No Risk of Satisfaction Paradox Yet

I chuckled reading a recent post by Wired founding editor Kevin Kelly, about what is known as The Satisfaction Paradox. I am so far from being at risk of the hypothetical circumstance he described:

Omm02, Renny_23 via Flckr. Licensed under CC2.

What if you lived in a world where everything around you was just what you wanted?… In theory, you would not choose since it does not matter. Leave it to serendipity, since every option is wonderful. If your filtering/recommendation system really is working, then anything you accept from them should be satisfying.

Filtering Goes Only So Far

Although by most standards my scanning, filtering and recommendation system is efficient, (if not obsessive), this occasional geek has no difficulty coming up with a wish list of 5 desired technologies that have yet to cross my radar — and that frustrate me on a regular basis by their non-existence.

  1. Smart project management-to-calendar synchronization. Ideally, I’m yearning for an add-on that’s compatible with my preferred Gantt chart tool and my personal calendar. (For me, that would be the Google app, Smartsheet, and MS Outlook.) I’m not after manual batch updates; I need smart look up and synchronization. For example, if the milestone for this project shifts, when is the next open date on my calendar? OK, now please book that and repeat for dependent tasks.
  2. Password/security software for complex lives. LastPass is the best of the password software services I’ve used yet, but I still need to resort far too often to that good old multi-page Excel file of logins and passwords I’ve had for years. It is simply too cumbersome to maintain multiple profiles. For example, logging in to various social media networks or Google accounts for multiple clients or family members can be a frustrating daily experience.
  3. Bar Ban. I want to ban those ‘sharing’ bars that pop-up on the bottom of the screen, or sometimes on the side. I despise these and leave the offending site when possible, but if it’s a site I must use for a client why should I have to turn them off each time? I cannot completely turn off pop-up functionality, but would certainly appreciate ‘teaching’ my browser to ignore those bottom bars.
  4. Multimedia Capture and Transcribe. The Evernote software and app are getting close to this, yet it’s still not as seamless as it could be to take photos, record audio, convert to text, and import the resulting files into whatever I want to continue working in. The challenge is to reduce the number of steps and conversions needed so the technology doesn’t get in the way of what is usually a desire for a quick history or memory jog.
  5. Helpful Error Messages. Thankfully, I am usually working on a Mac or iPhone, which means my exposure to error messages is less than it is for many people. But whatever your tool of choice is, error messages are rarely helpful – not to mention the galling lack of acknowledgment of your frustration. Here’s to universally helpful error messages like this Windows sample sent by a friend.

Windows error message: Would you like a glass of wine?

Priorities

I listed these 5 technologies in order of my personal priorities. While I understand that certain multi-million dollar, enterprise-level software service packages may offer additional functionality, what I’m seeking is a touch of “technology satisfaction paradox” for the rest of us. What would you add to this wish list?

Note: Although the resulting behavior, or inaction, may look the same, the Satisfaction Paradox is quite different from what is referred to as the Paradox of Choice, where an overwhelming array of choices leads to indecision.