The Truth of the Thing

A talk on conceptual accessibility being fundamental for adoption, while discussing mistakes I've made.

Transcript

1. March 6, 2019
   ricardo@samsungnext.com
   @ArgesRic

   https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/
   The Truth of the Thing
   Ricardo J. Méndez
   

   View Slide

2. March 6, 2019
   ricardo@samsungnext.com
   @ArgesRic

   https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/
   The Truth of the Thing
   Ricardo J. Méndez
   Mistakes I’ve Made
   

   View Slide

3. @argesric @samsungnext
   Preview of coming attractions
   •It's not all about tech;
   •Access and understanding > usability;
   •Lack of either access or
   understanding deepens inequality;
   •We are running out of time.
   

   View Slide

4. Relevant
   quote!
   

   View Slide

5. @argesric @samsungnext
   “A new scientific truth does not triumph by
   convincing its opponents and making them
   see the light, but rather because its
   opponents eventually die, and a new
   generation grow up that is familiar with it.”
   — Max Planck
   

   View Slide

6. @argesric @samsungnext
   

   View Slide

7. Back story
   

   View Slide

8. @argesric @samsungnext
   https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/opinion/sunday/venezuela-bitcoin-inflation-cryptocurrencies.html
   

   View Slide

9. @argesric @samsungnext
   

   View Slide

10. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

11. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

12. @argesric @samsungnext
    https://www.nacion.com/revista-dominical/la-crisis-
    que-disparo-los-precios/
    IY2AW47ACRE6ZAHFISNTVGRHME/story/
    

    View Slide

13. @argesric @samsungnext
    Timing was key.
    If you weren’t “in” before the crash, you
    were out.
    

    View Slide

14. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

15. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

16. @argesric @samsungnext
    That deepening inequality?
    We risk that happening again, between
    those with understanding and access,
    and those without.
    

    View Slide

17. @argesric @samsungnext
    What could have made things different?
    I just accepted this kind of thing
    happened.
    

    View Slide

18. Mistakes I’ve
    made
    

    View Slide

19. Mistake 1: Tech, not problems
    

    View Slide

20. @argesric @samsungnext
    “The Tech is the Thing”
    Since I hadn’t learned what my job was.
    

    View Slide

21. @argesric @samsungnext
    Key question: what’s your job?
    

    View Slide

22. @argesric @samsungnext
    End job is to keep the user happy.
    

    View Slide

23. Mistake 2: Stability, not usability
    

    View Slide

24. @argesric @samsungnext
    When all you have is an obsession with
    computer science everything looks like
    a systems architecture problem.
    

    View Slide

25. @argesric @samsungnext
    Stability was the name of the game.
    

    View Slide

26. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

27. Mistake 3: Usability, not
    comprehensibility
    

    View Slide

28. @argesric @samsungnext
    Systems are lenses.
    A lens imposes a perspective.
    

    View Slide

29. @argesric @samsungnext
    Frictionless helps with adoption.
    Frictionless doesn’t mean accessible.
    

    View Slide

30. @argesric @samsungnext
    Accessible means users can approach
    the truth of the thing.
    If it isn’t conceptually accessible, we are
    just asking users to trade overlords.
    

    View Slide

31. @argesric @samsungnext
    Giving them control?
    Explain what we mean.
    Explain the trade-offs.
    

    View Slide

32. @argesric @samsungnext
    Wait, didn’t you just say…?
    

    View Slide

33. @argesric @samsungnext
    Which aspects could cause irretrievable
    damage to a user who doesn’t
    understand them from the start?
    

    View Slide

34. Mistake 4: Problems, not people
    

    View Slide

35. @argesric @samsungnext
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2CjuAwrAq8
    “You need to see people, not problems”
    — Bruce Lawson, Monkigras 2019
    

    View Slide

36. @argesric @samsungnext
    Problems
    •Censorship;
    •Frictionless money transfer;
    •Dependence on central authorities.
    

    View Slide

37. @argesric @samsungnext
    Keep in mind who will use it, because
    people’s situations are different.
    Remember that we are privileged.
    

    View Slide

38. @argesric @samsungnext
    People
    •Mining hardware at risk of being
    confiscated;
    •Working abroad, wanting to send money
    home;
    •Unaware that they are in an economy
    about to tank.
    

    View Slide

39. The truth is…
    

    View Slide

40. @argesric @samsungnext
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/opinion/sunday/venezuela-bitcoin-inflation-cryptocurrencies.html
    

    View Slide

41. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

42. @argesric @samsungnext
    You are working on the future.
    This should worry you.
    People will live with the decisions you make.
    

    View Slide

43. @argesric @samsungnext
    We can’t afford to wait until it goes
    mainstream.
    Someone will figure out how to make
    this accessible.
    

    View Slide

44. @argesric @samsungnext
    

    View Slide

45. @argesric @samsungnext
    Out-execute them, because the tech
    is not the only thing.
    Keep your users happier.
    

    View Slide

46. @argesric @samsungnext
    Make sure your users understand the
    truth of what you’ve built.
    Contact: ricardo@samsungnext.com
    

    View Slide