My kids really want a Nintendo Switch. We’re making them get the most out of our old Wii. Am I a terrible father for depriving them?

Neither of those devices might have ever existed if it wasn’t for a bear named Teddy Ruxpin.

In the 80s, Teddy was a must-have toy. He looked like a standard stuffed bear until you put some batteries and a cassette tape in his back:

Then he comes to life, like you can see in ​this commercial​. While he talks, his mouth moves. His eyes blink. And it all happens in sync with the story playing on the cassette tape.

Stores couldn’t keep Teddy Ruxpin in stock. By today’s standards, the technology isn’t a marvel. The movements are even a little creepy. But it was amazing in those analog days.

A look behind the fur of the doll reveals an elegant technical solution.

Each Teddy Ruxpin story came with a book (to read along) and a cassette tape. It was a standard tape, the same ones used to hold Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper hits.

The tape was ordinary. But also special: it contained all the instructions for Teddy’s movements.

Like a music tape, Teddy’s cassettes were in stereo. They included tracks for left and right speakers. But the bear was not so sophisticated. He only had one speaker.

The story audio played from the left track. The other track included coded messages that instructed Teddy to move. These messages came without sound, but Teddy still was able to interpret them.

This was a clever solution. The truth is, messages on silent tracks are all around us.

You could be sending the wrong messages to developers with your site and content.

Yes, there are the words you write (i.e., the left audio channel), but there’s also the intent that’s interpreted (the invisible right channel). You want to make sure these are in sync.

As an example, we looked at 30 top dev tool homepages. In addition to the primary benefits messages, each ​clearly puts developers first​.

Small signals, like whether developers are included in global navigation, send loud messages about who matters to your company.

Unlike the talking doll, it’s not creepy when you get these right. You want to be in sync with the technical audience that reads your content, visits your site, and explores your documentation.

Think about the left and right tracks as you create messages for developers. Do you build trust or accidentally stoke skepticism?

P.S. What’s that have to do with Nintendo? The Japanese company partnered with Teddy Ruxpin’s distributor to bring their first video game console to the United States. Any retailer who wanted the talking bear would also need to stock the Nintendo NES, which quickly reached Ruxpin-esque popularity.

Looking for a valuable partner like that? ​Work with EveryDeveloper​ to help make sense of the developer’s hidden track