HP's Power to Change, now if they only made it easier
Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, June 4, 2009 updated June 29, 2009
Update – this software widget is useless. After three weeks it didn’t tell me anything about my computer which is left on almost constantly. I knew that but the software couldn’t do the one thing it was intended to: tell me how much greener life would be if I shut down. It was also a resource hog. Uninstalled.
HP, the largest seller of computers and printers in the world, wants us to save electrical energy. If 100,000 people turn off their computers at the end of the day, it is the equivalent of taking 105 cars off the road. Turn off unused computers: sounds like a plan.
So they created a widget that will tell us if we could save energy by turning our computers off. Common sense would make you think its true but the widget could be a good reminder.
I went to HP.com and tried to find the widget. After a little search I found Power to Change which is a cool looking site.
Unfortunately, from this point on it gets complicated. You have to register to get the widget for some corporate reasons. That takes a few minutes. Then HP tells you that they will send you a link in the mail. You wait. The link email comes. Click and then more paperwork. Install Adobe Air and agree to two licenses. I kept asking myself: why all the bother?
If you want to change the world, you have to think differently. HP needs to stop thinking like a corporate giant. Think like Twitter.
The whole process to get your little widget is too cumbersome. Most people will get turned off by registering. The widget has has no hope of going viral since you can’t pass it on. I can’t by the rules, pass it on to any one of the 8 computers that are in this house. Each person has to go through the registration/email back/link/install process.
HP needs to think like Jesus with a little humility. Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Do something great without trying to make HP look good. That will make HP look great.
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License – NJN Network Inc.
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