Trapped in a Holiday: A Cautionary Tale of Bad Endings
Embarking on a new relationship with a brand or product should ideally be an exciting venture, filled with potential and promise. However, what happens when the whispers you hear about these products are laden with tales of regret and entrapment?
Extended Producer Responsibility: A Consumer-Centric Approach
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is gaining momentum, aiming to shift the burden of waste management from society and the environment back to producers. As this movement gains traction, it's crucial to consider how consumers will experience and engage with EPR initiatives. While many businesses focus on the material outcomes of EPR, such as reducing plastic waste, few are examining how these changes will impact their customers' experiences. Let's explore the various dimensions through which consumers will interact with EPR.
Can traceable plastic help avoid consumer shame?
A large part of the problem of any polluting material is ‘Who done it?’. This is nearly impossible when the fallout of plastic waste drifts around the world, not only in poorly managed waste logistics, but also as microscopic particles too small to see. Can tracing these materials help the consumer experience of shame?
Ending AI theft.
In terms of endings, theft is a really frustrating and disturbing version. Beyond the material theft of a product, like a bike or a phone, the theft of a personal or artistic endeavour is particularly disturbing. It is a common experience for artists across history, who have had to grapple with individuals copying their work, to businesses profiting from it. And once it happens, it is impossible to undo it. Any technical leap forward has to be grappled with legally, artistically, and emotionally. What should artist do with AI?
AI endings? Surprisingly, maybe.
AI is everywhere. Being sold as the greatest human achievement. How might it do at doing endings and the complexities of off-boarding.
This week Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, presented the latest updates to Google’s Gemini AI. Within the celebratory examples of its achievements was a scenario of returning some recently purchased sneakers to a store.
Has your product ‘jumped the shark’?
Product leaders are easily persuaded that their product is the best. I worked in a big corporate company for a few years. They kept polishing the old operating system their past products had relied upon. Despite it never matching new competitor products entering the market. They just couldn’t end its life.
Drones. The quickest product endings?
Walking through my building, and seeing a brand new drone box with a broken drone inside made me think about the consumer experience of these products. Broken quick enough to put it straight back in the packaging you only just unwrapped it from. Is it the quickest ending for a product?
The 5rs, and why altruism is no match for marketing.
Don’t get me wrong, we need to do everything we can. Action like the 5rs is great. I am a big fan. Its no match for mass consumption and convenient disposal. It won’t solve the crisis we are in. For that we need new approaches.
1.5c. So, that’s the end of that story. 💩
Climate change is one of the biggest stories in recent history. It seems the hopeful story we told ourselves has ended.
A bad ending.
A business account I use auto renewals 30 days before the service period starts. They have now locked me in until 2025. As a consumer I feel super trapped. Let’s look at this as an ending.
