Today’s Guest Post is brought to you from Renaissance Bicycles. A very cool company bringing heritage and craftsmanship of bicycles with today’s latest technology. This is a re-post from their own blog, with their permission.
Seth Godin, the author and social media marketing maven, is one of the most interesting and relevant people on the Web. He recently wrote a short article entitled How Big is Your Red Zone? that illustrates the balance between the time and effort needed to engage in a new activity as contrasted with the long-term benefits. This idea is not new, but Seth’s take on the one key element that determines long-term success is insightful.
Seth Godin Article
Every activity worth doing has a learning curve. Riding a bike, learning to read, using Facebook” the early days are rarely nothing but fun.
“Take a look at this three part chart. The first shows how much joy someone gets out of an activity. Over time, as we discover new things and get better at it, our satisfaction increases. At some point, there’s a bump when we get quite good at it, and then, in most activities, it fades because we get bored. (In the top graph I’ve also added the Dip, showing the extra joy from being an expert, but that’s irrelevant to this discussion).
“The second graph shows the hassle of that same activity. Riding a bike, for example, is horrible at first. Skinned knees, bruised egos. Twitter is really easy to use the first few times, so not so much red ink there.
“The third graph is just the two overlaid. That zone on the left, the red zone, is the gap between the initial hassle and the initial joy. My contention is that the only reason we ever get through that gap is that someone on the other side (the little green circle) is rooting us on, or telling us stories of how great it is on the other side.
“The bigger your red zone, the louder your green dot needs to be. Every successful product or passion is either easy to get started on or comes with a built-in motivator to keep you moving until you’re in. This is so easy to overlook, because of course you’re already in…
Hopefully as you read the article, the application to bike commuting is obvious. There are lots and lots of individuals in “the Red Zone” of bicycle commuting – in fact you probably already know a few – and they need the big Green Dot. Not the obnoxious, smug, public spectacle Green Dot, but the cheer leading, supportive, you-can-do-this-too Green Dot.
In other words, the most effective means for the cycling community to promote the very thing we value is ” to promote the thing we value through inclusion. Certainly infrastructure, equipment, advocacy, safety, etc. are all relevant issues, but they are all a sidebar to what will really make a difference ” You.
Though it sounds like a theme to an After School Special, actively taking the time to positively support and encourage others is the real golden ticket to increase cycling for transportation. Connecting with the aspiring bike commuter, treating them with respect, and helping them achieve their goals are the fundamental keys to increased ridership. In other words, lose the Us / Them mentality and just be a big Green Dot.
In a soon-to-follow post, we will list the Top 8.5 things you can do to be a Green Dot for Red Zone bicycle commuters. In the mean time, let us know your best practices, success stories, and words of encouragement.