678 - HP TouchPad Demise, Session Titles, Take the Lead Book
August 22, 2011 Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - August 22, 2011.
#678 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
55,429 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
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1. HP TouchPad Tablet Demise - Lessons in Usability Focus.
2. Session Titles Matter & Seating Formats.
3. “Take the Lead” - New Book from Betsy Myers.
1. HP TouchPad Tablet Demise - Lessons in Usability Focus: I was quite sad when I heard the news that HP was abruptly ending its new HP Tablet product. At The MASIE Center, we have been testing and experimenting with each new tablet that reaches the marketplace. We have run lab tests on both of Apple’s iPads, a range of Android tablets, the Blackberry Playbook and, most recently, the HP TouchPad tablet.
While we are vendor neutral at the Center, I am continually looking at the “affordances” for learning that each new technology might provide organizations. When we tested the HP TouchPad, we were convinced that it was the best competitor to the iPad to date. The video and audio were great, the design had many upsides and we could see the value of a second major player in the marketplace. In addition, HP was deeply focused on how the TouchPad would integrate with Enterprise IT, something that has been more difficult for early deployers of the iPad. But, something nagged us as we were working with the TouchPad, and that was Usability.
In the new world of mobile devices and apps, Usability is taking on a second dimension of “Rapid Intuitive Functionality”. In other words, put a device into someone’s hands and they almost instantly see the affordances and can get things done - without prompting or instructions. In this regard, the iPad has been built from the group up around these Usability characteristics. The HP TouchPad had great engineering, but it was hard to see the same sense of deep Usability. It would have been awesome to have seen the TouchPad launch with several “skins or templates” that were truly mapped to how people worked - Executives, Sales Personnel, Restaurant Workers, Doctors - showing Rapid Intuitive Functionality in an Enterprise-Ready tablet device.
I am saddened to see the TouchPad and HP rapidly exit the Tablet Marketplace. As someone who is using a tablet for 80 percent of his work, I really want to see active competition from major players to continue innovation and competitive designs. Sigh! Watch for new tablets (or hybrids) that may come from unpredicted players like SONY or Samsung, or even a publisher like Bloomberg or News Corp. Lessons learned: a fresher view of Usability and new tablets will need a major new “affordance” to compete in this space.
2. Session Titles Matter & Seating Formats: We have added two daily entries to our blog on Design Decisions. One focuses on the importance and process of naming sessions and workshops. And, the other explores the challenge of deciding how to seat 2,000 people at a General Session - either theater style or in tables of rounds with 8 or 10 per table. I am enjoying exploring these decisions in our Day by Day Design Blog for the 77 days until Learning 2011. Check out these two latest entries at http://www.learning2011.com/designblog
3. “Take the Lead” New Book from Betsy Myers: I am very proud to announce a new leadership development book from a great colleague and friend, Betsy Myers. “Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You” will be published in the next three weeks and is a powerful perspective on leadership, mentoring and balancing our approaches as leaders.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, well known Harvard Business School professor, said, “Betsy Myers, adviser to US presidents and longtime advocate for women, shares her considerable experience and wisdom with everyone who cares about high-level and everyday leadership. This charming, engrossing book will particularly excite and empower women, who will treat this book as their personal mentor and apply Myers’s principles to enrich their lives.”
For full disclosure, I am mentioned in the book as one of Betsy’s mentors and was honored to contribute a quote about it. Betsy is one of the most interesting leaders that I have ever known in my life and we are rich mentors to each other. She will be at Learning 2011, focusing on Women in Leadership and how we can expand our thinking around leadership development.
You can pre-order the hard cover or Kindle version of “Take the Lead” at http://tinyurl.com/betsymyers
Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie
email: emasie@masie.com
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