What the Web is really good for
The Web helps us make better decisions based on us doing often very detailed research. But certain decisions don’t require any research at all.
Say you’re feeling a little hungry. Will you have a piece of chocolate or an apple? When faced with such a decision in the past, did you ever decide to Google “chocolate” and “apples” so as to compare their various benefits? Probably not.
Let’s say you’ve decided on chocolate but there’s none in the house. Before you head down to the shop are you likely to look for a list of chocolate bars on Google and spend 15 minutes comparing their nutritional and taste attributes? Probably not.
“The Blissful Ignorance Effect”, is a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research (vol. 35, 2008), where participants were given varying degrees of information about chocolate before being allowed to sample it. The study found that “individuals have a tendency to expect more favorable outcomes with vague information after taking an action than prior to taking the action.”
Basically, the less people knew about the chocolate before tasting it the more likely they were to say nice things about it after tasting it. The more people were told about the chocolate before tasting it, the less likely they were to say nice things about it after tasting it.
Or to quote the study authors: “Participants who had received vague information perceived the chocolate to be more favorable on its positive attributes and less unfavorable on its negative attributes in the post-action phase compared to the pre-action phase.”
That makes sense. There’s lots of stuff out there that I have absolutely no interest in finding out more about. Life is too short to read that my favorite Oatfield Emerald chocolate caramels are made from: glucose syrup, sugar, skimmed sweetened condensed milk, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, chocolate crumb, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, desiccated coconut, butter, natural and artificial flavors, emulsifiers, ammonium phosphatides, and glyceryl monostearate.
And while I have your rapt attention, did you know that, according to the UK Food Guide, ammonium phosphatides are “manufactured either synthetically or from a mixture of Glycerol (E422) and partially hardened rape seed oil. Used mainly as an emulsifier, to lower the surface tension of water so allowing the better combining of oils, fats and water, and as a stabiliser, to prevent separation. Similar in use to Lecithin (E322). Limited use as an antioxidant.”
Doesn’t that just make you want to rush down to the shop to buy those yummy Oatfield caramels!
Much of what we understand as marketing and advertising has been about selling products like chocolate caramels. It’s about emotion, association, and a happy, wonderful, smiling feel-good factor. Marketers and advertisers know that for many products and services people prefer to remain ‘blissfully ignorant.’
The Web is a very different world; a very different form of marketing and communication. Those who wish to remain blissfully ignorant do not go to the Web. You do not search for a subject on Google if you wish to remain blissfully ignorant. You go to the Web to know.
Customers don’t arrive at your website to know less. They want to know more.
Rick Orous says:
Added on January 26th, 2009 at 2:06 amWhoah that’s a little rough around the edges. Spend many paragraphs explaining the results of a scientific study, almost appropriating yourself its credibility, only to at the end say “well for the web that’s simply not true” without any documented support whatsoever. You couldn’t contrast more with the rules of scientific investigation.
George Thompson says:
Added on January 26th, 2009 at 2:35 pmOk. I understand that users come to the Web as seekers of information. Even enlightenment, perhaps. But your conclusion seems to imply that content managers need to add more content to their websites for those seeking to know more. And an abundance of content does not necessarily make a better website. Does it?
Jim Kauffman says:
Added on January 26th, 2009 at 2:39 pmI don’t think this is a hard-and-fast rule. People typically want chocolate that tastes good, but with recently published studies about the health effects of dark chocolate with high cocoa content, the consumer now may be looking for chocolate that tastes good AND is healthy. Now research is needed, and that research may include taste information (reviews, etc.). Research may also be needed to find out where to buy specialty foods, such as gluten-free bread–and the consumer would still like to know which brand tastes best. A typical “blissfully ignorant” choice can easily change to a more complicated choice.
Gerry McGovern (blog author) says:
Added on January 26th, 2009 at 4:07 pmGeorge, I’m certainly not promoting more content for the sake of it, and I’m sorry if that was my implication. Of course, some content will be needed to answer practical questions, and help complete top tasks. But you’re absolutely right–much much badly written, poorly organized, unnecessary content simply kills websites.
Gerry McGovern (blog author) says:
Added on January 26th, 2009 at 4:10 pmThese are good points you make, Jim. Maybe there are less of us who wish to remain blissfully ignorant than in the past. I think that would be good to assume.
But generally, unless we have an allergy or some other health issue, we tend not t think to much when buying stuff like chocolate. But you’re right, more reseach is needed.
Jenn_lee_ca says:
Added on February 3rd, 2009 at 5:16 pmI think the blissful ignorance report is similar to the book that Barry Schwarts has written, it is called “The Paradox of Choice.” In our day and age, we have a lot of information - some of it poorly written, organized in an organization-centric approach, or simply not required. It means that the people have to sift through mountains of information. This leads to analysis paralysis. There are too many options and the bigger factor is who to TRUST about this information? And the point goes back to good content and just how much of it do we need?