A Tale of Two Syndromes

The more you talk with people about the “next shiny new thing,” the more you see camps of thought evolve around it. Each camp is rapt with a unique syndrome.

One Thing Syndrome
Let’s be honest, it’s annoying when a wave of hype hits around the next shiny new thing. It’s deemed to be a “killer” of the last technology everyone had tattooed on their laptops and distracts everyone from Arrington to ZDNet.

Instead of distilling this hype and figuring out what the new technology means to them, some people learn the “one thing” about it with which they disagree. It’s one negative element that allows them to pigeonhole the entire topic, concept, technology website or even a political figure for that matter.

“Twitter asks ‘what are you doing’ and WHY would I care about what Joe had for lunch?”

And if Twitter comes up in conversation? You can see them tune out as they wait to tell you their one thing, regardless of how relevant it is, like Pavlov's pooch.

The cure for this is trying the technology out for yourself and forming your own opinion. I’m proof of this as I used to have a slight case of One Thing Syndrome. It manifested itself in this cartoon.

Everything Syndrome
At the other extreme, we have the Everything Syndrome where folks act quite the opposite of those with One Thing Syndrome.

“Twitter has changed my life and it’s changing communication as we know it. A friend of my brother’s heard Twitter healed a boy with smallpox. It cures more disease than Robitussin. It’s cleaning my oven right now.”

Everything Syndrome hits people that are more than just passionate about the next shiny new thing. In fact they’re blind with appreciation for the new topic, concept, technology website or political figure. This translates into effusive praise which gives the next shiny new thing more Google juice than any technology is worthy of receiving.

The cure for this is a mantra reminding yourself that every next shiny new thing is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Focus on the larger puzzle before you tattoo “next shiny new” on your forearm.

To be honest, the above syndromes are completely understandable. But the truth is somewhere in the middle. So when the next shiny new technology comes up in conversation, consider if the person you’re talking to has one of these syndromes or if they have been cured with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

Comments

[Jen Wilbur]

Great comic, great post. It's tough not to turn to the Everything Syndrome when faced vehemently with the One Thing Syndrome. A great reminder for anyone who finds value in something and is trying to communicate that value without going overboard.

[Linda Forrest]

We, like other PR firms, I'm sure, try our best to inoculate against both of the syndromes you've outlined above. Working in the technology realm as we do, all too often it seems as though there's an epidemic of the everything syndrome. As PR consultants, we encounter this syndrome in the form of reaction to emerging communication channels. When the internet was shiny and new, prospects began to ask if we wrote content for websites or if we did outreach to relevant online media. The emergence of blogs inspired the same questions... At its simplest, influential communication channels are our targets, effective materials, whether online or electronic or hard copy, are our tools. The sooner we can eliminate the syndromes the better off we'll be.

Oh, and I only wish that Twitter could clean my oven. :)

[Gail Nelson]

Kevin, great post. Some of my colleagues at BurrellesLuce are fervent Twitterers, while others have no affection for the form. (I personally believe that while microblogging will be with us for a while, it's not the cure for cancer.) As Linda Forrest says, the important thing is to focus on the habits of your audience.

[Neil Crump]

Great post that made me smile as I definitely can relate to this as someone who can swing from One Thing to Everything Syndrome when it comes to technology. I think the reason that you start with One Thing is a protection mechanism from feeling "oh hell yet another technology, set of rules, and another blinking password to remember". The shift to Everything is the sudden joy of nailing the technology, working out how the bugger works and enjoying the application. I'd agree that tattooing is step too far - laser removal costs the earth and is painful.

Neil

[Kevin Dugan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. And Gail "focus on the habits of your audience." That wisdom will never fail you.

[common Japanese words]

I have a few friends like this. Not so much with twitter, but with iphones.

[Lindsey]

Great post! I love the quote about Twitter cleaning the oven. I have definitely fallen victim to the Twitter obsession. While sure, I don't care what Joe is having for lunch, it is nice to be able to get all my news updates in one place.