The Advantages of Shortcomings
January 28, 2008
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Sometimes having shortcomings and failures can be positive. Why? Because it gets people talking. Being “remarkable” (as Seth Godin says) isn’t necessarily about being really good. Sometimes if you’re too perfect, there isn’t much to talk about. Sometimes, the best way to get people talking is to have shortcomings - or rather “supposed” shortcomings - to stir up controversy.
Example: Apple. One of the biggest conversations about the iPhone was how it was locked. Yes, people talked about the revolutionary multi-touch screen and software and all. But people also talked a lot about how it was closed. And when it was broken, it got a whole new round of press. The same is happening with the Macbook Air and its lack of an optical drive. If the products didn’t have these ‘flaws’, they probably wouldn’t have been talked about as much.
The ultimate end result of it all? The products get talked about more. And more people find out about them. Yes, some people will not like what they read. But others will go find out more about it, and might end up buying the product - a product which they might otherwise have never heard of.
As they say, there’s no such thing as bad press, right?
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