Satisfying unmet needs versus creating needs

For a proposal I’m drafting, I wrote: “It’s important to recognize that successful innovations do not create needs—they satisfy unmet needs. The trick is figuring out what needs are going unmet.” Is that true?

iPhone Game: Trism

A recent article on CNN about the sales success of the iPhone game Trism spurred me to write about how addicted I am to that game. Shortly after the App Store launched, I looked for something fun to play. I originally thought I’d go with the classic Bejeweled, but reading the reviews, everyone loved Trism. [...]

Movie Review: Synecdoche, New York

For the first time since the birth of our son, Jules, last night Stacy and I went out on a date to see a movie, handing the kid into the very capable hands of a babysitter friend. Given the rarity of this occasion, I scanned Metacritic to make the most of this choice. I dismissed [...]

Thinking about Theory (Warning: Interaction Design Nerdery Ahead)

In conversations and on mailing lists addressing the design of interactive media, I’ve found myself growing uneasy with just how little understanding most people practicing in the field have of how they are influenced by the various theories that undergird are standard practice. I think it can be problematic that so people are working in [...]

Here we go again… already?

Last night’s The Daily Show featured an interview with eternal optimist Thomas Friedman. In it, Friedman argues that the way forward is through investment and innovation in the energy industry. He even promotes an “energy bubble,” saying that the infrastructure such a bubble would lay would make the pain of the bubble worth it. While [...]

The first in my memory

Barack’s election is a big deal. Something I had meant to post before tonight, but hadn’t gotten around to, was a realization I had about the 4 candidates for the two highest offices. For the first time in memory, all four candidates were folks who came from no privilege, no family assumptions as to the [...]

Parenthood – the biggest difference so far

Some folks ask me what’s been the biggest difference in my life now that I have a child. For a while, it was hard to say what was because of the child, as I was on leave from work for 6 weeks, and bought a house. Now that I’ve been back to work a couple [...]

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Links, thoughts, and essays from Peter Merholz