lives.
2. As things get more complex, the ones that are simple are what people like.
Got it? It's called Simplexity!
Alright, let me end the deep sarcasm for a moment and try to make a point in one simple word.
DUH!
Happy new year to everyone, and keep it simple. I highly suggest you read my all-time favorite "simple" book entitled 'Don't Make Me Think' from Steve Krug.
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Comments
Duh! That says it all. Happy New Year Jim and all the MarketinigProfs family.
Posted by: Lewis Green | 12.29.06
It's amazing to me how many people think usability is just "common sense." It isn't always that easy to make the complex seem simple, but there are scores of people and businesses who make the simple complex. Our society is still coming to terms with that, as is documented in Steve Krug's book as well as many of Jakob Nielsen's articles (among those of others).
Just this morning, for instance, I had to take the cellophane wrapper off of a CD. For "simplicity," the manufacturer put one of those bands on it that is supposed to make it easier to unwrap. However, it was so difficult to grasp that band that it took me longer to unwrap it than had I just pulled out (at best) scissors or (at worst) a ballpoint pen.
Even the word, "simplexity" seems to describe something that would more easily be termed "usability," which is a perfectly serviceable word.
Nice post.
Posted by: Cam Beck | 12.29.06
I hear you, Cam. I think "usability" is a...well, SIMPLER term!
As for new Words of the Year, I'm sticking with Merriam-Webster for Stephen Colbert's "Truthiness." THAT is a useful descriptive.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 12.29.06
Seems confusicated, if you ask me. ;)
Posted by: Cam Beck | 12.29.06
Happy new year to all!
I love truthiness!
Posted by: Jim Kukral | 12.29.06
"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means." – Dr. Koichi Kawana
This phrase, simply in itself, is the best definition for simplicity.
Posted by: Leo | 12.31.06
simplexity is an oxymoron.
funny that it took media post so many words to define simplexity.
Leo: i think the best definition of simplicity is "simplicity is freedom from unnecessary complexity."
Posted by: B.L. Ochman | 01.02.07
The Z List is a great idea – it's like a social bookmarking site, except done a little more manually. I guess the fact that it's still done by humans and not by stats is what makes it much better than the Squidoo idea.
As to the first one, the list of five things people didn't know. I remember the same thing happening with email a few years ago. So, it's not really that new, just taken out into a more public arena.
Posted by: online shopping | 02.18.08
Interesting! This is indeed quite funny but true. I personally think that needs and wants of most people have become so complicated and because of drowning in an ocean of complex things, people are now seeking simple matter.
Posted by: art oil painting | 03.27.08