February 15, 2010 107 Comments

Custom Is Everything- Do You Agree

Disney Vinylmation

One of the areas where social media will excel is in the opportunity to make things our own, to give them our own look and feel. Remember when you got your first personal computer? Remember changing the background picture? Remember when you could change the theme? The world is pushing further and further into a desire for customization, and I think social media gives us a chance at custom communication/interaction.

The photo above are Disney’s Vinylmation toys (note: Hanes brought me to Walt Disney World for an event, but I wasn’t paid by Hanes or Disney for any of my thoughts on their workings or properties). I thought the toys were really clever, but then I found the do-it-yourself ones. Those really caught my eye. Because once you see what others had created, your next thought (or mine, at least) was, “well, what could I do to make it look different?”

Social media allows us to customize our communication. I can talk directly to Jon Swanson, and not to preachers. I can have conversations with Glenda Watson Hyatt and not just people interested in accessibility. That means, if interested, I can talk specifically about things that matter to them, and not to crowds.

Custom is everything.

Look at these flowers. The Disney Imagineers made them for the Hanes event:

Imagineered Bouquet of Hanes Socks

They’re made out of socks. First, it’s cool because they look like flowers. Second, it looks like a fun craft you could do with kids. Third, it’s something that didn’t have to be there. And yet, because it was, the dinner looked custom to the rest of the Hanes Comfort Crew and me. Disney SAW us. They knew we were there.

Custom is everything. Do you agree?

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

Newer Comments →

  • Pingback: My soup

  • http://philgerbyshak.com Phil Gerbyshak

    I agree with you Chris. Custom IS everything. Tools that offer us mass customization (like Disney made possible) are incredible. No longer is there only 1 right way to draw an apple, like when I was in school. Now there are many ways to draw an apple, and if you make me conform to your idea of what an apple looks like, I'm not going to buy your apple, I'll find someone who'll give me what I want.

    Cool graphic too! Flower socks!

  • http://www.TheDADvocateProject.com metzgerbusiness

    Chris,

    I think you hit the nail on the head here. We always like it when we feel like we were seen or that someone appreciated that we showed up. The feeling that you care about “MY” business not just care about generating dollars is important and vital to all aspects of an organization. I think it's so important that I feel it's necessary to customize communication within an organization with employees as much as customization of communication with customers. Customizing at this level will create buy-in and community.

  • http://twitter.com/purple_coffee Purple Coffee

    I would agree with the principles of the article to a certain extent, but I would note that although social media allows us to customise our on-line presence to a certain extent using (avatars, photo's etc) that the very structure of social information systems is designed to be consistent from one person to the next, regardless of subtle content changes. Compare Facebook and MYSPACE for example, while MYSPACE allowed the customisation of page layout and appearance, in effect Facebook restricts this and in turn creates a more consistent and usable experience for users. While this increases the ease of which consumers are able to browse and access content, it does in effect have a rather homogenizing effect on the way we presnt ourselves.

  • http://www.yournetbizwealthcreation.com/ YourNetBiz

    Very simple, yet very true. Of course, content is king, but the presentation of content is what will catch your visitor's eyes and make them read the content.

    Ana/YourNetBiz

  • http://blog.digitalingredients.co.uk Stefano Maggi

    Tailoring communication is part of being “human”. It shouldn't be seen as an exception. The real exception is advertising communication, where personal relationship lacks: this means there's no actual personalization, the message is single, meant for a single (or unified) recipient.
    Social media brings branded communication right back to how it should be: personal and direct.

  • http://mydarabell.com/ Dara Bell

    I agree with and some of the others Phil, that custom is evertthing. You mentioned Etsy before, I have tracked its progress too. I see this is working for Disney too. The Centre For Futureogly said this custum trend is set to continue for a few years. It expresses itself like here with Disney, in Etsy, in the saturday craft markets.

    Psychologically it represents a desire to more in control and express individuality, I personally think it expresses a need for community with the Craft ellement, or wanting to be closer to the producer. Anita Roddick expressed it well when I met her in Barcelona, she said give people the change to be seen, put their image on your bottle, tell the producers story. The bodyshop poineered fairtrade with this method. It is now almost available in every super in the UK. It ticks that connection box which is how I wish to sum up.

  • http://twitter.com/amandavlhatter AmandaVanLenteHatter

    Chris,

    What sticks out to me most is how that sock arrangement made you feel. We are all different, but we all want to be seen and noticed. Customization makes us stand out. If I can see myself in something – a product, a place, an event – I'm much more likely to buy, to belong and to pass it on to someone else.

  • http://www.virtualitassistants.com/ Amber Whitener

    Chris,

    You really said something great when you said: “Custom is everything.”

    This is such a refreshing post for the social media world. We get so caught up in “I want my fan page/website/logo to look like (fill in the blank)” instead of “I want my fan page to >> feel << like or portray (fill in the blank) to represent our great company.”

    Nice post & pics to boot!

    Sincerely,
    Amber

  • http://hallublin.com/ Hal Lublin

    Absolutely! This is just dead on. We have all become about customization, not only in the access we have to individuals, but in the experiences we create for OURSELVES online. For some, Facebook is a video arcade; for others, it's a booth at a trade show and for others it's the dry-erase board on a dorm room door.

    The creative drive and imagination (two hallmarks of the Imagineers) of today's internet is so exciting for the precise reason you loved the customized vinylmations: somewhere out there, someone is looking at the entire internet and saying to themselves “well, what could I do to make it look different?”

  • laineyd7

    Very good point. That customization option of MySpace is likely why it is more popular with artists and musicians than with regular people like me who are less apt to take the time and have more funds to hire someone to develop a site for their business.

    Presentation catches the eye, and content keeps the viewer interested. Disney does both brilliantly. Chris, you're right – they make you feel special and it works.

  • http://twitter.com/cindycragg cindy cragg

    I agree, Amanda. But customization is not just about “me,” it shows an interest in the relationship. It shows that you've taken some time to think about how to express yourself in a way that you connect with a person/audience/community. Disney could have just as easily created flowers with something that cross-promoted Disney but they didn't. The sock flowers are whimsical and fun, like Disney. Perfect for connecting two things that might not normally have a relationship – Disney and socks.

  • Lisa S

    Everyone is looking for ways to be different – even when we look for sameness in our routines. Consumers want something familiar, but customizable so that it can become theirs.

  • nate

    I have to agree. Custom is the way to go. I am quite willing to pay the premium for custom Nike Running shoes, custom clothing. I go the extra mile to make my work/eat/sleep space my own. Custom is where it's at.

  • Pingback: Bill Gates and The Art of Supreme Customization | Spiral Entrepreneurs

  • http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/ The JackB

    People want to be heard. They want to feel like people are paying attention to them and their needs. That makes a huge difference.

  • http://www.halfadozenmonkeys.com/ Rich

    Hi Chris,

    Conceptially custom is great, but remember – today's 'custom' is tomorrow's 'standard'. And you can't charge a premium for standard. This is never more true in manufacturing where a game of 'add-more-custom' for customers ends with spiralling costs, and a tough road back.

    Is this any different with social media? Site A does x so Site B does y. They are in the same position, with the same revenue streams, but are now paying for x and y respectively.

    Customisation can be a very effective, but needs to come from a well thought business plan.

    Rich

  • acowboyswife

    I completely agree. I also thought the Hanes flowers were clever and had seen them before. They made me smile….

    Even as bloggers we want custom. Whether it be our logos, custom coupon codes, or custom creative campaigns tailored to our needs and desires. I think customization makes people feel unique and special, something that we all long for in one way or another—–We want to feel like we are in control and having those options allows for that whether you are a blogger or not.

    Custom is almost everything. Without a respectable, trustworthy something or someone behind it, it's not worth anything in my opinion.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    “And you can't charge a premium for standard.”

    But what if I don't want to charge for the custom? What if, instead, I want to charge for loyalty? For making people feel like they're part of an experience. For giving them proof over and over again that what they get from me is Sawubona – I see you.

    Now we've got something. Right?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I quite agree, Jack. I think that's at the heart of it all. Being seen, feeling heard. It's big.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    You're absolutely right. What do you think about the idea of customer/personalized conversation?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Very glad that it resonated. : ) And thanks. I had fun snapping a few bits of Disney. : )

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Expression. Being seen. Feeling heard. You're right there, Dara. And thus, our tools in social media make this all the better, yes?

  • David Siteman Garland

    I love custom.

    Why? Superior experience also creates a potential to charge a premium.

    Build-A-Bear bears are a little more than a regular bear, but you get the choose the features.

    Same goes for really everything if you think about it :)

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    The frames are the same, but then, blogs allow us to design however we want (within reason), right? So we can evade such networks. Or we can make our posts the custom parts, or we can direct people off-site to where we can really be custom.

    No one said we couldn't invent Prezi, so we did. : )

  • http://www.natfinn.com/ finn at Golden Tech

    Custom can be beautiful. I am quite a fan of custom. Customize a Ford Mustang GT with mods, customize a blog site, customize a cake with purple frost, what have you…but as with most things, it depends on the end game / goal.

    Custom when possible; best solution when available. It depends on the circles we dance within, as much as I would otherwise love to be definitive on such a topic.

    In the end, the parameters of the situation is everything, Custom is the preferred method.

  • http://twitter.com/kobran_1 Branko Zecevic

    It Is True!
    Today,everyone can express creativity in online world with help of social media sites. It is awesome that everyone has that opportunity!
    Opportunity to be unique,authentic and to catch people's attention.

  • Mason Carpenter

    “Choice, not custom, is about everything.” I think you make an interesting point here, though I'd argue that custom is only a vehicle, and that it is really 'choice' that is about everything – your choice might be something customized, whether or not you really want custom and customizability (like Microsoft Office 2007, not), or it might be something “customized” by someone else. Sort of like the co-creation and user-innovation space – or iPhone apps as a more specific example. We even see this in college textbooks. http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/ A teacher can customize one of their textbooks … or not. A student can choose to buy one of their books, or get it free. Read it online, or listen to it on a plane. Again, customization is the vehicle for choice. Great blog Chris!

  • http://www.mikestenger.com Mike Stenger

    Custom definitely does make a difference Chris. We all enjoy having these customized and more personal. For example, in the internet marketing world, when you can customize a service and have it specifically fit that person's needs, the value increases to the consumer.

    I wouldn't say custom is everything but it sure does make a difference that people and enjoy and quite a few times even like more.

    • Xoeoriginal

      Yes, I do agree to what you said. Custom has to fit you or another person stlye. 

  • matthixson

    Custom is great but there are different levels of what I want to listen to. I listen to broad conversation about social media and there are specific people that I listen to very directly and focus more on. So customization is in order to filter the noise and also to focus my attention where I know it will get the biggest bang for my buck. There is a dark side to this also. If you narrow your focus too much then you don't see new things that might be great. There will have to be a balance of how you keep an open mind to lots of thoughts while making the most of your time.

  • http://twitter.com/purple_coffee Purple Coffee

    I agree…perhaps our blogs are our area for “customization.” But in a sense if we want our information to be prevalent then we must distribute it via conventional systems like this also? As much as we have the luxury of customising our information in our own domain, we are locked into distributing it via conventional methods if we are to be heard. It's a bit like the mobile phone, it was once an unneeded luxury, but has become almost a necessity. I would argue that social networks are going through this process, while we feel like we own them, they own us and our information far more. Failure to distribute via conventional networks could become failure to be heard? In a sense how long can “we evade such netowrks”?

  • http://artofgreatthings.com Jeffrey Tang

    While you make a good point about how customization can be a great feature; I don't think custom is everything, or even close to it.

    Take Apple, for example. They're revered for the design of their products, but not because their products are easily customizable. It's the opposite, in fact. Apple's products are appealing precisely because they exert control over the entire user experience, instead of allowing third parties to make customizations and variations.

    There's a place for custom, and a place for “here's what I think is best, and let's do everything this way.”

  • http://mydarabell.com/ Dara Bell

    Yes absulutely, Some people have fire and some have turned the fire into
    blowtorches.

    Dara

  • http://fbtabs.com/ fbtabs

    I agree, that's why we created a facebook app called fb:tabs (http://fbtabs.com) to help users customize their facebook profiles.

    Check it out!

  • eagleshot

    Everyone has their own interpretation on the meaning of life. So why would this be any different? We need to put things in perspective on what we find interesting. So designing a Disney character to our liking is a great idea. When we all think of Disney, we immediately think of Micky Mouse in his blue overalls and big black circular ears. If I where to design my Micky, I would make his more pointy (like a real mouse) I would also color his body yellow (why not right?)

    Let us customize everything we do. It would make this world more interesting.

  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    Chris this again is Experience Economy, which you touched on with 'GED'

    Surely you're reading this ATM?

  • ashleynathomas

    I can say that custom has taken place of the natural things. Custom is good without a doubt and also the current trend but it can't give the feel of original.
    Slate PC accessories

  • remarkablogger

    Not that you don't have enough on your plate but you should read Cory Doctorow's Makers. It's like a business manual from the future cleverly disguised as near-future science fiction.

  • remarkablogger

    Not that you don't have enough on your plate but you should read Cory Doctorow's Makers. It's like a business manual from the future cleverly disguised as near-future science fiction.

  • http://www.iflorist.co.uk/ Rose

    Nice blog. Enjoyed going through it. Like the floral centerpiece. It looks so cute.

  • http://www.Escapingthe9to5.com/ Maren Kate

    Wow awesome post! I love the flowers as well and talking about the first time I uploaded my own 'skin' to my computer brought back warm memories! Good post.

  • http://davidhorne.me david horne

    I do agree. Custom is what makes something a perfect fit. Someone always has a preference. then connect those people with others that share that interest. would that help develop an ecosystem?

  • http://detroit.fwix.com Jamie Favreau

    Totally agree.

    I am trying to figure out how to pitch something to bloggers and journalists and I don't want to do it the blast way. I know that is wrong on so many levels in the digital society which we live in today.

    The customization of toys and ideas is what makes things great. You can find something which suits you and NO one else and you can share the ideas and find other people who enjoy the same things.

  • http://BestSellerAuthors.com Warren Whitlock

    life is just the people we meet and the stories we share

  • iancleary

    I think you make a very valid point that custom is everything but the majority of people accept the standard. How many people have an effective brand? What percentage of people customise their twitter background? How many companies put the same effort into their facebook presence as their web presence? To stand out you need to be different but unfortunately a lot of people don't stand out. Anyway, that's my opinion from sunny Ireland (sort of), I'm off now to drink my Guinness which I want to look and taste the same wherever I go which unfortunately is not the case!

  • http://www.zoombits.co.uk/memory-cards/sat-nav sat nav memory card

    Even though I’m a bit late on the “win7″ release…What I don’t understand is why everyone says “back up your information on this and that”. Granted you can have a problem, but no matter what, I’ve never had a problem partitioning a section of my hard drive, moving all my data to it, and giving it a ridiculous drive name like X, Y or Z. That of course means two things: enough storage room, and knowledge on how to do it. What do you guys think?

  • Pingback: The Lost Consumer

  • http://www.facebook.com/brucerbrown Bruce Brown

    When you don't take the time to make something custom, even for the moment, all parties lose out. Do you re-do everything? Not usually. But still you can tweak or add or slant material or presentation or other details so what you're selling/presenting/celebrating doesn't feel like it's right out of the can.

  • sonjalovas

    Yes, I agree. The socks are a nice touch and very custom! I make a similar arrangement out of vegetable for my center pieces and they are edible. Interesting to see the color and textures available in socks.

  • brianjohnriggs

    Chris,

    I enjoyed this post and everyone's thoughtful comments but I think customization has more to do with our innate drive to create. Everything else follows our drive to develop and deliver, whether it's a product, experience or communication.

    Brian

Newer Comments →
GetSocial