In the UK there’s a very funny comedian by the name of Will Adamsdale. He wrote a song about a man standing at a traffic light pushing the Stop Traffic Button, the chorus went something like:
I’m pushing a button
That I think does nothing
Just to say I’m here
As I was becoming increasingly annoyed with a non-functioning app the other day I couldn’t help but wonder whether I was pushing the Cancel button just to say I was there? It obviously wasn’t doing anything so why did I keep pressing it? I guess I was just desperate for an acknowledgement from the app that it ‘knew’ I was trying to do something. I just wanted some feedback.
Feedback is critical. Whether it’s an app providing feedback to a person or a customer providing feedback to a company, feedback is empowering in so many ways. I vividly remember the early days of Agent Ransack. As a lone developer releasing a new app into the big wide world of April 2000 I had no idea that what I was doing was truly worthwhile. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that without the compliments, suggestions, and feedback from users around the globe Agent Ransack wouldn’t have survived.