Friday Fun and Link Love
This is more of a designee flaw ...
How come diners always put a box of toothpicks at the cash register, but never have a trash receptacle for the wrapper? When I was on the road every day in sales, I’d reach into my coat pocket from time to time and pull out 10 or 15 toothpick wrappers. Design flaw.
And while we’re in this milieu, what about the restrooms? We now have motion activated flushing mechanisms. Motion activated soap dispensers. Motion activated towel dispensers. And on the way out – your hand has to touch a door handle. What could be more germ infested than a public restroom door handle? Design flaw.
Enough of that milieu. Last week I reported a milestone: my 800th Word Sell post. Having received much congratulations from readers, I now find myself in the awkward position of having to retract my announcement. Apparently, when transferring to my new WordPress theme, several posts were duplicated. Design flaw. I’m still a tad shy of 800. Oh well, I’m one closer than yesterday.
What everyday design flaws have you noticed lately?
Link Love
Robert Hruzek, the consummate story teller, just launched his latest group project, What I Learned From Children. Robert’s projects are fun to write, fun to read, and loaded with link love. Submission deadline is February 7, 2010.
One blogger I really need to spend more time reading – Liz Strauss. Don’t you think she’s great? She packs more punch in her posts than just about any writer I know in the social media and marketing space. And incredibly generous, to boot.
Attention, writers. My blogger friend Emma Newman was interviewed this week on Collective Inkwell. She talks about the art of writing and some of her creative marketing methods. Her novel, Twenty Years Later, will be published soon.
Finally, I have to give one of my clients another plug. Kay Plantes started blogging recently, and writes brilliantly about business model innovation. If you want to see the big picture – and see it clearly – take a look. Her writing will transform the way you think about your business and your customers.
Enjoy the weekend, and go Saints.
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Chicago based SEO copywriting, blog consulting, and content marketing.
Hey, thanks for the nod today, Brad! I hope all your readers choose to join us for the project this week!
Those Saints! They just keep on’ marchin’ in…
Thank you for the link love Brad, I am honoured, and ever so slightly teary-eyed. In a good way.
I’m frustrated with my inability to recall a design flaw in this moment, as I am constantly ranting about things like that all the time. I may be back later…
We’re thinking down the same lines today Brad. But truthfully, if even the simple things like toothpick wrappers were well thought out where would that leave the comedians and commentators? Although I did here a story that a rather successful Chicago restaurant owner has pushed to move trash barrels near the door of restrooms so that the handle could be pulled while holding a towel.
My favorite flaw was from back in college days, when the powers that be chose to put the handicap restroom on the third floor of an old walk up (no elevator) dorm house. Of course there was no way to bypass the stairs into the house to begin with so the exercise was academic at best. But it was nicely designed for wheelchair access. Even the light switch had been lowered to a few feet off the ground.
Robert, Emma, Fred – Thanks for stopping by and sharing a bit of your Friday. Fred’s example of a hard to access handicap restroom showcases one of my favorite categories, the oxymoronic design flaw. Some might drop the “oxy” prefix in this case.