I approach mathematics the same way I would approach a shark. I appreciate the raw beauty of it, the power.
And I keep a healthy distance away at all times.
Maths is awesome, don’t get me wrong. Unfortunately the majority of the notes I wrote during my high school maths class were not actually on topic - I’ve been struggling to keep up ever since.
The problem I do have with maths is people using the results of mathematicians’ hard work without understanding it. Interpreting data in ways that on the surface make sense but with a deeper inspection yield entirely different conclusions.
A related gripe is the way increasing numbers is used as an indicator for success without any consideration of human factors. Last week a co-worker read out an article about how video advertising increases ROI. The reasoning behind this is that people tend to stay longer on a page with video ads than they do regular banner ads.
From experience, a lot of video ads force you to watch them before you see the content you want to see. My partner and I both get up, leave the PC to grab a beverage and return when it is time for the thing we actually came to see.
Basing things on my own experience is, of course, not scientific, yet neither is connecting “they were on the page longer” with the perception that this will ultimately increase sales. No actual solid data was given in the article my co-worker read to prove this case – it all seemed to rest on the perception that more clicks, longer pageviews == more money.
To me, it feels like “increasing numbers” is a lazy marketeer’s way out. You’re doing something that might look good on paper, but could ultimately mean nothing without proper investigation.
I’m an emotional shopper. When I feel an emotional connection to a product or seller, I buy.
When they post engaging, personality-imbued, useful tweets about their product – I step closer to buying. When they make an effort to be involved with causes their demographic cares about – I step closer to buying. When they respond in a friendly and helpful manner to messages I post on their Facebook Fan Page, their blog – I step closer to buying.
This all requires an investment of time from the seller – rather than the relatively quick tasks of tallying of numbers of clicks at the end of a month. I can see the appeal of using it as a key performance indicator.
When an ad stops me from watching the show I want to see, or worse, pops up in my face while I’m halfway through reading a blog article – even if I was after the product you are selling – I make the emotional decision not to buy from you. If your video auto-plays… shame on you. Shame. You are uninvited from all of my birthdays, forever. Take that, faceless advertiser!
Postscript…
May have to re-write this article later. The whole one-post-a-day-for-a-year thing means I don’t have a lot of time to edit. In fact, I don’t really edit at all… Just get the ideas out, and move on. I’d be interested to hear how other people go about their purchasing decisions, particularly online ones.
And yes, posting once a day is increasing a number as an indicator for success rather than trying for high quality, infrequent posting – but right now I’m attempting to ingrain a habit, so in this case it is a successful indicator. Take that, faceless readers! (All 14 of you)
