Reflections on life lived by a coast
Are you confronting the challenge of opening a new yoga studio, getting established as a newly certified teacher, or attracting more students in a competitive urban area? If so, you’re not alone.
There’s been an explosion [Read more…]
Consumers are enraged at Netflix’ steep price increases with good reason — a 60% increase is hard to take during a prolonged recession. As a result well over 1 million have already cancelled their subscription.
From the consumer’s POV, Netflix’ latest plans to split the offering into two unrelated services, Netflix and Qwikster, are utterly ridiculous. Infuriating. And perhaps fatal to the company’s longevity.
Netflix has given its customers the reason — and the motivation — to look elsewhere for a better value.
The heavy-handed moves by the company are causing me to rethink how much, if any, I want of Netflix’ service in the future. Like millions of other Netflix subscribers who have become disenchanted with the brand.
One of the reasons for the furor that’s fueling the consumer backlash is Netflix’ broken brand promise. We used to believe Netflix stood as a shining example of a consumer-centered modern corporation.
Now we realize it was just a big myth that we collectively bought into. Myself included.
Netflix has squandered our trust and lost our loyalty. They’ve polluted their brand. Can they overcome this damage?
Netflix is clearly staking its future on mainstream adoption of streaming and digital downloads as the preferred way to “consume” movies, music, TV episodes, games, etc.
But there’s a lurking problem that no one has acknowledged in the furor that’s raging across the blogosphere. And that’s user experience.
If you plan to stream movies to a PC, Mac or an Apple-branded consumer device (like Apple TV or iPad), configuring Netflix and entering your credentials are not too difficult. It’s easy if you’re using a device that’s equipped with a keyboard.
But heaven help you if you’re using a traditional consumer electronics device and must enter user credentials with a remote control device. (You might want to consult a teenage geek who’s comfortable with remotes as an input device.)
To make things worse, just because you’ve gotten it working once doesn’t mean your Netflix configuration will keep working indefinitely. Software updates by Netflix and/or your consumer electronics device manufacturer can cause the configuration to stop working. So you confront the user experience issues all over again.
Netflix doesn’t exert much influence over the consumer electronics ecosystem, so the user experience problems are systemic and likely to persist…
Over the past several months I’ve wasted hours trying to keep Netflix streaming to our flat-screen TV, using Sony PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation network as the interface to Netflix. My first attempt to configure streaming took several hours (including several sessions on my Mac to get online help).
After the initial setup it worked just fine — until Sony’s PlayStation network was hacked and everything had to be reset. Since then I’ve had to reset the configuration more than once. I’m not sure if this is caused by Sony’s frequent software updates or some conflict between the PlayStation network and Netflix.
Needless to say, if your interface to a consumer electronics device is a TV remote, having to enter multiple sets of user IDs and passwords is a non-trivial and frustrating exercise. The fact that whatever you type when entering your password is masked with asterisks — ******** — increases your chances of wasting your time due to typos that occur when you use a remote as an inferior keyboard substitute.
To fix the broken Netflix configuration required consulting both Netflix’ and Sony’s support resources online. Not surprisingly they weren’t coordinated. Netflix’ site turned out to be distinctly unhelpful, and Sony’s site required some real digging to find the solution.
Not to mention waiting until server maintenance was done (during prime time, I might add).
The eventual solution was:
Oh — and I forgot to mention that Sony required me to reset my password to the PlayStation network before beginning this whole procedure — yet another frustrating battle with the remote as keyboard substitute.
This may sound simple, but using the remote as an input device for activities designed for a keyboard meant that these steps took well over an hour — once I understood what was required to fix the problem in first place. Finding the solution required use of a computer.
Net net –
Given the on-going lack of coordination between Netflix and consumer electronics companies when it comes to user experience, usability issues like these will prove to be Netflix’ Achilles heel if their future depends on happy customers.
Thankfully, Netflix has listened to their customers and responded. Plans for Qwikster have been abandoned — the service will not be split in two.
As a girl, I shivered one night in the basement where our TV had been banished, and thrilled to the Beatles’ American debut. Not all my shivers were from the cold of that unheated room… I’d fallen in love.
A landmark event [Read more…]
A francophile friend is eagerly trying to buy French books and periodicals for her new Kindle DX. She splits her time between Seattle and France, and would love to consolidate her reading materials electronically for practical reasons. Fueled by optimism, she bought a third generation Kindle last Friday.
She loves Kindle’s promise, but disenchantment is already setting in… For reasons that aren’t clear, the usage scenario she has in mind is not well supported by the current market environment. She has spent hours searching www.amazon.fr, to no avail. No French books to speak of, and hardly any periodicals.
Her trial subscription to Le Monde has revealed a number of usability issues. There’s no teaser format that enables her to skip to the articles that most interest her. No images, text only.
Update: March 14, 2012 — Amazon has launched the French Kindle Store (at last!), and now offers over 4000 French classics at no charge. You can visit Amazon for more information on what’s available for French speakers. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the French publishing industry to agree to release current titles for enjoyment on a Kindle…
And now, back to my friend’s wish list — for the experience she wants on a Kindle…
Her dream: read French novels, newspapers and magazines on a conveniently portable device like the Kindle. Current releases, not just 19th century public domain books. Because she’s passionate about perfecting her French comprehension and pronunciation skills, she’d love to read while listening to a simultaneous playback via MP3 (or equivalent).
French is not her native language, so she wants to be able to select unfamiliar words on the Kindle, thereby launching a built-in dictionary whose entries explain their meaning. She’d also welcome the option of viewing French-to-English translations of unknown words and slang (a must-have for people whose French is less fluent than hers.)
She’s very interested in Kindle’s text-to-speech option, especially if it doesn’t sound like a robot. Needless to say, she expects the text-to-speech option for French content to produce words pronounced correctly in French, rather than listen to a techno-voice trying to pronounce French words as if they had been written in English.
Before ordering the Kindle, my friend did some research which revealed that Amazon had released a digital publishing platform for French language authors in January. That sparked her purchase of a Kindle. Surely, she thought, there’d be French ebooks in the marketplace by now, 6+ months since Amazon released its multi-language publishing platform.
Hélas! She’s learned there are few contemporary books in French for Kindle. And no linked dictionary for French content as there is for English language content.
Her big question: is she just suffering early adopter pains, and if she waits patiently, will someday have the opportunity to read French books and magazines on a Kindle? Or is she an outlier, a member of a niche market of French readers who would welcome electronic books, but who are too few in number to motivate the French publishing industry to embrace the new digital formats?
And what about the French government’s continuing quest to promulgate the French language around the world? Will France succeed in ensuring a steady demand for French language publications beyond French borders? And if so, surely digital formats would make French publications more easily accessible to a broader global audience if booksellers could avoid the brick-and-mortar challenges of inventory forecasting, shipping costs and other import-related challenges.
The Wall Street Journal describes the role of the French government in protecting the rights of small independent booksellers, and speculates on what’s in store for electronic books (September 24, 2010 article). Will the same law that protects small booksellers against heavy discounting also apply to electronic books?
My brother is writing a book with his stepdaughter about their scarily parallel stories as cancer fighters and survivors. At the moment, they’re working on author photos for the book cover. This process has made me think about the stories that faces tell, or hint at; the messages that can be perceived subliminally when your photo appears in different contexts — like a book jacket, a Facebook page, etc. [Read more…]
Guest author, Brook McCarthy, is a part-time yoga teacher in Sydney, Australia. Brook also runs a marketing consultancy that helps businesses in the health and wellbeing sector improve their communications online.
Cultivating community can be as simple as a friendly yoga class, a shared meal or an inspiring workshop. This can sow seeds towards creating a soul-centered kinship of yogis who take their community “off the mat” and beyond the studio walls.
For almost a year, I attended a yoga studio in the heart of Sydney, Australia. It was a busy school, packed with workers from nearby buildings, and had a “buzz” of the town outside. I attended several classes a week and was often taught by a particular teacher who, time and again, asked for my name. The first dozen times, I didn’t mind.
Another evening after class, I heard a teacher invite several students to the pub for a drink after class. I wasn’t offended by a yoga teacher having a drink with his students (Who knows? They may even have been drinking soda water.), it was the inclusive/exclusive inference that left me feeling on the outside.
My present yoga teacher cultivates community in each and every class he teaches. Not only does he have a gift for remembering names and the physical limitations of each student, he gently uses our names to verbally adjust students, which also works to introduce us to each other.
Each class is made up of a collection of individuals who bring with them the emotions and preoccupations of their particular day. I’ve witnessed yoga teachers change students’ differing energies, uniting the class towards common goals such as mindfulness.
Rather than create challenges for the more experienced yogis in the room, try to teach each class as if all your students are beginners — make your instructions accessible, your tone welcoming, and your spirit encouraging. A sense of fun and joyfulness is a powerful teaching tool and helps students lighten up and smile at their neighbors. Ask students to introduce themselves to the people next to them in small classes. And lead students in a Namaste to each other at the end of class.
Humor is most effective at helping students get out of their heads and onto their mats. Crack a joke and see people relax — most effective after a core strength session. One of my favorite teachers has a gift for cracking jokes at opportune moments. Although these jokes can be a bit off-colour at times, they are accompanied by a charming, open smile; my teacher easily disarms new students of their concerns that all yoga teachers are serious and holier-than-thou.
Encouraging students to linger longer can start with a cup of tea, extend to a meal, and end up with people volunteering in their community — it’s all in the spirit of inclusion.
One successful Sydney studio does this with grace as the yoga teacher boils a kettle in the reception room and offers students who linger after class a cup of tea. A meal at a local restaurant after a yoga workshop or the completion of a course also encourages students to relax and get to know one another outside of class. Depending on your locale and the students’ means, either bundle the meal into the price of the workshop or let everyone know it’s “Dutch treat.” Some studios sponsor annual or seasonal group meals, and ask students who want to participate to contribute something, such as a favorite home-cooked dish, to share with their teachers and fellow yogis.
For students who are frequent visitors to your yoga studio, offering a volunteer program can help build a sense of community, and not only among the volunteers. One yoga city studio I have attended has a “karma yoga” program offering free yoga classes in exchange for cleaning duties. I began volunteering at another studio giving adjustments and corrections during Saturday classes. I was already an experienced yoga student at that time and much appreciative of the personal instructions given to me by the yoga teacher. The studio also benefited from having an extra set of eyes and hands during busy classes.
Groups tend to be judged by their actions before people listen to their words. Perhaps the single most powerful thing yogis can do to encourage new people to experience the benefits of yoga is to become more involved in community services. This also allows students to experience karma yoga, the yoga of action.
Samadhi Yoga in Sydney has a formal “Yoga in the Community” program, and offers 16 heavily-discounted classes per week to anyone who wishes to attend. This organization also runs programs in conjunction with drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, at-risk child care services, clinics for patients with AID and juvenile justice units. While this type of commitment may be some years off for a fledgling studio, a “clean the park” picnic day, a free weekly class after school to local teenagers, or a visit to an aged care home is more easily manageable.
Each yoga studio has the potential to become a hub of activity for the community beyond its walls. When we gather together with the hope of reaching self-realization, we are working toward recognizing the universality of all beings, and achieving peace and freedom not only for ourselves, but also our worldwide community. Taking our yoga practice “off the mat” and into the world.
— Brook McCarthy, YogaReach, Sydney, Australia
Last Friday afternoon I was in a Seattle area Lululemon store checking out some spring-season tank tops, and was pleasantly shocked at how crowded the store was. It was hard to maneuver around all the shoppers, and at times, you had to wait for people to move away before you could check out merchandise hanging on the rack or stored in size-specific bins.
Sadly for shoppers (but not the store), all 4 of the dressing rooms were in constant use, resulting in at least a 15-minute wait to try on apparel for size and fit. As a testament to Lululemon brand loyalty, almost everyone waited patiently in line for a dressing room rather than go elsewhere. (There is at least one other yoga apparel store at this location, so people have other options within a 5‑minute walk.)
Most of the bins for pants and crops in my size were empty, and the same was true for tops and tanks. I overhead one sales person tell a shopper that they replenish their merchandise on a weekly basis.
Another positive sign, the cashiers’ lines were busy; lots of people were buying. Clearly this store doesn’t suffer from shoppers muttering, “Sorry, just looking…” And as everyone knows, yoga wear with Lululemon’s brand is definitely not inexpensive.
As another indicator of consumer confidence and this brand’s appeal, the shop was loaded with men and women across a surprisingly broad range of ages and body types. Yes, the store was packed with teenage girls checking out the latest hoodies, but also with boomer women trying on yoga crops or tops, guys looking at running gear, and men buying gifts for wives and daughters.
There was a lovely buzz in the store. It made me hopeful that this region is starting to rebound from its long slump.
On the other hand, one of my more cynical friends said that people aren’t shopping generally; they just find it easier to rationalize investments in “wellness lifestyle” aids. And if that’s the case Lululemon is certainly benefiting, at least here in the Seattle area.
If you’re a yoga student who lives in an area blessed with lots of studios and talented teachers, you can be more discriminating when choosing where to take classes or which teachers to follow. Now that I’m no longer a rank beginner, I’ve started to pay closer attention to the factors that cause me to prefer some teachers over others. And one of those factors is, I confess, the sound of her voice.
The sound of a teacher’s voice is an important aspect of a class: what she says and how she says it. It’s a matter of personal taste, but some voices are — to my ear at least— more pleasing than others. In any given class I spend a lot of time listening with either eyes closed or attention focused elsewhere (the drishti gaze). When I’m not actively watching the teacher, the sound of her voice helps me focus my practice or identify where a micro-adjustment might be required. What she says and how she says it can make all the difference between yoga-as-gym-activity and yoga as something more meaningful or uplifting.
Does the teacher’s voice direct your attention to the key focal point(s) for your pose? Does it help you crystallize your intention or improve your ability to shift into your meditation space?
Yes, of course, the content of what the teacher says and how she delivers her instructions are hugely important. That’s the starting point, the sine qua non. If the teacher’s instructional style or her ability to guide you is out of whack with your needs and capabilities, nothing else matters: you need to find a teacher better suited to what you need to learn, or unlearn. Solve that problem first.
Once you’ve found a set of talented teachers whose instruction style and yoga tradition match your preferences, then you can start to pay attention to other factors, like class size, the nature of the invocations or readings, etc. The spiritual content (or lack thereof). The smell of the studio. Its décor. The props on offer.
Ideally, I prefer classes that are small enough to offer semi-individualized attention on how to improve your pose, alignment, action, drishti focal point — whatever. But it’s rare to find a high quality, uncrowded class. In this particular urban area crowded classes are the norm, unless you’ve found a new teacher, a new studio just developing its following, or can take classes at unpopular hours.
In large or crowded classes, it can be difficult to see the teacher when your mat is not up in the front, except for those moments when she stops the class to demonstrate a new or challenging pose. In classes like this the voice matters more than ever. It’s the carrier for good instruction.
If you’re trying to attract more students, think about ways to offer a trial experience of your voice, the quality of your instruction. What about offering some sample podcasts or an online video clip to showcase how you teach and interact with students? Pick a pose or two, find a willing student or two, and get someone’s help to record/video the instructional moment.
Then look for appropriate places online where you can publish or offer your sample of how you teach your students. Facebook, YouTube, your studio’s website, iTunes, online yoga communities — you now have lots of relatively inexpensive opportunities to showcase what makes you such an inspiring teacher. And if this is all technically beyond your skillset, perhaps you can barter some free classes in exchange for technical or professional help with your podcast or sample video.
If you contribute to a blog, think about ways to offer a brief podcast or audio clip in which you share your voice, your values, or what you’re all about as a teacher and yoga practitioner.
Share your voice.
Interesting factoids, like how many Americans practice yoga, spread like wildfire across the Web and blogosphere. But getting any perspective on those factoids can be much harder to find, and in some cases, impossible.
This morning I uncovered a web-based information vortex when I tried to find out how many Americans currently practice yoga. I fell into a circular spiral, [Read more…]
I wish some agency that specializes in intelligent database mining and direct marketing would help my local phone company stop wasting trees on fruitless direct mail pieces.
Here’s the deal: my recycle bin now contains somewhere between 5 and 10 pieces of unopened direct mail offers from Qwest, [Read more…]