Man, it’s good to be back in Austin. I’m not completely thawed out yet, but I’m still beaming after watching two good college friends get married in Boston this weekend.

Weddings are pretty amazing things. We’re surrounded by friends and family, and love seems to be everywhere. And of course, like the sap I am, I found myself falling in love too.

With a clothing iron.

Now, feel free to chuckle (the rest of the wedding party sure did), but I’ve never been so enamored with a home appliance. As I was getting ready on the morning of the big day, nothing seemed unusual about this device that emitted a beep and a cool, blue-colored glow as soon as I plugged it in. But after a short pause, another soft beep and a hue change to green, I wondered if something might be amiss.

I propped up the iron and took a step back. Am I doing something wrong here? Had I deviated from my tried and true Ironing Playbook™?

- Plug in iron. Check.
- Crank the dial all the way up. Check.
- Start ironing immediately. Check.
- Singe shirt. Check.
- Quickly spin the dial way down. Check.
- Realize I went too far and crank it back up. Check.
- Get frustrated that it’s 2011 and I STILL don’t have a flying car or a robot to iron for me. Check.

Seemingly sensing my apprehension, the iron beeped softly once more and turned a rosy red. It was only then that I noticed the colored dots on the temperature dial. Subtly, and elegantly, this device had obliterated years of pent-up frustration with ironing, with a small light that simply told me how hot it was.

The lament I hear most often from budding entrepreneurs is that “I want to go out on my own and start something, but I just don’t know what to build.” Sadly, most follow the crowd and try to catch a ride on the hot wave at the moment, but my advice is always the same: Find a pain point and remove it. Figure out what annoys you, your friends, and your family every day, and create a novel way to eliminate it.

The very best products remove that pain and make us mini-superheroes. Whether it’s my personal goal of turning fans into Super Fans that are never the loser at the watercooler that missed the big game, or you’re the product designer that transformed me into an Ironing Ninja creating shirt creases so sharp I need a concealed weapon permit, your goal should be to make customers better at what they do every day.

Build a product or service that’s able to do that, and you just might see me walking it down
the aisle.

(ed. note: i’m still the only person on the internet to use the phrase “fail whale’s teat“.)

It’s been 4+ years since the News Feed launched, and it’s hard to remember the site without it. Four years is no insignificant period of time. There have been countless startups either influenced by, or were flat out clones of the News Feed that no longer exist. A couple are still hanging on, the occasional one gets beamed up to the mothership, but most ease their way into the deadpool.

This one (massive) feature has become as ubiquitous as the dropdown, but it hasn’t changed at all in the past four years. Maybe there are a couple more options to hide annoying Farmville badges, or keep your ex out of sight, but it has always answered just one question: “What just happened?”

On the surface, that’s only subtly different than “What is happening?”, but at the core, the difference is vast. Why must News Feeds be focused on the Past? Aren’t the Present and the Future just as, if not more important?

What if you took the notion of a Past/Present/Future News Feed and installed it at my bank? Wouldn’t it make me a more educated customer? Couldn’t it be the perfect home for “good behavior incentives”?

October 11th
- Your Visa payment of $101.86 was received on time

October 19th
- Late Fee charge of $35.00 waived

Today
- Pending charge of $6.44 at Chipotle
- Pending charge of $21.64 at Best Buy

Thursday
- Your 2nd Mortgage payment of $334.98 is due

January 4th, 2011
- If you continue making payments on time, you will receive a $500 credit limit increase

What if you took the notion of a Past/Present/Future News Feed and installed it at a sports startup?

Find out tomorrow.

On the surface there aren’t many commonalities between a women’s professional sports league and the world’s largest airline, but they struggle with what we all do these days: how to make money.

Following the lead of international sports, the Phoenix Mercury have become the first WNBA team to put a sponsor’s name on their jerseys. Under the three-year deal with LifeLock announced Monday, the identity theft protection company’s name will replace the “Phoenix” and “Mercury” across the road and home uniforms, respectively. The team’s logo will appear above the “LifeLock” on the left side.
Mercury jerseys to have LifeLock name across front

The WNBA is a third-tier league, and European clubs have been doing this for years, but this is definitely the highest profile team sponsorship of a U.S.-based sports team. If you contrast the new jerseys with any vehicle in NASCAR though, the differences hit you like a brick. Instead of a simple logo on a mostly sparse jersey, NASCAR seemingly crams in every logo in existence.

Earlier today my friend Liz sent me an interesting article on FastCompany talking about the design difficulties of AA.com.

Designer Dustin Curtis was so disgusted with the American Airlines Web site that he redesigned it, and posted the results as an open letter to the company. Guess what? One of AA’s designers responded with a long defense about why better design dies a slow death at places like AA.
American Airlines Web Site: The Product of a Self-Defeating Design Process

The article says what you would expect, talking about red tape and bureaucracy (complete with obligatory 37signals reference), but the first comment brings up an interesting question: Does simplicity of design always improve revenue? The suggested design is pretty and more pleasing to the eye, but does that actually mean more tickets would be sold?

An auto mechanic used to be there if I remember correctly, and the smells, colors, and all-around groovy vibe make it feel like the absolute antithesis of the space’s former tenant. Last weekend I tagged along with Shannon to satisfy her sudden hankering for a smoothie.

The “wow”s started as soon we opened the door, and continued as our eyes repeatedly found new nooks and crannies to explore. We stood there for a while, pointing out different things and taking in their great attention detail, not realizing how quickly each person in the line in front of us was dispatched. Suddenly it was her turn and I watched as her head tilted back and her eyes open wide as the enormity of the menu dropped on her. Think Chihuahua at a dog park trying to figure out what the hell a Great Dane is.

The word intimidating really doesn’t do it justice. 40+ wittily-worded, delciously-described drinks beg you to pore over the ingredients of each one, but when you’re finished you’re no closer to knowing what you want.

Once I gave up on trying to pick something I might like, I noticed the “We Suggest” column. Each drink had a recommended $1-ish add-on to make the drink just a bit more perfect. It’s a genius way to up-sell when you have a lot of options, but it’s worth bupkis when you’re trying to just sell.

With a menu as daunting as theirs (and granted, DJ may not consider it as such), why not give customers a view that flips it around? Lead with the add-on that in turn sells the drink. Love hemp granola? Consider a blah-blah, blah-blah, or a blah-blah. Intrigued by raw pecan butter? Tough choice between a blah-blah and a blah. Sure, I’ll giggle at your clever word choices, but if I don’t feel informed enough to make a good decision, I’m less likely to buy.

And that, my friends, goes for $6 smoothies and $60,000 cars.

The next time you’re around Hyde Park, you should stop by and have a drink. The next time you’re visiting a site you manage, take the time to think about how daunting your menu/navigation/products might be to a visitor.

Sure, your nomenclature makes sense to you, but does it make sense to a Chihuahua?