Life is full of choices. When things don't go as we plan or hoped, we feel regret. It is a common and universal experience. At the risk of stating the obvious, regret is considered a negative emotion. But unlike other negative emotions, such as sadness, regret can be more difficult to manage because it involves self-blame--regret is about lost opportunities and possible selves. The regret can be painful and enduring. Online sites like SecretRegrets.com can help because, as we've discussed in previous posts, the human brain doesn't discriminate against virtual environments when it comes to social connection. Research shows that the depth of our regret is often related to our ability to achieve closure (Beike, Markman, & Karadogan, 2008). We can get closure by finding a 'second change'-having future opportunities to make a new choice. For events that cannot be changed and where the circumstances are not repeatable, closure is harder to get. Psychological closure happens when we … [Read more...]
Lowlifes: Transmedia Crime Mystery Story
Calling all mystery buffs: thanks to Transmedia producer Robert Pratten and colleagues, you can experience a transmedia Crime Mystery. Transmedia stories usually make us think of major franchise efforts, such as the Matrix, or Avatar. Transmedia storytelling is not about budget, however. It’s about the power of the story and the story experience. So check out Lowlifes (http://lowlifes.tv). Pratten recently launched this innovative application of transmedia storytelling that enables you to join in the fictional world of a San Francisco homicide detective named Larry Hayes from multiple perspectives. This is “an expanding universe of digital mobile downloads, video episodes, blogs and interactive challenges that meld San Francisco's past and present with a fictional narrative designed to blur the boundaries of what's real and what's not.” PR Web I like this project because it is driving transmedia out to wider audience by making it accessible, easy to use, and … [Read more...]
The Psychology Behind Why the iPad Didn’t Kill the Kindle
Amazon succeeds because their strategy catches the psychological fundamentals that drive consumer behavior, not short-term infatuation with bells and whistles. When the iPad came out, many sounded the death knell for the Kindle. You have to admit, the iPad was, and still is, pretty slick, and on first appearance, Kindle's future looked bleak. Nick Bilton's NY Times post "Third-Generation Kindle Is Top Seller" talks about how Amazon was able to stay in the game. From my perspective, Amazon succeeds because they understand the psychological shift taking place in our technology-rich environment. It's not about the tools, it's about what we want to do with the tools. Amazon understands that, ultimately, it's about user experience and meaning. As I wrote in a recent post (15 Techno-Cultural Trends for 2011), we will increasingly see a shift in focus from the thrill of owning cool technology to the goals of using it. Amazon is positioning itself to catch the … [Read more...]
