

How To Manufacture Desire - tadruj
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/04/how-to-manufacture-desire/

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nireyal
Here’s the gist:

\- The degree to which a company can utilize habit-forming technologies will
increasingly decide which products and services succeed or fail.

\- Addictive technology creates “internal triggers” which cue users without
the need for marketing, messaging or any other external stimuli. It becomes a
user’s own intrinsic desire.

\- Creating internal triggers comes from mastering the “desire engine” and its
four components: trigger, action, variable reward, and commitment.

\- Consumers must understand how addictive technology works to prevent being
manipulated while still enjoying the benefits of these innovations.

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mikecane
Addiction or fad? Back in the 1980s, there were people addicted to the CB
Simulator of CompuServe. Some spent over $1,000/month in connect-time fees.
That didn't save CompuServe in the face of change. And I'm not sure those CB
Simulator addicts transferred their addiction to AOL. And if they did, are
they on Twitter today? I really doubt it.

"Addiction" is just the latest marketing hype (it seems marketeers have also
dumped "Tipping Point" for "Inflection Point") for those looking for the tech
world equivalent of The Secret. There really is no guaranteed road to success
at all.

~~~
tadruj
I like The Secret analogy. I use goldrush. There were all kinds of theories
popping out all the time, but the ones that made the most, were infrastructure
providers.

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JVIDEL
Too broad, the article ignores the fact that companies like Zynga hire actual
behavioral psychologists to create compulsive game mechanics that hook people
in.

The consumers that do understand how addictive technology works don't use it
because they know it's a zero-sum game that yields nothing, ergo not the
target market for these strategies.

The fact of the matter is that addicted customers don't last nearly as long as
loyal customers do.

~~~
ktizo
but if you get repeated waves of fools it does not matter

in that sense, fishermen, advertisers and dealers of crack are in more or less
the same market

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yaliceme
>> _"Type the name of almost any successful consumer web company into your
search bar and add the word 'addict' after it. "_

^ I really think he means "successful _gaming or social media_ consumer web
company." "Dropbox addict" just sounds silly.

