XplanaZine

If you’re like me, you’re convinced that the recipe and ingredients are only one small part of what makes certain dishes taste the way they do. As in Laura Esquivel’s compelling novel, Like Water for Chocolate (Como agua para el chocolate), you know that the touch of love or care that goes into a meal can make all the difference.

That’s certainly the way it was with my grandmother’s mashed potatoes. About once a month we would make the hour-long drive from Austin to Belton to eat lunch with her, and my brothers and I always looked forward to her mashed potatoes with eager anticipation. There was something special about the way they tasted, their texture, and they way they made you feel.

Of course, we had the same recipe at our house and my mother had helped her make those mashed potatoes many times. But even after my grandmother died and we used her bowls and mixing utensils, we could never make them taste the same. We tried changing water, salt, you name it. The problem, I’m convinced is that there was more to those mashed potatoes than simple ingredients. There was an element of care and willed goodness.

The same thing can be said, of course, when it comes to software. We are full-on in the current of mashups these days with a new mashup site or technology being released daily. If you haven’t been paying attention, check our Slideroll, Cloudee, and Eyespot. With a hyper emphasis on social networks and connecting everything, we’re seeing the development of a vast array of new niche tool categories — question and answer services, social bookmarking,
href=”http://mashable.com/2006/03/12/memediggers/”>memediggers, and
href=”http://mashable.com/2006/02/03/the-rise-of-the-memetrackers/”>memetracker — and those categories are filling up quickly with new companies hoping to strike gold.

There are so many coming at us so quickly, in fact, that it can be difficult to distinguish between them. At some level, that’s because they’re all making their mashups from the same ingredients. There are two or three general design types, two primary interface technologies to choose form, a handful of algorithms and database tricks, and a limited number of marketing phrases.

Ultimately, what will allow some of these startups to stand out is the intangible — the Web equivalent of my grandmother’s care that went in to her mashed potatoes. For mashups, those intangible ingredients include listening carefully to what customers really want, going the extra mile to connect customers in unexpected and serendipitous ways, and being extra light and agile so that they can survive the rapidly-shifting currents.

As you think about it, these are really the same ingredients that make for good business of any kind, not just the digital flavor. Whether you’re running a shoe store or constructing the coolest new memetracker, listening to what people want and responding to their wishes quickly is the secret to success. Ironically, it may ultimately be easier for analog companies to respond quickly to customers than their digital counterparts. The reason? Ego.

Digital companies have every possible tool at their disposal to track the most minute actions and interactions of their users. This means they should be able to detect customer needs and alter their business strategies or change product directions quickly. Unfortunately, many digital companies think they know better than their customers when it comes to their products. Be it because they have pioneered a new niche or simply because they are so enamored with their own thinking or fundraising, startups are often quick to launch but slow to change. And that often means death for a business.

Another interesting thing in all this mashed potatoes talk is the fact that mashups are nothing new. We’ve been doing mashups old school style since drug stores had soda fountains and short order cooks. Indeed, in a world of digital micro niches, it’s refreshing to see analog or analog/digital mashups still going strong. For a good example of the latter, check out innerTee, a social network for uploading and sharing clothing art that, in turn, can be mixed and matched to create cool clothing.

That reminds me, I’m headed south this next week and I need to buy some more Hawaiian shirts.

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