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The point of the Nest Protect is not that they are selling a fire alarm. It is that they are selling peace of mind. You trust it more, because you interact with

The point of the Nest Protect is not that they are selling a fire alarm. It is that they are selling peace of mind. You trust it more, because you interact with it more. It talks to you, you can see it glow green, it lights up when you walk under it. Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? You never interact with it until your life depends on it. Nest increased your interactions with the device, thereby increasing your trust in it.

dmix 13y ago
aka Don Draper's home fire alarm.
- ianstallings 13y ago
  Just like other fire alarms, except it's toasted.
tanzam75 13y ago
> Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? Sure. Push the button labeled "Test." (Cover your ears -- you should still be able to hear it.) Seeing the green glow on the Nest doesn't tell you that it'll wake you up when it goes off. So you have to test it anyway. Which makes it no better than a regular detector, from the assurance perspective.
sliverstorm 13y ago
I really hate the peace-of-mind marketing gambits. They almost all revolve around creating a fear you didn't have before, and then proffering to save you from your newfound fear.
- dmix 13y ago
  Which part do you hate, that humans have the biological flaw of fear/ego being their greatest motivator or that we live in a market economy that feeds into it? "Predictably Irrational" is a brilliant book about this subject. Consumers do not buy things rationally. And the answer is not simply exploitation by marketing companies (although that is a big part of the narrative). http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-ebook/dp/B002C949KE/ http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expande...
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    that we live in a market economy that feeds into it
- devindotcom 13y ago
  For instance, the fear of fire?
aestra 13y ago
You sound like you're marketing for them.

dmix 13y ago

aka Don Draper's home fire alarm.

ianstallings 13y ago
Just like other fire alarms, except it's toasted.

tanzam75 13y ago

> Sure, you can replace all your batteries really easily. But do you KNOW that the alarm is going to work? Sure. Push the button labeled "Test." (Cover your ears -- you should still be able to hear it.) Seeing the green glow on the Nest doesn't tell you that it'll wake you up when it goes off. So you have to test it anyway. Which makes it no better than a regular detector, from the assurance perspective.

sliverstorm 13y ago

I really hate the peace-of-mind marketing gambits. They almost all revolve around creating a fear you didn't have before, and then proffering to save you from your newfound fear.

dmix 13y ago
Which part do you hate, that humans have the biological flaw of fear/ego being their greatest motivator or that we live in a market economy that feeds into it? "Predictably Irrational" is a brilliant book about this subject. Consumers do not buy things rationally. And the answer is not simply exploitation by marketing companies (although that is a big part of the narrative). http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-ebook/dp/B002C949KE/ http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expande...
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  that we live in a market economy that feeds into it
devindotcom 13y ago
For instance, the fear of fire?

aestra 13y ago

You sound like you're marketing for them.