"Because, what they are looking for, from Sliced Bread, might not be, what he thinks is important in Sliced Bread. Maybe, they want it to be cheap or convenient or delivered with a Smile. maybe, they want it delivered to their home. Maybe, they want to go the store, where buying in that store, makes them feel special, maybe they want it to be organic or available at the Whole Foods Market. I mean, there are million reasons, people buy bread and the best one period is not one of them."
- Seth Godin
My expectations from an online service, is more than free nowadays. A cleverly designed tool that nudges me out of their service, so that I don't use it for procrastination. It is not only about one's self-control.
There are a number of external factors in the physical world, which come to the rescue of the individual in exercising self-control. The law of the Land and Social Norms are two of the principal aids.
Social norms function as guardrails, so that one wouldn't cross the proverbial line. ... and then there are "drinking and driving" laws that would function as an effective impediment, for an individual not to drink excessively.
No such natural deterrent seem to exist in the online world. Hence the need to design a "nudge" in your online service.
Of course, kicking users out of your service would cause losses in the short-term. But, instead of users avoiding your farmville after they recognize how great a timesink it has become, these constraints will help retain users in the long-term. ...and is the only effective solution to addiction in the online world, for the individual.
Unless, of course, if you ask the creative Dan Ariely who would illustrate the clever "granny's underwear" technique.
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