Cute + Flag FTWFor some reason, upon seeing that Digg.com was doing a collaboration with Tomsshoes.com, to help the kiddies, and bring the height of web 2.0 design to the footwear industry, I found myself fighting through the online checkout to get me a pair of the Digg Toms.  This was a little out of my normal style, as my fanboy-ism is normally under control when it comes to footwear.  

That being said, after a bit of trouble getting through to the checkout (Kevin and Blake's video must have motivated a few of us) the Digg Toms have arrived and as a tech blogger, I suppose I should do what any tech blogger would do, review the latest Digg offering.

A few explanatory points.  I'm Australian and I'm currently living in Australia.  So it was pretty cool to have ordered the shoes on the 13th November, and to have them on my hot little feet on the 18th November.  I was expecting delays after the lag on the website, and of course, having to have them shipped outside the country of origin.  Maybe this is because of the efficiency of Tomsshoes.com, or because I was the only one to actually go through with the purchase? ....something to think about.

What's in the Box?

The shoes arrived in a nice shoe box with a Toms flag and sticker.  Toms don't bombard you with leaflets on the "One for One" movement, but the message is discreetly on the box and also in the shoes.  If you like to help others, and have the rest of the street know all about it, then these aren't for you.  If you are a Digg.com fanboy with all the hoodies and t-shirts, then you are going to have to keep taking off the shoes to prove your hardcore-ness, as the only Digg labelling is on the inside of the shoe.

I kind of like these design choices.  The shoes and the Toms service stand up on their own, plus it shows the confidence that Tomsshoes has in the dignity of the collaboration and ultimately the "One for One" movement.

So what about the Shoes?

The deal with the shoes is that Kevin Rose and Blake Mycoskie wanted to do something together, so Kevin got one of the designers at Digg.com to design some shoes.  I guess this was an effort to point the collective consciousness of the Digg community in the direction of the work that Tomsshoes is doing.

On their own, being viewed as a piece of design, the Digg Toms look good.  The use of the stitching and the paneling of the material give it a classic yet functional look, (and yes I'm not really sure what I meant here, but it sounds right) but the look is of house slippers, not shoes.

I left the shoes in a prominent place in the bedroom for when my wife and soul mate returned home from work.  Lynne was not aware of the purchase, maybe I was unsure, or maybe I wanted a reaction to the shoes without the back story.  Well, what I got was laughing.  Then when Lynne found out that I paid money for them, there was more laughing.  And later that night before sleep, I explained the Digg Toms, and after the giggles died down, Lynne confessed that she thought that I must have been given them, as I normally had better taste.

I think the the issue is the colour.  Of all the colours of the Digg.com corporate pallet, why choose yellow?  The blue would have been cool, or maybe classic black.  You may say that "tastes are different so stop picking on the colour", well yes tastes are personal but we were all quick to diss the Zune because of the brown colour choice.  And a range of colours isn't offered here.

The Road Test

After a days wear, the Digg Toms are comfortable and feel solid.  They do mark easily - another issue with the colour - but breathe well even on the 30+ degree days like today. But only time will tell what the battery life is like, and if there is going to be cracks around the screen....sorry, force of habit.  I found the soles a bit slippery on some surfaces, but that may solve itself once they have been worn in.  

As mentioned, the shoes strike me more as slippers than everyday wear.  But this may be just that I live in a environment where more sturdy footwear and socks are the norm.  I'm finding them quite good and as I get up the courage to venture out of the house more, with them on, I'm sure they will grow on me.

Impact for the kiddies

Of course, in all this we can't go past what Kevin and Digg is doing here.  The profile of Tomsshoes has been raised hugely, not just because Kevin and Digg mentioned their products, but because Kevin and Digg got actively involved in the products.

I spend quite a lot of time on Digg.com and I haven't ever knowingly clicked on a Ad.  On MY webpage, I really don't like them and keep them to a minimum.  In websurfing I tend to ignore them.  But what we have here with Digg and Tomsshoes is almost relationship selling/promotion.

With the loyal audience/community that Digg has amassed over the years, this sort of collaboration is the best way to advertise and promote.  Collaboration makes the community feel that they are also invested in the product, thus they participate, it's crowd sourcing to the max. Forget selling ad space or pre-rolls, this is going to be the future of online revenue.

You might be thinking that Digg is evil preying on our loyalty like this, but really, the Tomsshoes collaboration is the best example of how this revenue system will work.  The payoff here is not just the PR stunt, or even the revenue, but the legitimacy that the Digg effort confers to Toms cause and products in the tech/Digg community.

I'm not saying that the Toms "One for One" project and their product need legitimacy in their community or existing customer base.  But to reach out beyond that, there needed to be a tipping point (also the name of a good book explaining more about this process by Malcolm Gladwell), and collaboration of this style is the best way.

Could you imagine the "One laptop per Child" project getting more traction with a collaboration from say Google, Facebook or Blizzard?  Buy a laptop with the Chrome OS, or perhaps if Blizzard pitched it to 11 million World of Warcraft players with cool artwork on the case.  You would have to think that it would be a success.

It may just be a way to get to our social conscience, but it worked.  And in a world breeding consumer skepticism, the only way to get through may be good, innovative companies working with other good, innovative companies and/or causes.  It worked for me.

In the end I have something that I purchased and will use, and hopefully the recipient of the "One for One" will be saved from the odd nail.  And hopefully in version 1.5 we will see a GPS and a range of colours.

Jason Remnant

...if it ain't Broken, bright orange soles should do it.