Why Mahalo
One of the most frequent questions I get is: “why do you use / like Mahalo?” Well, I figured it was time to address this in some more depth.
First, those that discover (for the first time - and maybe beyond) that I use the product over Google are quite surprised. It’s almost like a “how could you abandon Google?” type response. Well, the truth is, I’m not. But we’ll get to that in a little bit.
Really, it comes down to believing in what Mahalo is all about as a product more than anything. Sure I use Wikipedia. Could I rely on it for day-to-day information? No. Sure I read a ton of RSS feeds, but can I rely on those to provide with answers about a bunch of stuff (really, anything) throughout the day? No. Does Google mesh both of those things (current + news) — yeah, kinda.
But not in a way that completely satisfies me.
Let me fill you in on what I deem to be the 2 secrets of Mahalo.
- It’s not trying to be all information to all people (Google)
- Their guide notes (shown in the screenshot below)
This little blurb of text provides me with Wikipedia type information, but in a fast and easily referenced way. This is especially true when you get to the homepage. This is human-monitored and managed information, folks.
So this should cover why it’s better than Wikipedia, even though Mahalo makes no promise to be a Wikipedia replacement. It it did, I’d surely be less interested. But I see these two things I’ve mentioned already as key time savers throughout my day.
Now, if you look at the screenshot above carefully, you’ll notice a section called “Help Build.” I’m not going to get in to the intricacies of the Mahalo Greenhouse. But certainly, one of the best ways I got hooked as a user was when they rolled out Mahalo Social. Yes, I contribute regularly.
I actually started, and contributed, several links to help build the product management page, as I’ve mentioned on this blog before. And you know what’s funny? I actually want to submit content. When I see a spelling error on a guide note, for example, I want to draft a quick message on the message board for that page to let the guide that created it know. Why? Because I’ve actually received timely responses that are well-spoken and seen results.
You don’t get this from Google. Mahalo knows it’s capital intensive to run a people-driven content business like this, but it’s imperative. Regular old, unimportant users like me actually get to see there is stuff going on behind the scenes and they really do care about the quality of the content they are creating.
One of the other great things is their browser plug-ins that make it drop-dead simple for shmoes like me to easily supply them with content.
Now, this is only the direct and immediate type stuff that you get when interacting with the product. And I can’t lie - I know there are certainly critics out there. Any product will have them. But anything that really saves me time and helps me to find the content I’m looking for quickly is a big winner in my book.
Oh, and how have I not abandoned Google? Well, for any page / search term Mahalo doesn’t recognize or have yet, they will show you Google results. Perfect.
Ed the Sock vs. the Shel Puppet
Loren Feldman is getting a lot of attention right now for creating the Shel Israel puppet. The videos are hilarious. Being the big fan-boy of Jason Calacanis that I am, I loved his current set of Mahalo interviews.
Watching these videos though, something kept ringing in my head. It took me a few hours to figure out - but I recalled a great source of humor from my childhood that the Shel puppet seems to channel in a great way - Ed the Sock.
As I’m sure most Canadians will remember, Ed was a hilarious (well, to most of us anyway) puppet that used to be featured pretty regularly on Much Music. I don’t really know what Ed is up to these days, but I thought I’d draw this comparison out anyway.
Ed, I’d encourage a trip to California, some meetings with Mahalo and Calacanis and give the Shel puppet a run for his money. Canadians need to represent.
Ask a Product Manager Question
I finally found some time to put my thoughts down on paper from a question Jeff Lash sent my way regarding how to gather data in an organization (either B2B or B2C) that may not want or support PMs talking directly to prospects or customers.
Crazy idea, I know. Believe me, it happens quite a bit.
So, here it is: Can a product manager get feedback without talking to customers?
Listening Labs
Not sure how many of you out there have been a part of usability studies or testing. My personal opinion is that “studies” put people in contrived situations and expect them to yield real-world data about how they are interacting with products.
This research is inherently faulty. Why? Namely because when asked, the natural response is for people to tell a researcher (or “expert”) what they think they want to hear.
Funny enough, Harry Beckwith covers this very, very well in his book The Invisible Touch.
I just watched one of Robert Scoble’s early interviews at his new FastCompany.tv gig with Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis. It’s not secret I’m a big Jason fan, and I think the Mahalo product is outstanding; in fact, it has replaced Google as my homepage.
The whole interview (parts 1 and 2) are really worth watching. However, about 13 minutes in to the first segment, they interview Mahalo’s Director of User Experience. He talks specifically about what i started this post discussing. His insights about what Mahalo does are fascinating - check it out:
To follow this up, Eric has created a Mahalo page with his insights and information about user testing. This is fascinating stuff, and I hope it can bring some additional depth to your product development process in the future.
Twitter Summaries
I am a regular user of Twitter, as I’m sure anyone visiting this blog can tell. I’ve toyed with using Twitter Tools for my blog to get a summary of my tweets posted everyday, but I really didn’t like the idea of having a plug-in do this and futz around with creating an actual blog post on here.
So, I’ve found a solution. Actually, 2. If you really want to see a summary of my online activity you can check out:
The Tumblr is only Twitter and and RSS summary feed of Write That Down. The FriendFeed really includes a bunch of other things within the summary. I also have a FireEagle account that I can’t wait to include in the sidebar - they just need to get some of their widgets (and mobile application!) all finished off and released before that happens.
