Walk The Fence

Well, that's it and show is over.

Apple launched it's latest non-event with the release of the iPad: http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Now when it comes to Amazon and the Kindle; you're probably feeling like the Sony Disc-Man right about now when Apple launched their first iPod...Ouch

There's no doubt the iPad will present a formidable platform replacing the Kindle in ways it's next version isn't even close to encompass. I hear some early critics talking about the iBook Store only being available in the US and therefore the Kindle is still alive. How long till Apple opens their iBook store to the world much like they did with iTunes?

Wi-Fi, Email, Pictures, Movies, Display (Let me correct that, portable personal Flat screen TV), Features, Apps, Games, Etc... So many things the Kindle doesn't even begin to touch.

If i'm at Amazon today, i pick up the phone quick to strike a distribution deal of my catalogue to the iPad as i realize this war is, and always was about content and not the device accessing it - seeing that i will positively lose that battle. It's inevitable Mr Anderson.

A few things I'll hope Apple took some cues on when i get my hands on this puppy: Palm Pre-like multi application running at the same time, where is the embedded web cam? (what about my skype calls from the couch???)

I almost anticipate some shuffling at Apple Marketing for the next device launch, the organized leakage in advance of the launch was almost anti climactic.

Please make the iPad my next MacBook Pro screen and I will sell you my soul Steve Jobs.

Avdv.

Pretty significant step for Google in the Digital Commerce ecosystem today; at least in my mind. They have tweaked what they do best (search) to be adapted on any web storefront and essentially replace your own internal site search functionality.

If you're in the Top-tier eCommerce players out there, you have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to tweak the Search module that came with whatever platform you're running (IBM Websphere, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Commerce, etc..). Don't lie, we know you have, or if you haven't it's in a 6 figure line item of your 2010 budget. And it has been a painful road, at best so far.

Well, hold that thought and consider this:

1. You can now adapt your internal site search to use the best known search tool around in the industry for your sku's and content

2. The tool is hosted for you (No additional infrastructure, management and support cost) - Yeah you best believe it'll scale if it's hosted by Google

3. You can streamline linkage and customize your Paid Search to link directly into your own internal site search results (same engine running both)

4. Dollars allocation on Paid search campaigns attain a new and almost perfect degree of tracability on Google (of course) with integration of Google Analytics or third parties.

Yes, you're letting Google see who buys what and how...not like they don't already have a good idea anyways...To me, it's a product you cannot pass on or try to implement on your eCommerce environment; even but for a section of your skus (example: promotional, end of season sale)...

If you're a mid tier eCommerce company, the search functionality you have with your platform is a joke at best - install Google Commerce search at once and watch your conversion rate heat up.

Search is a fundamental step in the consumer research and buying process today. Can you really afford your customers to not find what they are looking for on your site?

Let me ask you this - What do you usually do when you show up in a store and you can't find what you were looking for?

Avdv.

Link to Google Commerce Search Launch info:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/introducing-google-commerce-search.html

Couldn't help but be baffled by this story today. American Airlines fires an employee responding to a customer's anxiety attacks over how poor the user-experience is on their website. Furthermore, the AA customer is in fact a UX practician and helps, seeds, communicates, GENERATES USEFUL CONTENT FOR FREE (cool concept no?) to AA.com executives by providing Usability recommendations on how to improve online customer satisfaction.

AA's response: We're firing the employee that was communicating with you as he was divulging too much information (none was business critical or impacting) as to how our Online operations model is inadequate, slow, unresponsive and disjointed from our global customer care strategy. There. In a word, he gave you our org chart and demonstrated our internal incompetence; and that's proprietary AA information. Therefore we terminated your link with our company Mr customer.

Wow...that's pretty much all you can say...AA: We know why YOU fly, your business into the ground.

Enjoy the read at eConsultancy:

http://econsultancy.com/blog/4936-american-airlines-fires-an-employee-for-customer-engagement

Avdv.

The global language monitor group has recently announced that web 2.0 was to become the one millionth word added in the dictionary:http://mashable.com/2009/06/10/web20-millionth-word/

I can't help but have a little giggle on that one....after hearing so many attempts by so many "experts" to define what Web 2.0 actually means. Cannot wait to get the next release of the Merriam-Webster I read to my kids every night and see what they have come up with as a definition.

Which leads me to think: We're now talking about Web 3.0 so what would that dictionary page look like then? Let's go to their website and check:

Oh...no results found...guess the jury is still out on the definition eh? What could that entry look like...

Let's see:

Web 2.0 (noun?),Adjective (huh...no, i mean not sure), Phonetics: ( hoo-ehb- too, d-ot - zee- hero),

Definition : Huh...it's that new web stuff with those social sites that talk together with communities and things with mobile applications you know? (Draft version, needs to be reworked)

Web 3.0: Huh...tbd

Web 4.0: Well, we have to wait and see, web 3.0's next release could be a 3.1 if Bing makes it past Christmas... so let's hold off on that one.

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Oh what i wouldn't pay to be a fly on the wall at the next web 2.0 word definition review at Merriam :)

Happy Thursday to all, hit the pubs at 5 sharp. The economy needs it.

Cheers,

Avdv.

Totally unrelated to the usual tactics or innovations I'd think about for a customer to optimize its landing page, multivariate testing of product pages or cross-linking strategy, I'm scratching my head today on how we could best utilize Twitter, Facebook and the armada of other social engines to solve a problem, a plague, a source - and I'm intimately convinced of that - of incredible fossil fuel waste and causing health issues by sudden burst of high-blood pressure with millions of people everyday: the passing lane - aka the left lane. (or right lane for a few uncivilized countries)

The idea would be to use the massive and almost instant spreading capacity of the web and other connected devices to launch a worldwide campaign to remind, refresh and constantly bring back a message to drivers across the world, this inevitable truth: THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE BEHIND YOU GOING FASTER.

Therefore, as the name quite eloquently and simply states, the passing lane is made for passing. Not settling in, not establish as your domain since you're already doing 10km/h (or mph - for uncivilized countries) above the legal limit anyways...it's a lane made for taking over a vehicle in front of you travelling at slower velocity. Once that manoeuvre is completed, you should move back to the middle, or right lane, remembering the inevitable truth stated previously.

I would like for wolfram alpha to calculate the time/energy/years of life lost by millions, as a result of misuse and poor driving management encountered every day on our roads. Maybe the rear view mirror should display automated alerts (like electric shocks) to the driver seats when it detects that more than 10 cars are packed bumper to bumper behind you while you're casualy cruising to Celine Dion, utterly, mind boggling-ly oblivious to the direct traffic flow impact you're causing, while endangering drivers who have just had about enough of a long look at your no-so-funny bumper sticker and decide to now pass you using the right lane...

And that's precisely when your brain decides to go from 4% capacity use to 4.1% usage, you realize you're in the left lane, cars are passing you in the middle and the right lane, and you decide it's probably time for you to merge right...WITHOUT USING YOUR F%#& BLINKER.

Help for ideas on how to use technology to solve that problem would be a worthy cause, in my opinion.

Avdv.