Marketing Technology Letter
How do you explain some-
thing that never existed before?
"Using a computer is like
riding a bicycle. It gets you to
and from places with great
speed and efficiency; it's like
getting wheels for the mind."
Steve Jobs
 “A computer lets you make
more mistakes faster than
any other invention in human
history, with the possible ex-
ception of handguns and tequila.
”
Mitch Radcliffe
Wings for the mind
** www.migosoftware.com
CONTACT US : IC3 Limited
October 2005 – NO.
Wheels Wings for the mind ...
...and for the legs
Marketers who have to create and harness new markets by introducing radically new
products or services face an extra challenge: market ‘education’. How do you explain
something that never existed before? This happens quite often in the high-tech do-
main where we talk about disruptive technologies that revolutionise ways things are
done and, of course, engender new paradigms.
And, as technologies become increasingly sophisticated, the ‘education’ requirements
become more complex. In the late 1800s, the automobile was introduced as a
‘horseless carriage’ and it had less than ten ‘commands’ - on/off, accelerate, brake,
clutch, change gear, petrol/air mix (automatic and computerised nowadays). Today,
many hi- tech products are fairly complex and rather hard to use. And marketers
struggle to describe the benefits of a growing number of new ’things’ such as broad-
band Internet, WiFi, 3G, MMS, video streaming, digital TV, satellite radio and so on.
Are analogies adequate to explain basic principles?
As part of the team that created Apple Computer Europe in the early 1980s, I had
the privilege to witness the results of an ad campaign we ran in Europe’s main busi-
ness newspapers. The ad featured a picture of a bicycle illustrating the concept of
“wheels for the mind” Apple was using in 1981 to explain the benefits of a
personal computer (the Apple II). The analogy was quite powerful … and successful.
If you live in the middle of nowhere, in a house providing shelter and food, and if
you have a bicycle, you can, in one day, explore more territory around the house
than if you do it on foot. With a computer, by analogy, you can analyse much
more data within a given time, or handle a fixed amount of data much faster. So,
the personal computer gives you ‘wheels for the mind’.
In the present context, this PC-bicycle analogy suggests several remarks and,
maybe, new analogies:
 The price of power
In comparison with the early 1980s, personal computers have become as fast
and as versatile as airplanes - wings for the mind - but they are more difficult
to use and, especially, to manage and maintain, like airplanes.
 The world at your fingertips
Connected to the Internet, they are also ‘wheels for the legs’ - you can shop
around the world without having to get out of your house.
 Your ‘world’ at your fingertip
With a program like iTunes, you can store all your CDs on a PC’s hard disk and
have your favourite music at your fingertip - ’wheels for the arm’!
 Computers are becoming truly personal
Finally, pocket/palm-sized devices that you can ‘wear’ all the time - high- end
cellphones, PDAs, iPods - are the first breeds of truly personal IT systems, al-
beit not yet convenient enough (do you enjoy typing an SMS with a numeric
keyboard?). But with software like Migo** you can now carry your desktop
(files, settings, email, etc.) in your pocket - ’wheels for the wheels’?
Hi-tech keeps evolving. Market education needs never disappear. Isn’t IT still fun?
www.IC3marketing.com tel : +44 (0) 20 8339 0709 e-mail : Henri@IC3marketing.com
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