Techcrunch, which is on a steep decline in the post-Arrington era, recently ran a guest post by Aaron Harris, co-founder & CEO of Tutorspree with the inflammatory title "Spare Me from "Product Guys."  The title itself is actually terribly misleading, as the article isn't the expected rant against product managers, but a "tutorial" for people who aspire to "lead product."

Apologies for the liberal use of quotes in the previous sentence, but this post struck a nerve with me.  So much so that I wrote a hasty, and admittedly flame-ish, comment dripping with sarcastic condemnation.  I feel bad about that.  Even though I find Harris' perspective sorely lacking and tone oddly condescending, it's not fair to throw out the drive-by hate without a proper explanation.  So, here's my take on the topic of "product guys."

Harris states in his post:

"When I decided I wanted to lead product, I went and talked to friends who were product managers. If you don’t have friends that are PMs, try to stalk one on Quora until you can get a meeting. Make sure you have the questions you need to ask ahead of time. Pick their brains about what they read, how they think about feature design relative to user needs/wants/haven’t even thought about."

If you can look past the silly initial statement "when I decided I wanted to lead product" (this is the BS tone I referred to), this is some obvious and harmless advice.  If you don't know anything about a topic, ask people who do.  Sure.

He goes on to say that once you've talked to people who know about the thing you want to do, you should read some books and blogs about the topic too.  Good books and blogs, mind you, but unless you're Will Hunting, you probably won't get very good at something by reading about it.  

Harris then states that you should "build, screw up, build" and:

"You are not, fundamentally, a product person until you actually build products. In order to get to the point where you can build products, you need to do a hell of a lot of work, and you need to iterate on your own knowledge."

Again, sure.  If there really are people out there calling themselves "product guys/gals" without at least some involvement in building a product, then yeah, those people are deluded.

Like Harris, I didn't start out my career working in product.  I came to it mid-career after spending time as a researcher and marketer before landing my first first gig as a product manager.  In that first gig, I actually started off managing other product managers and was expected by the team around me to provide leadership pretty quickly.

I certainly read a lot, talked to a lot of people and, by the very nature of the job, I got products shipped.  Did any of that make me a competent, let alone great, product manager?  Nope.

Great product managers ensure the right things get built, at the right time and in the right way.  They also ensure those things make your company money by helping potential customers (or sales people) understand how those products solve their problems.  Oh, and they also make sure the teams building, marketing and selling these products feel great about what they are doing and confident they are building/marketing/selling something that is solving HUGE problems for customers.

Product managers are researchers, evangelists, project managers, marketers and sales people.  And yes, they guide the creation of products and experiences.  

The core flaw in Harris' assertions is that "doing product" is mostly about working with engineers to build stuff.  Really, his thesis boils down to this (my words):

"Hey, people who want engineers to work on your ideas.  I'm talking to you.  Make sure you read up and give coding a shot so that you know the right terminology so you don't use the wrong acronyms when talking to engineers.  Oh, and don't treat engineers like they are your bitch.  Then they will work on your ideas, and once they do, you will have built stuff and can more credibly call yourself a product guy/gal."

Damn, there I go again with the sarcasm.

In fairness to Harris, there are LOT of people who think like him, and most of them are non-technical founders of start-ups, just like him.  These people are driven by their ideas and are largely looking for vessels to help them come to life.  I certainly appreciate that Harris is trying his best to be as knowledgable and respectful as possible when he asks people to build his ideas, but fundamentally he is no different than the "product guys" he criticizes, who choose the bull in a china shop approach to getting the products they want built.

Building great products isn't, and never will be, about the idea.  It will never be about the "visionary."  It will always be about building solutions for problems, validated through research, by teams who feel they deeply understand and want to solve those problems.  It will always about understanding how to translate those solutions to customers via great interfaces, marketing and the well-trained salesperson.  It will always be about happy customers.

When I started my career in product, it was understanding these principles that helped me get great products built.  I earned my team's respect by demonstrating this, despite my lack of formal product management experience.  I earned engineers' respect by demonstrating this, despite my embarrassing lack of technical knowledge.  I earned the respect of marketers and salespeople by demonstrating this & giving them the tools to be successful.  I earned the respect of the board room by making them money - they didn't care about my product management rants ;)

If you want to be a great product guy or gal, read all the books Harris mentions, talk to lots of knowledgable people and treat engineers like humans.  Then spend the other 95% of your time on the being a great researcher, evangelist, project manager, marketer and salesperson part.

Achoo!

Your heart rate quickens.  You notice your arm in your peripheral vision and very hair is standing on end.  Every sense is heightened.

What do these have in common?  All physiological responses to fear and excitement.  If you were to perform a physical exam on me at any random moment in the past few weeks (or the past year for that matter!), you'd be likely to find that I'm either terrified or exhilarated.  The reality is that I'm both.

Next week will be my last week at Apartments.com and Classified Ventures.  It's hard to express how conflicted I feel over this.  For nearly 5 years, CV has been home to some of my greatest achievements, produced amazing friends and, most importantly, led me to the love of my life who I married earlier this year.  As someone who defines themselves greatly through their work, every job I've had has significantly shaped the fabric of who I am.  The past 4.5 years at CV have been the most rewarding in my professional life, and they have taught me that when surrounded by talented, driven and high character people, my growth (and that of the organization) is nearly limitless.

So - why the change?  Simply put, the team and opportunity at Signal (www.signalhq.com) is impossible to turn down.  Uber-talented team filled with genuine and likable people - check.  I've walked away from every discussion with this team insanely fired up to do great work.  The fact that Signal CEO Jeff Judge and I have known each for nearly 2 years played no small role in validating quality of the team.  That also helped coax me away from a terrific boss & mentor (Chris Brown) - I knew Jeff could capably carry that torch.  Finally, as employee # 14 (and hiring for more! http://www.signalhq.com/about-us/careers/) at a relatively mature start-up, I know my impact will be felt in a way that I, frankly, could never make happen at CV given it's size and structure.  It was time to give start-up life a whirl and I couldn't have found a better place to do that.

The above says nothing for the quality of the product, which is terrific and has truly special in it's sights.  Any marketer looking to engage with their customers across multiple platforms (mobile, email, social) and appreciate the ability to manage that engagement through one, intuitive solution would do well to check it out (http://www.signalhq.com/cross-channel-marketing/).  As Product Director, I'm confident my leadership will help drive the Signal platform even further to the top of the marketer's toolkit.

As I say farewell to my CV family, whom I love, I'm going to refrain from making special mention of every wonderful person I've had the privilege of working with.  While there have been a few forgettable faces along the way, nearly every colleague has been a joy and has had a strong hand in my professional growth.  That said, there are 4 people I simply have to acknowledge, starting with my team:

 - Andrea, Ken and Catelyn (honorary mention - Mango): Everything I, and our team, has achieved in the past 3 years is due to your passion, talent and drive.  I merely steered the ship.  Thank you for giving me your all and, most importantly, for your friendship.

 - Chris Brown: You are the leader everyone hopes to have but rarely gets.  Thanks for living up to that standard every day for 3 years...and for being a great friend along the way.

Finally, to the amazing multifamily community I've become a part of, thanks for allowing me to join in the conversation.  What I've learned from all of you will continue to be pivotal in my work at Signal.  I hope the great relationships I've established will continue to grow, regardless of my employer.  I'm looking at you Mike, Mark, Eric, Lisa, Jonathan, Tami, Erica, Justin, Kim, Duncan, etc etc.

Jeff, Chris, Gib, Julian, Mark, Dave, Doug, Ray, Amanda, Mahesh, Drew and John - can't wait to get started guys.  See you on Monday ;)

TG

Let the awesome terribleness of Ling Valentine’s creation soak in.  Be sure to scroll ALL the way to the bottom to maximize the awesomeness.  Would you give Ling your credit card number?

www.lingcars.com

 

 

I was only able to briefly poke my head into today’s #AptChat, but in that short time I fell into a good conversation re: optimal content for community videos.  As promised to Mike Whaling, I wanted to share a few nuggets from research we conducted at Apartments.com that was key to the development of our own Walkthrough Video product.  The following is based on a survey administered to several hundred of our site visitors and some qualitative research (much like focus groups, for those less familiar w/ research terminology) conducted here in Chicago.

Just to baseline overall demand for video (which I assume is obvious to most), consumers definitely favor video to virtual tours/360 views or still images.

 Folks definitely want some sort of voice-over, especially if accompanied by music

 The key insight for us, which is clear in the choices we’ve made with the Walkthrough Video product, is that people want to see the apartments – period.  Certain aspects of the community as a whole are also important, but these videos should serve as a “shop window” into a renter’s new home.  Consumers want as much of the unvarnished truth as possible (i.e. they prefer unfurnished units to furnished) – give them mostly steak and only a little sizzle.  In the words of one renter, I don’t want the unit to “look like an ad for furniture at Bed, Bath & Beyond.”

A couple of other notes that came through clearly in our qualitative work:

• Unless you’re targeting the college crowd or similar demo, make sure your videos have a professional polish.  The amateurish, UGC-style videos don’t have much appeal for those over 25.

•  On the flipside, the millennial folks reject anything that even smacks of a “salesy” or “cheesy” tone.  Pretty much everyone else does too.  Be authentic in what you show and how you present it.  For us, this is showing the apartments and some community environs without additional messaging.  For you, it may be something similar but with some commentary about the neighborhood surrounding your community, etc.  No matter the approach, avoid the used car dealer vibe at all costs.

• Keep it short – no one we talked to or surveyed had much appetite for a 15 minute missive on your state of the art fitness center or how great the new movie theater down the street is.  As much as I embrace an emphasis on apartment walkthroughs, please do not do this.  Be focused and keep it under 5 mins. 

I hope this adds some additional depth to the #AptChat discussion.  As with any piece of research, the feedback summarized here is not law but does serve to set some guard rails for what is and isn’t considered compelling video content for potential residents.

TG

This past Tuesday I attended a webinar facilitated by some of Google's mobile AdWords team.  While a good chunk of the presentation and subsequent Q&A focused on educating traditional AdWords customers on the available mobile campaign features, Google did crack the door to certain data about general user search behaviors re: mobile.  The full .pdf of the presentation is attached to this post, but some highlights were:

• According to Google, 1/3 of all mobile search queries have a "local intent."  It's unclear if this is just Google searches, but that's the logical assumption.  Industry analyst Greg Sterling tweeted from the Search Marketing Expo conference, on the same day as this webinar, that Microsoft cited 62% of mobile searches contain local info.  That's a big gap, I suppose, but the insight remains clear: lots of mobile searches are of a local nature.  No real surprise there.  Google also mentions that 15% of all iPhone apps are local.
  
• Google cites 3000% growth in mobile "shopping" category queries in the past 3 years, with the majority of that growth happening in the past ~10 months following the launch of the iPhone 3GS (and Palm Pre, as if that is relevant given Palm's anemic sales).  It's unclear, however, what the exact nature of these queries are - people seeking product reviews and other details via mobile as they stand in-store contemplating a purchase vs. intending to purchase an intem via their mobile device, etc.
• Unsurprisingly, searches via mobile web are much more likely to be of a local nature than desktop queries.  That said, it also appears mobile web searchers also tend towards entertainment-based terms (both of the G and XXX varieties) at a higher rate than on desktop.  The assumption here is that folks are 1) searching for something to do on a Saturday night via mobile or 2) in need of some distraction from the boredom of travel, waiting in lines, etc.
• Despite these skews mobile vs. desktop web, iPhone users (unclear if just Safari searches or also including Google native app searches) search behavior mimics that on desktop much more closely.  Yes, the entertainment category skew is there (and a bit w/ sports as well), but ultimately the similarity between the two gives some indication of how much the iPhone is being used as a desktop/laptop replacement, at least in terms of searching the web.
• Mobile web searches on iPhone OS/Android/WebOS (Palm) devices in categories like video games, office supplies and restaurants are up ~150-200% in just 5 months.  My thought: why did Google choose these categories in particular?  Office supplies?  Was the OfficeMax AdWords team on the webinar?
• Google defined to the audience that it's definition of "high end devices" = those that have a native browser that can render full HTML.  This essential means iPhone OS/Android/WebOS.  While a logical definition, one has to wonder how much the data Google cited was skewed based on this categorization.  If searches from Blackberry OS/Windows Mobile/Symbain, etc. phones are excluded, would we observe any differences in the mobile vs. desktop web skews?  In addition, Google mentioned during Q&A that they have yet to decide whether to designate the forthcoming iPad as a desktop or mobile device.  I suspect they'll go with mobile given that iPad runs iPhoneOS, but it's an interesting question that many will face when determining how to optimize experiences for iPad and related devices that will hit the market this year.

For those truly interested in greater detail on Google's recommendations re: use of AdWords for mobile, please see the attached doc.  It wasn't my intent to cover that here, as I have little desire to help Google pimp their products to the world (I still love ya Google!).

TG 

If you’re interested in learning more about how mobile, and specifically Google’s mobile services, can apply to your business, this is the webinar for you.  I expect they’ll spend substantial time walking through their mobile apps, the fairly recent AdSense for Mobile Apps product launch, their use of QR codes for local businesses, etc.  I’ll be listening in – feel free to join me!

Register here: http://bit.ly/cfX5B3

TG

If it wasn't obvious, I'm fascinated with mobile tech.  I'm lucky enough to indulge that interest professionally by driving Apartments.com's mobile product initiatives, but sometimes that just isn't enough.  Part experiment, part exercise in vanity, I've now blessed the world with my very own iPhone App (screenshots below).  It's a simple enough experience - download the app (found here) and get access to my blog posts, tweet stream and, of course, my beautiful mug staring back at you!

                                           

All kidding aside, my main motivation in creating the app was simply to demonstrate how simple this platform now is to develop for, how much variety (frivolous or otherwise) there is in content and how important it is to have a multiple-context mobile strategy.  In my case, this experiment cost a whopping $25 (a steeply discounted rate on a $200 retail product - more on that later) and took no more than 30 minutes to create.  Is this app ultimately the best way to consume my blog/tweet content?  For anyone using RSS, clearly not.  For those who get their daily blog fix by visiting each of their www sites discretely, perhaps.  For me, that's not really the point. 

In my opinion, trying this approach with my personal content is more a case of eating my own dog food.  I've consistently preached that a mobile strategy should be centered around the principle that your content should be optimized, and discoverable, for use in all relevant contexts appropriate for your target audience.  For better or worse, the iTunes App Store has become its own vertical search engine for mobile content (and beyond, considering the upcoming iPad launch).  If I aim to optimize my online content for greatest visibility with Google & the major engines, why not take the same approach with the App Store (or Android Market)?  If someone wants to find apps that feature the topics I tend to write about, shouldn't my content be there in that context as well? 

Do a search in iTunes right now for terms like "product management," "mobile products," "apartments," "multifamily" and sure enough, my app is right there among the results, with varying degrees of prominence.  These are concepts core to what I write, and care, about and I now have the opportunity to offer my insights (such as they are!) to different segment of possible readers.  Certainly, the "cost" to access the content is higher (must be willing to download), so the number of "subscribers" is sure to be lower than the more casual readership that may result from someone finding the blog via a Google search, but perhaps they become a more loyal/engaged audience.

During my time working in the mobile product/marketing space, the debate over mobile web vs. native app has been among the most contentious and persistent discussions.  I regard this as one of the least productive topics to discuss.  Frankly, the answer today is clearly both, for all the reasons that led to my own personal app creation.  Should the priority, if resources/dollars are constrained, be on mobile web for most brands (non-gaming)?  Absolutely.  But, in my experience, stopping there simply limits exposure, plain and simple.  Native app discovery is its own, distinct process that has few connections to its web search cousins. 

For example, despite strong mobile web traffic to our Apartments.com mobile site (over half from iPhone/iPod Touch) and a strong call to action to download our iPhone app on that site, it's clear nearly all of our iPhone app downloads come from searches or browsing within the App Store.  So, I conclude that the preponderance of folks who found our mobile site via a Google search, promotion on our desktop site, previous experience with our brand, etc. are comfortable staying in a mobile web context, whether they have an iPhone or not.  Our iPhone App users simply have different motivations, preferences and employ distinct search methods to find this content (largely via the App Store).  Given that, I'm fairly confident that the 100K+ users of our iPhone app are consumers we likely never would have reached elsewhere.  That alone has justified our development efforts and offered significant ROI.

Now that you know why the Tim Grace iPhone app exists, I want to go into more detail in Episode 2 on how it was born and how you too can wow friends, family, and that cute girl sitting at the end of the bar with your very own foray into mobile geekdom.

TG