Years ago,
I gave away a free ebook
to everyone who signed up
for my newsletter.
This ebook was emailed
to the reader.
To load the ebook onto
the most popular ereader
at the time,
all the reader had to do
was email it to
the email address associated
with her ereader.
This was ONE more step
than if she had purchased
the ebook from the bookseller.
I received hundreds of complaints
about forcing them
to take this extra step.
Many of those readers
would prefer to pay a dollar more
not to have to take it.
They valued the convenience
more than
they valued that dollar.
“Modernity has caused us
to care more about
convenience
than just about anything.
We’ll trade privacy
or agency
or our ethical standards
simply to save a few clicks.
That’s a shame.
It’s nothing to be proud of.
But it’s true.
And so, if we want things
to be more fair,
it helps to make fairness
more convenient.”
If you are going to focus
on ONE feature
in the upcoming months,
consider making it
convenience.