User-Generated Experience

I've told many of you before about a fortuitous conversation I had years ago with Regis McKenna, the original marketing guru who helped Steve Jobs shape the Apple brand.  Although our chat lasted only 15 or 20 minutes (in the hallway outside a conference room at a Consumer Electronics Show back in the '90's), it still impacts me today.  (I guess that's why I'm still talking about it.)

The most profound thing Reg emphasized to me is that the user experience is always the primary focus in successful product development and marketing.  That philosophy is clear at Apple and at the heart of the company's success.  What really matters is how the user feels about using your product.

This philosophy is developing to an even higher level today.  In the entertainment business, it is no longer just about delivering a superior audience experience.  We are steadily moving towards establishing partnerships with our audiences where we create their experience together.  Some examples:

1. I recently wrote a piece about virtual reality.  This is a strong example of a creative partnership where we establish a world full of possibilities and the audience members craft their own experiences within that world.
   
2. Netflix announced a few days ago that it is offering a series of children's interactive programming that allow kids to help decide what the characters will do and how the story will unfold.
   
3. A friend of mine, Meredith Scott Lynn, a talented actress and entrepreneur, has established a company called Write Brain Books that allows kids to create their own professionally illustrated children's books - promoting creativity and giving kids a fully interactive experience and pride of authorship.
   
4. And of course, user-generated experiences are at the heart of YouTube, Instagram and much of the content on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.
   

Audiences don't just want to be entertained anymore.  They want to create and participate and have their individual qualities and passions integrated into the entertainment experience.  Reg McKenna was of course absolutely right - the user experience is really the only game-changer in creating successful products, services, films, programs, games or anything else that people use and enjoy.  Today's user experience is not passive.  Audiences don't want to sit on the outside looking in - they want to be inside, participating and influencing the experience as it unfolds.

As always, I would love to know what you think.

Roger Goff