Simplicity sells, not features

NYTimes personal technology columnist David Pogue gave a passionate TED Talk about Simplicity in technology.



This is a guy who tests out gadgets and software for a living. His message is that it’s simplicity that sells, not features.

Pogue’s voice recognition software put out a new version without any new features–just better voice recognition. That is a ballsy move when most software companies are trying to add another bullet point to their packaging.

His biggest advice for creators:

“The hard part is not deciding what features to add, it’s deciding what to leave out.”

That’s right out of the Laws of Simplicity.

2 Comments so far

  1. Josh on May 16th, 2007

    Such a great talk. I need to watch more of these TED talks. Great post, Adam!

  2. Leaving Things Out on July 18th, 2007

    […] I was recently pointed in the direction of a quote from a talk by David Pogue, NYTimes personal technology columnist, highlighted at Simplicity Rules ยป Simplicity sells, not features. The quote that got me, as applies to technology was: “The hard part is not deciding what features to add, it’s deciding what to leave out.” […]

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