So Fred, as a web/software guy i think you have more to offer than you think you do, but I'll get to that in a minute.
I wish that guy who videotaped the NYC IxDA event on Sustainable interactions would post his stuff already. I'm very upset he's flaked as the event really highlighted well many of the issues. A great example of interaction design that leads to behavior modification is the simple inclusion of mileage info panel in a vehicle. The product itself doesn't change, but the way people use that product has been shown to change when such added instrumentation is added. The post-child of this experience is even further exemplified in the panel that is included on a Toyota Prius that shows you which engine is working when and why. They have shown that drivers who keep it turned on are more susceptible to behavioral changes than those who turn off the screen. But back to "pure" software: I won't have links so maybe others can provide them. 1) A plug-in that presents the carbon footprint of your air travel plans. it works on Firefox. a great tool that doesn't nag, but provides data to be converted to knowledge over time that can impact our decisions. The plug-in connects to information that compares the airline footprint compared to driving or train further engaging knowledge. 2) GoLoco is a web service that helps people find carpools. Purely done on the web. There are other examples like these that are not about nagging, but either about teaching or about offering options. I think that Pauric's perspective is both on target but cynical beyond being useful. It is true that our economy is completely based on consumption and unless we change the basic under pinnings of that, we can only go so far. A great vid for learning more about this (I REALLY recommend people look at this; it only takes 20min) is http://storyofstuff.com/ . It is one of the best lessons in the impact of our economy on our world that I have ever seen. Better than Al G. I think there is a lot to be gained by buying "better for the environment" products as opposed to "bad for the environment products". Yes, we have learned that the prius is not the pure answer to the hummer, but it does take certain steps in the right direction, as it is a part of a greater whole of acknowledging change is necessary. There are many other examples of this sort of "brand of change" that is going on that is worthwhile to enable even if it is not solving ALL aspects of the problem. BTW, having a "green strategy" is a growing requirement for enterprise buyers of products and services. We at Motorola Enterprise Mobility are being asked this all the time now. We are addressing this through supply chain, through battery management, through changes in materials and sourcing, etc. We have a big advantage in that our average product lifecycle is about 3-10x longer than consumer products. ;) For those of us who are just in software/web, there are lots of questions to ask ourselves: 1) Does doing the task on a computer really save us anything? 2) Is there a way to do the task on the computer that can reduce use? Heck, can we reduce use by reducing the # or brightness of pixels? 3) Is there an opportunity in my system to engage people to change behavior inside or outside of my system towards the end goal of "sustainability" -- David Malouf http://synapticburn.com/ http://ixda.org/ http://motorola.com/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
