Who among us doesn’t respect and appreciate those little yellow squares of paper that are easily stuck and then removed to multiple surfaces, multiple times?
Certainly not me, that’s for sure!
Particularly during this past week. It’s been busier than usual and I’ve resorted to an alarming number of Post-It notes, in a variety of places:
- Refrigerator
- Computer
- Desk
- Bedside table
- Bathroom mirror
- Purse
- Car dashboard
I may be forgetting a couple, but you get the idea.
Yes, I know my smartphone has ways to notate things that must be recalled at specific times. And I do use the methods that offer an alarm, because without the alarm what good are they? But, that takes a few more steps than I want to do sometimes.
Not so with the iconic Post-Its.
Swipe, write, stick…easy peasy AND effective.
The History
Dr. Spencer Silver, a 3M scientist, was researching new adhesives in his lab when he stumbled upon one called microspheres; it sticks lightly to surfaces but doesn’t bond tightly. Silver spent years trying to come up with an idea that would put his discovery to good use.
In the meantime another 3M scientist and church choir member, Art Fry, was using small scraps of paper to mark the songs in his hymnal. However, they constantly fell out. Fry realized that he needed a bookmark, which would stick to the paper without damaging the pages and be easily removed.
Needless to say, it was a match made in adhesive heaven. The two partnered on developing a product and Post-It Notes were born.
Initially, the notes were tried out on 3M corporate headquarters and were a big hit. However, a test run in four cities under the name Press ‘n Peel, drew mixed results. But, marketing decided to go ahead with a bigger sampling effort and 90% of those consumers said they would definitely purchase and use them.
Silver said that like many groundbreaking innovations, theirs was a product nobody thought they needed…until they did.
Post-It Notes 2.0
Modern day Post-It Notes have come a long way since then.
Post-It Flags came next; a way to organize with color coding, filing and indexing. Then Easel Pads, which help brainstorming sessions everywhere.
Super Sticky Notes were an additional option to the regular ones and ideal for vertical surfaces. Refrigerator magnets met their match!
A highlighter that offers neon ink + flags became a favorite among students. Super Sticky Full Adhesive enables users to go mobile, taking an entire pad of notes with them, adhered in binders, journals, etc.
Big Pads (a bit smaller than Easel Pads) allow teams to collaborate and the initial yellow notepad now comes in a wide range of sizes, colors, and lined varieties.
The Post-It brand eventually partnered with Evernote, the organizational note-taking app. With your smartphone’s camera, you can snap, save and share your Post-Its in addition to creating auto-tags, reminders and notebooks.
Today, these classic notepads are available in 150 countries with a product line of 4,000! The adhesive is now plant-based and Post-Its are definitely here to stay.
Which is a good thing. As long as I stay busy, I can never have too many! 😉
How many of you in the blogosphere utilize these little helpers?
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