Facebook is a becoming huge and with 400 millions users it is currently the second most visited site in the US behind Google. Yet the biggest share in the “body of knowledge” about Facebook is about Facebook as a tool for social media, social networking and business – most of if superficial and not worth the effort to read.  But from time to time some smart people analyze the underlying patterns and contribute towards an explanation into a social motivation and behavior that makes Facebook such a success.

Robin Hunicke did a great speech at lift08 about Facebook as a game that makes you feel loved. A new perspective that helps to understand the dynamics and motivation to join and use Facebook. But there is still the question why are 80 million people growing virtual foods on a virtual farm?

The answer to this is given in the talk “Design Outside the Box” by Carnegie Mellon professor Jesse Schell who explains the Farmville phenomenon, how you can make millions of dollars with virtual money and lays out a vision of the future in which our lives will become one big role-playing game. The talk is 28 minutes long, it is worth every minute and after that you can skip reading mainstream articles about Facebook for the next year.

I have embedded the talk below, if you can’t see it watch it online.

In general, he says, people are “cognitive misers” — they do not want to do a lot of thinking and research. That is one reason that brands and slogans are attractive; they are a shortcut to information.

The good news, Professor Aronson says, is that we rarely regret a decision as much as we think we will. For example, he said, in buying a house, we might briefly experience buyer’s remorse, but 90 percent of the time, it eventually fades and we find ways to convince ourselves that the positive things about the house outweigh the negative.

Read the full article.

Why do I blog this? Understanding and incorporating these fine nuances in consumer behavior can make the difference between an indifferent and and an extraordinary customer experience.