I dislike being called a “user” almost as much as I dislike being called a “consumer”.
Ever since drinking some of the Clue Train kool aid back in 2005 thanks to the help of Chris Messina, Tara Hunt, and others, I have twinged every time I have heard people referred to consumers.1
Well, I feel a similar reaction when I hear people referred to as “users” or “end users”. We are all users, right? Or better yet, we’re all people.
The customer really is the most important part of any software or service, so don’t let calling us “users” allow you to forget it!
There are contexts where it seems almost unavoidable to write “user”. 2
If it is a context to distinguish between the more savvy user of computers (see, I even don’t mind it quite as much flipped around), I tend to try and use “computer savvy people who use WordPress” and “people who use WordPress”.
Whether people that use WordPress.com or install WordPress.org or other technologies that we, Automattic contributes to and support for free, I tend to refer to these people as our customers.
Am I alone in this compulsion?
It is all very pedantic of me, but it helps me keep my head screwed on and focused on staying close to my customers, contributing to software with a good experience, and putting aside some of my snobbery.
Well, I was just writing an article about Flickr, and had written that I have been a member since 2004.
“Member” is a brilliant term!
So to all my fellow members of great software out there, I salute you and thank you for using the best software you can find and demanding even better software!
- Don Dodge is probably the worst offender of the blogs I regularly read, and I hope he doesn’t mind my regular reminders
[↩] - The frequent use of the term “users” was the only stumbler when I was digesting the brilliant Robert Hoekman, Jr. book Designing the Obvious. I think it would have been awkward for Robert to have avoided it, but there was opportunity not to rely on it quite so heavily. [↩]
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7 Comments
I’m down with “member”, “customer”, “person”… I certainly agree with you, though I slip on occasion — though I imagine my slips are probably in the proper context, as you suggested, with regards to tech savvy computer users.
I guess I never really thought about being referred to as a user or consumer. When you think about it though, it really is a bit de-humanizing. Thanks!
I don’t mind being called a user. Being called a member is kinda degrading though, since the literal meaning of “member” is an arm, leg or penis. I see the metaphor, but that doesn’t make it right.
Just kidding about being offended over being called a “member,” but I have been called a lot worse than a consumer.
Neither “consumers” nor “users” are terms that I have ever felt comfortable with. “Member” is definitely my preferred choice.
Lloyd,
I have to be honest , I haven’t ever had an issue being called a user or for that matter a consumer (if the shoe fits,….). Semantically, member is a better term, makes you feel more of an equal part of the process - I’m just wondering how many companies that have members treat them, any better than users or consumers.
I think the real tragedy is that companies undervalue what (we’ll call them members) bring to the table from a variety of roles - developers, ambassadors, beta testers, marketplace scouts, advisory council, content creators, word of mouth advocates, community managers…
Good question and debate…sometimes I just believe its a question of mission and passion not vocabulary…
Thanks for the comment Sean. A common language is necessary for communication and that includes vocabulary. I see the mistaken again and again where people have the vision and the execution, but don’t have the language to deliver their message.
I think you wonderfully describe what is a real tragedy. Do you have an article on the topic? Or favorite ones written by others?
I was thinking the other day after watching a cheezy movie where the protagonist was a marketer, how the magic of marketing is often being able to have a conversation with people they don’t have a natural repore with. Marketing is linguistics.
Well there are only so many words in the english lanquage to choose from. Don’t like “user” either, but it’s better than “d*ckhead”, or worse.
Consumer sounds like “parasite”. I think member is the best, as it gives the feeling of inclusion, which is perfectly in-line with infinity. We’re all members and the sound of the word gives ya more of the warm fuzzy feeling.
Many marketing companies are smart enough to use the “member” handle.
Betty