Well said. I firmly believe that MLO should play to its strengths and continue to court the power user.
On Wednesday, 18 November 2015 17:54:23 UTC, chrisleeuk wrote: > > This is more a reply to the comments from John Smith. > > > > I regard myself as a techie, which according to your comments suggests I > don't fit into the definition of a normal human being :) > > I'm not sure if that makes me some kind of super human, or a weird tech > geek, either way, I take it as a compliment. > > > > I'm sorry that you find the learning curve for MLO so challenging. > > I agree that MLO could probably benefit from a little more in the help > department and it always better to make software accessible. > > > > MLO is definitely powerful and configurable and no doubt learning all the > features does take time. > > > > Personally I found that with MLO I could start small. I could learn to use > the basic task functionality without much issue. Gradually I learned the > more advanced functionality, but MLO did a good job of hiding all this > stuff away until I was ready. > > > > I've tried probably half of the software and services on your list of > competition. Many were easy to use and no doubt would appeal more to a > wider public. However in every case I found them either too limiting or I > had to bend my work flow and way of thinking to fit the product. > > > > With MLO I can configure it to fit me. > > > > Your argument is principally that MLO will fail due to lack of mass market > appeal, or that it is inferior because it will be too difficult for the > average person. > > > > It's a typically modern view that products must conform to the lowest > common denominator in order appeal to the maximum audience. That’s the kind > of thinking that, for example, results in big corporations creating some > truly dreadful, but highly profitable TV shows. > > > > MLO does require some investment of your time. It does require learning. > It’s highly specialized, and won’t appeal to everyone. > > > > MLO as a company is small but it’s sustained itself for 15 years so far. > > > > Not every product needs to be all things to all people, but if you can't > get on with MLO, you have a big list of other software that might meet your > individual needs better. > > > > MLO appeals to a niche market, and that’s fine by me. > > > > On Monday, 1 December 2014 01:56:40 UTC-7, J Smith wrote: >> >> Obviously because I am new... that means in part I have no idea what I am >> talking about. But partly it makes me a real expert in the NEW user >> experience. >> >> The thing is I develop/managed websites for a living and I too would >> regard myself as 'above average' technically and I also have a strong sense >> of how users work. >> >> To be honest, I do feel for the MLO team. Given where they are, it will >> not be easy to get to where they need to get to in order to get anything >> close to adoption by the mainstream audience. >> >> I am being extremely persistent here because I have a fairly short >> time-window in which to get my entire life onto MLO... or give the heck up. >> >> I am also being persistent because there is MUCH wrong with all the >> competition that I have seen so far. But that won't last (see below). >> >> What do I like about MLO? >> >> Well, on the up-side, there is a plethora of hotkeys on MLO, many of >> which you can configure yourself is great and it is dead-easy to whiz items >> things up and down multi-level Project Trees and also it's also trivial to >> switch items between being an action and being a Projects. [These aspects >> are astonishingly rare in the obvious competing product that I have tried >> but I LOVE them in MLO!] Moreover you can have something called a "Folder" >> which is neither a Project nor an Action. It's a subject area. (Brilliant! >> But again, v rare in other apps...). >> >> On the down-side this has to be up there as being one of the hardest apps >> to 'learn how to drive' that I have ever, EVER come across. [And that's >> even after I have spent quite a lot of time reading up on GTD theory - and >> after I have even listened to an entire 2-day seminar by David Allen!] >> >> BUT I can't think of a single social or business friend who would put up >> with this level of difficulty of learning that I have experienced with MLO. >> Yes, some techies might well go for it... but any normal human being - >> Absolutely no chance! >> >> And it's no use saying "but it's very powerful and configurable". Life is >> short. We are aren't here for the fun of using your software... Ultimately >> we are only using these tools in order to *save* us time! >> >> [Aside: MLO reminds me of the PC database software dBase clone called >> Clipper - anyone here old enough to remember that? It was indeed incredibly >> powerful and configurable but the learning curve to get anything useful out >> of it was about 3 months. Management were NOT happy. And commercially it >> simply *died* as hugely powerful and highly configurable as it was.] >> >> Now, after all the work the you good people at MLO have put into this >> your extremely powerful tool, this is bad news indeed. >> >> If you want a 'quick win' you could regain a lot of usability points at a >> stroke simply by doing a couple of explainer videos. A quick short high >> level one for total newbies *selling* the whole concept (max 1-2 mins) >> and a more detailed one for the converts telling us *how to use* the >> system (8-12 mins). And then if you get a chance do another 5 or 10 and >> slap them onto YouTube. And do them in English. >> >> Having built this video the next thing you need to do is 'Primary >> Customer Research' - newbie *user trials *! What you need is need about >> 8-10 users who are not particularly technical sit them down in front of the >> software and WATCH. Get them to talk their thoughts out loud. Video them. >> >> Then show them the video and watch again. You will be appalled, I promise >> you. >> >> Honestly, you chaps have built a fantastic engine. But if you want to >> appeal to *Mainstream* users (rather than *Early Adopters*) then frankly >> you people need to stop all developments until you have done both of the >> above. >> >> To get clear Early Adopters have a very different psychology from >> Mainstream users. Early Adopters like to be the first. They are generally >> pretty clever. They like learning news stuff. They tolerate complexity, >> mistakes, errors and even bugs to a significant extent. >> >> BUT there aren't all that many of them. And if your product appears to be >> going nowhere and is not longer "cutting edge", then they will feel like >> idiots for wasting their time with you and they are off! >> >> MAINSTREAM users are different. They value their time very highly. They >> just want to get the job done. And fast. They do NOT want to waste any more >> time than necessary learning stuff. So they want everything to be easy to >> learn and obvious. They like simplicity. They HATE complexity. They want to >> get the job done and they want everything to work. >> >> Frankly as things stand, MLO is a total nightmare for Mainstream users. >> But don't just take my/Joel's word for it. Do some serious trials with >> newbie users! Try some less intelligent / 'ditsy' and/or 'arty' new users. >> Even try some slightly drunk or extremely tired users. You need a random >> spectrum of users to trail. They will run screaming I guarantee you. >> >> [Aside: Another top top - if you are short of time &/or money and want to >> do a 'quick and dirty'/'better than nothing' user trial, then consider >> using Feedback Army and asking the reviewers to so something specific. The >> clever thing is that you can keep rejecting their responses until you are >> happy with the level of work that they have done. Brilliant! But actually >> you at MLO also need to do proper face-to-face user trials I suspect as >> well] >> >> If you want further proof of what I am saying take the number of really >> important keyboard shortcuts that are completely missing from your official >> Keyboard Shortcuts page. e.g. >> >> Control/PgUp ==> to change tab >> Control/PgDn ==> to change tab >> Control/Enter ==> to parse the title of an item >> Control/Shift/Insert ==> to add a new folder >> Control/Shift/S ==> to add a star >> Control/M ==> to move a task >> >> ...} all missing ! (er I think...!) >> >> If you had done in depth user trials then surely this would have been >> picked up. >> >> One word of caution. Beware of *some* of your most loyal customers. There >> is no subtext to this - I am not having a go anyone whatsoever. But it's an >> established fact that in order to appeal to *Mainstream* customers you >> will almost certainly get terrible advice from some of your customers. But >> they are dangerous. They are far too close to your product to see it >> through the eyes of anyone else. And over time they can bankrupt you. >> >> Finally you need to know that much though I am trying to help MLO in what >> probably seems like a whirlwind of input, please know that I am not happy. >> And I have been keeping a list of competing software in case I find that I >> genuinely can not get MLO to work for me (This is still not clear either >> way...!) . And believe me there is a LOT of competition. My spreadsheet for >> this purpose has well over 100 competitors ! >> >> For completeness here they are: >> 2Do >> 5PM >> Achieve Planner >> ActionComplete >> Action Method >> ActiveInBox >> Ajour >> Apigio >> Asana >> Assembla Tickets >> Astrid List/Task Manager >> Blue Smiley Organizer >> Bonsai >> Bontq >> Central Desktop >> Clear (Realmac Software) >> ClearContext >> Conqu >> d-cubed >> DoIt.im >> Do It Tomorrow >> do-Organizer >> DropTask >> Due Today >> EasyTask Manager >> eProductivity >> EssentialPIM Pro >> EverNote (+The Secret Weapon) >> FacileThings >> Facio Tasks >> Feng Office >> Flashpoint >> Flow >> Frictionless >> GeeTeeDee >> germ.io >> Get Stuff Done >> Getitdoneapp >> Ghost Action >> Gmail Tasks >> GoalsOnTrack >> Google Tasks >> GTD TiddlyWiki Plus >> GTDAgenda >> GTDFree >> GTDNext >> gtd-php >> Harmony PIM >> HiTask >> iGTD >> IQTell >> Jello Dashboard >> KOI >> KonoLive >> Lifeballanced >> LifeTopix >> LiquidPlanner >> Lists Manager? >> MasterList Professional >> mGSD >> MindManager >> MindOnTrack >> MyLifeOrganized >> Nach >> Nepture >> Next Action, Personal Ed >> Nexty >> Nirvana >> Nitro >> Nozbe >> Omnifocus >> OneNote >> OnePlace >> Online Task List >> Oprius >> Organitask >> Org-Mode >> Outlook 2010 >> Papirus >> Pimki >> Plancake >> PocketInformant >> Priacta >> Producteev >> propelr >> Psoda >> Redmill >> Relenta >> Remember The Milk (RTM) >> RexDesktop >> SimpleNote >> SandGlaz >> Smart To-Do List >> SmartSheet >> Smartytask >> Smthngs >> Task Coach >> Task Toy >> TaskFreak >> TaskPad.jp >> Tasks/Tasks Pro >> TaskStep >> TaskTask (iOS only?) >> TaskUnifier >> Taskwarrior >> Tasque >> The Now Organiser >> Things (iOS only?) (by Cultured Code) >> ThinkingRock >> Thymer >> TickTick >> TiDy >> TimeGT >> TimeManagementNinja.com >> Timetpnote >> Tjeklist >> ToDo >> To-Do DeskList >> ToDo.txt >> ToDo Exchange >> ToDo Matrix >> Todo Pro >> ToDoIst >> ToDoList >> ToDoMoo >> Toodledo >> TomBoy >> TouchDown w Exchange Tasks >> TaskUnifier >> Tracks >> Tracks.tra.in >> Treedolist >> Ultimate ToDo >> Upvise >> VIP Task Manager >> VitalList >> Voo2doo >> What To Do >> WhatsNext (not ready?) >> Week Plan >> Wieldy >> Workflowy >> Wunderlist >> Zendone >> Zoho CRM >> Zoot >> >> OK many of they above may not be *direct* competitors, (e.g. many don't >> run on Windows and many are more list managers than GTD tools as such ) but >> I promise you that as a normal/average user, this is the number of tools we >> have to wade through on-line, competing with your listings. >> >> Why are there quite so many competitors? Because they all think that the >> existing market leaders aren't doing a good enough job! They are trying to >> steal your lunch and there are a LOT of them out there. >> >> Conclusion: >> You have SERIOUS competition and you need to raise your game. You need >> dramatically improved usability. >> >> Finally: >> Please don't think I'm saying you need to work harder. Nor write better >> code. What I'm saying is you need to work differently. VERY differently. >> >> J >> >> >> P.S. If anyone from MLO is still reading and appreciating my input please >> let me know. >> >> Alternatively, if I am simply wasting my breath please do let me know too! >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MyLifeOrganized" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mylifeorganized+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to mylifeorganized@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mylifeorganized. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mylifeorganized/51afadd9-1f48-461c-8c2e-fc226bdad8a0%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
