The latest from my daughter’s campus: Everyone’s going to Download.com and grabbing and installing Post-it Software Notes Lite 3.1.1, which has more than 1.5 million downloads so far. It’s a nifty little widget that lets you create virtual Post-Its you can leave on your computer desktop, arrange as desired and delete as needed.

Great idea. Perfect piece of desktop branding for 3M. But …

If you download the software, be sure to unzip the .exe file before installing. On my desktop (Windows XP), the downloaded .exe file wanted to install IconEdit2. On my laptop (Vista), the file wanted to install a Canon printer driver. Weird.

Also, be warned (but not surprised) that if you have Vista, the widget is not very Vista-friendly. Then again, Vista itself isn’t very Vista-friendly, but that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of albatross.

And don’t go to the 3M site looking for the software. They have a 30-day trial version available of Post-It software that sells for $19.95. I have no clue how the trial version differs from Post-It Lite 3.1.1., or even if it differs at all.

Why 3M doesn’t just make a kick-ass Post-It widget available to everyone for free, I don’t know. It makes all the sense in the world that they should. This is the perfect widget idea for the brand. Make it great, make it widely available and let the ideavirus spread. Then make the upgraded version so compelling that word of mouth about that spreads, too.

There’s no reason 3M couldn’t own the idea of computer desktop notes. They’re so close … yet so far.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Internet Stuff, Marketing Stuff.