Interface Design with a Homeless person
1–10 of 107 posts
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#2Interesting - if only he had square, you wouldn't have needed to go to the ATM
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#3Interesting - if only he had square, you wouldn't have needed to go to the ATM
For a second I thought about signing him up on the spot. At one point during the conversation I did walk him through the entire payment flow of the Square app. That's what got us on the topic of humanizing computers!
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#4I enjoyed this story, even though I'm unsure about the message I should take away, it does make me think.
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#5Interesting - if only he had square, you wouldn't have needed to go to the ATM
For a second I thought about signing him up on the spot. At one point during the conversation I did walk him through the entire payment flow of the Square app. That's what got us on the topic of humanizing computers!
This just gave me a thought that could potentially be great but also scary at the same time.
What if homeless people signed up for square? They will now be able to accept Credit Cards. As people don't carry cash anymore, the common thing people say is "I don't carry cash." because they don't, but then he whips out a device with square and says "No problem, I accept Credit Cards too!"
Though, getting an Android or iOS device plus be near Wifi or pay for cell service and have a bank account. Sounds a bit tough to set it all up for a homeless person.
Great story, btw. Sounds like you met a nice guy. Most of the Homeless I run into in SF are pretty nuts.
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#6I had a similar experience with someone in Palo Alto last summer. Good stuff
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#7A good anecdote re: the value in (not being afraid of) striking up conversations with strangers. I think a lot of people, myself included, have a tendency to shy away from such encounters - ask the right questions, and you can get really interesting stories.
On the other hand, the man's comment about "wanting to be his own man" got me thinking about doing startups for the sake of not working at a large company. While it's probably a nice touch, I think I'm getting more cautious about letting that be a determining factor.
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#8A good anecdote re: the value in (not being afraid of) striking up conversations with strangers. I think a lot of people, myself included, have a tendency to shy away from such encounters - ask the right questions, and you can get really interesting stories. On the other hand, the man's comment about "wanting to be his own man" got me thinking about doing startups for the sake of not working at a large company. While…
This is exactly what I was thinking. I was angry for myself that for the first 30 seconds of the conversation I could feel adrenaline pumping and my heart racing.
In regards to your second point, I worried that I saw that same aspect in myself :)
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#9I really enjoyed the encounter.
It really makes one think about so many things. Who would have thought that a homeless guy would know about Square and even after that, you would be in a conversation with him about interface design.
If that guy has a good understanding of design by chance, I really think that he can actually do well in the industry :) [Just a thought]
Re: Interface Design with a Homeless person
#10I enjoyed this story, even though I'm unsure about the message I should take away, it does make me think.
This experience really made me step back and think about humanizing design.
It also got me thinking about stereotypes and the way I classify people as I walk down the street.