For years, manufacturers build product, sell it into a retailer, and wipe their hands of most responsibilities after the fact -- often focusing on promotional calendars to help drive point of sale with some arm's length control over point of purchase signage.

As the shift to building experiences becomes more of a priority for brands and manufacturers, they find themselves with an organizational structure and culture that may be highly unprepared for what it takes to embrace this new experience-driven mentality.

These are exciting times for consumers as retailers and manufacturers push the envelope for their attention across channels. These are equally exciting times for retailers and manufacturers as the advances in consumer technologies and their expectations are driving substantially different conversations at the brand and retailer level than in years past.

I don't watch the local news.

I don't watch the national news.

This doesn't mean that the news doesn't matter to me but rather the way in which I consume the information does. I get my news in bite-sized chunks online as free minutes are available a couple times throughout the day.

The Daily

Despite my fragmented habits of consuming "news," I do however spend the time once per month to read magazines of interest to me. So how does "The Daily" fit into my routine?

"The Daily" iPad subscription for the news is an interesting concept. I have been testing it out and find myself liking the format but coming to the realization that it's just not how I keep up with news anymore.

I feel like this is more of a product of me not having 30 minutes to dedicate each day to rather than it being because of the convenience of the free news available online. I don't spend 30 minutes reading freely-available online news, either. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay for content, I'm just unwilling to pay for content I won't use.

The technology isn't what's changing my habits, it's the pace of life and lifestyle that is.

I actually don't hate the newspaper format. I enjoy the content available in newspapers -- my lifestyle however doesn't afford me the time to sit and read it each and every day.

If my favoriate magazine came via an iPad subscription, I would prefer to read it that way vs. on paper. But that's more a product of leveraging the convenience of the device rather than despising the paper its printed on.

Is the newspaper industry dying because of technology or because of consumer lifestyles?

A little bit of both. But I think it's more a product of consumer lifestyle than anything. Many people aren't paying for a newspaper anymore not because the content quality is poor but rather because they can't dedicate the time out of their day to sit and read. The Sunday newspaper probably remains the most-kept subscription because of the coupons and also because that's a day of the week where many do have a few moments to sit and unwind (all speculation - I have no data to support this).

The industry must adapt to the changing behaviors of consumers, not simply move the same concept to another medium.

The newspaper industry needs to instead learn how to deliver news that caters to the faster-paced lifestyles of consumers. It's certainly not in the printed format and it may very well not be via an iPad subscription. The iPad subscription of The Daily is no different than a newspaper -- I still need to dedicate time I don't have to reading it.

I hope The Daily succeeds because it will provide a blueprint for other traditional publishers to make the switch to Digital Media and we will see some creative work come out of it. However, the concept is fundamentally flawed because it has taken the same business model and made it available on a different medium -- and its demise may very well be because consumers' reading habits for the news simply aren't what they used to be.

On a related note, in an article on February 7th from VentureBeat about Microsoft potentially cleaning house to make room for more technologists on the Executive team, this particular quote from an Analyst in the article resonated with me:

“You see the engineering team ascending because Steve is realizing that there is a need to execute on a vision and in order to do that you have to actually understand how software is built,” said Wes Miller, an analyst at the Kirkland, Washington-based research firm Directions on Microsoft, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. “It’s a whole other thing to be able to say, ‘I’ve been at Microsoft, I understand software, and what you are saying will or will not work.’”

The underlined portion is of particular interest to the Marketing Technologist - in order for Marketing departments to execute on a vision, an understanding of the technological underpinnings for that vision and the end-user experience it delivers is vital.

The Era of the Marketing Technologist

More importantly, you don't have to be a software company like Microsoft to require this expertise. For more in-depth discussion on the topic, read Scott's post on The Rise of the Marketing Technologist.

Making the Case for an Embedded Marketing Technology Team (E-Business)

In my interview, I make the case that Marketing departments should even have their own technology arm - at our organization we call it the E-Business team. E-Business drives multichannel sales, new customer acquisition, brand recognition and loyalty, and customer retention. For more on E-Business, read on.

I love Apple products and the Apple retail store. The checkout process however, needs some work.

Unless you are getting help from an Apple retail associate, the store is not really setup for someone who just wants to go in and buy a product. The lack of a line of registers is a novel idea and by giving each associate their own iPod Touch / credit card scanner device, you have no need for the checkout line bottleneck.

Checkout/Cash Registers Provide a Destination for Paying

However, there is something natural about a line of checkout/cash registers -- you know where to go when it's time to purchase. You don't feel like you are interrupting an associate who's floating around the store. You know the person behind the register is there for one reason and one reason only:  pay them your money for a product off the shelf.

Self/Expert Checkout

Since I do most of my product research online before heading to the Apple store, I walk in knowing exactly what I want. I end up spending the majority of my time wandering aimlessly trying to snatch up an Apple associate before the next uneducated shopper occupies them for the next 15 minutes with questions.

I'd love the ability to self-checkout at the retail store. Or some other means for getting an associate's attention that signals them that I'm ready to buy.

If this were an e-commerce site...

Checkout is perhaps the most critical component of an e-commerce site. It's the make-or-break moment for your customer in the shopping process. Frustrate them and they will bail.

Consumer-friendly messaging, right?

Aside from the visual design of the site, it's the vague message that has my eyes rolling. Basically, this website exists to tell you your tax refund status, but the Department of Revenue cannot provide specific estimates on when individuals will receive their refunds. But alas, everyone who is due a refund will receive a refund! I guess that makes it all better, right?

Imagine if you placed an order for a product, it's been weeks and you haven't received your shipment. You call the retailer only to hear them say "we can't provide you with a status of your order but rest assured, you will receive your shipment."

Voice of the taxpayer online

I would love to see a government site use OpinionLab or ForeSee Results on their sites. Taxpayers should then be able to see the aggregated feedback ratings & scores. Government website operators could then focus on ease of use and helpful tools online. Messages like above only insult taxpayer intelligence and further throw gas on the fire.

For example: Because I've been buried in doing actual work the past couple weeks, I first heard about Google Buzz through RSS feeds before getting the notification that it was ready for my Gmail account.

And judging by the RSS feeds, the type of coverage was akin to TMZ covering Jersey Shore cast news.

Oh my, people. Relax.

The early adopter community of these technologies get so caught up in overanalyzing every move in the industry that they lose sight of where these innovations and changes take us from a consumer perspective.

It makes me yearn for the format of a magazine that reports on industry news in a less timely format, but without all of the initial noise, gossip, and speculation woven into the article like I'm seeing so much of online.

(Old screenshot of the site -- when Circuit City was still in business to be able to run banner ads)

It started as just a hobby

From '98-'02 it truly was a hobby, funded entirely by the money out of our pockets with no real plan in place. We knew we had something unique because people kept coming to the site, registering, loading up their vehicle information, pictures, sounds, and videos -- all by word of mouth. But man, it was an expensive hobby to have, even with costs split between the three of us.

It became a business (but a part-time one)

In '03 we officially became a Limited Liability Company, setup a business banking account, had company credit cards, designed and printed company business cards, had a company phone line, mailing address, and made a run at selling banner advertising inventory for the ad space on the site.

A trip to SEMA to visit existing and potential sponsors, trips to local car shows, and continuous involvement in the enthusiast community with our own hobby-based vehicles continued to get the word out.

Startup.com was a truly inspiring documentary that we watched countless time during these years.

On the up-and-up

From '04-'05 we operated like a business: regular strategy meetings, constant site updates, new feature enhancements, active forums, and we had regular revenue coming in from sponsors, ad networks, and membership fees -- it was exhilarating. I could see it someday becoming a full-time gig if we really wanted to make a run at it. We just lacked the financial stability to go at it on our own for an extended period of time.

The day jobs take prescedence

In '06 I moved from Minnesota to North Carolina to pursue a career in online marketing with a Fortune 500 company. Essentially, I had found a day job doing exactly what was so exciting about SuperMotors.net. Being an online site, we felt that we could continue to run the hobby-based-business-that-we-secretly-hoped-would-be-a-full-time-business-someday as if the distance between us would not matter.

It mattered, and in a big way.

Web 2.0 was blowing up and our site was stagnant

The Web 2.0 hoopla was blowing up, web technology was crazy, and hosting was becoming cheaper by the minute -- all things that should have contributed to a healthier bottom line, new and innovative features, but they didn't. My two friends and I were no longer meeting regularly. My move away from the business' home state had made it extremely difficult to collaborate.

The day jobs were getting more exciting, too.

In 2008, we decided to sell.

The decision to sell

This was a tough, tough decision. By this point, we had 10 years into the site both as a hobby and a business. We knew what we had on our hands, but we did not have the means to take it to the next level that we wanted to -- and it was beginning to show. Site updates and feature enhancements were nonexistent. Support requests from our members would go unanswered for weeks. The site was stuck on cruise control at 40 MPH in a 75 MPH speed zone.

Falling victim to the economy

Our buyer in 2008 had to bail on the deal as we were closing in on a finalized sales agreement. So much time had passed since our decision to sell and when we drew up the papers that the economy had gone south, and so did the buyer's ability to finance the purchase. Up until this point, I had dodged the bad economy impact, but it became real when something as small as our website was a victim of the economy going south. Who knew?

Maybe we just weren't ready to sell. Did we have a renewed interest in the site? Was this the kick in the pants we needed?

Several months had passed after the deal fell through and it was clear that it was still the right move for us to sell.

Selling the business was the most difficult business decision

The decision to sell (again) was tough. It's not like we were living off of the site -- we weren't. We all had day jobs. At this point, we had not continued dialogue with sponsors and the site was running break-even. But it was the potential of what could be that was so enticing about the site and what was so troubling about the decision to sell. The "what if's" plagued us.

Admitting "I can't make this happen"

I had to objectively look at things. When I did this, it gave me the clarity I needed: I was not going to make this site into the success I hoped and knew it could be. I couldn't do it.

When you say this to yourself about something that essentially is within your control, it's a very difficult realization. But, on the flip-side, I have a successful career and the experience in setting up a business, operating a site, meeting with customers, interacting with the end-users -- it has all contributed to my professional experience and I had fun while doing it.

It was time to let somebody else do this. And by letting go, I was doing a favor to our end-users who had stuck with us for so long.

It's sold

As I write this, it's been nearly two weeks since selling the site. It didn't become real until I could no longer access the server or had control of the domains. It's on odd feeling, but there is a sense of relief that the site is in better and more capable hands now than it has been in a couple years. I no longer have a guilty conscience as I look in my inbox -- there are no more unanswered customer and/or end-user emails that I tell myself "I'll get to this weekend."

In the end, I made the right decision and have no regrets.

+

With the pending release of The Beatles: Rock Band on September 9th, there are rumors of Apple finally striking a deal with The Beatles and releasing the band's music on iTunes the same day. These Beatles/iTunes rumors have been around for some time and if there was any time to release The Beatles on iTunes, now is a better time than ever. Why?

In December 2007, Nieselson SoundScan revealed that songs on the "set list" of Guitar Hero III and Rock Band saw an increase in digital purchases anywhere from 15% to 847%.  In essence, Rock Band and Guitar Hero essentially become entertaining advertising vehicles for bands and recording labels.

It's no secret that the release of The Beatles on iTunes would do quite well just with the Apple PR machine powering it. However, Apple's efforts plus a release of The Beatles:Rock Band would certainly be a home run.

It's fascinating to see how a new product (Guitar Hero or Rock Band) can drive incremental sales in other channels of business (digital music).

As someone with a MacBook Pro (for business) running OS X and VMWare Fusion for Windows XP & Windows 2000, an iMac (for home), Blackberry (Business & Gmail access), and random access to the Internet anywhere else I go, it only takes one instance where you're on a device without your latest and greatest contact information. My Gmail contact list was the last missing link in the plethora of address books spread across all of these devices.

Adium out, iChat in

Previously, I used Adium, which is a nice IM client for Mac OS X which allows you to log into virtually all IM platforms with a single application. The biggest downside with Adium is that it doesn't support video. I always found myself having to quit Adium to use iChat when I wanted to video chat with friends/family. This was acceptable for me, but not as convenient to teach to my wife who is not as tech savvy and has multiple IM accounts on AIM, Yahoo!, and MobileMe.

I'd prefer to keep things like IM simple for her so she can worry about figuring out other things on her new computer -- plus, the convenience of having one IM app that handles text, audio, and video chatting across all IM services is very convenient.

The Challenge: iChat doesn't natively support Yahoo! Instant Messenger

iChat out-of-box supports AOL Instant Messenger, MobileMe, Mac.com, Bonjour, Google Talk, and Jabber Instant Messaging services:

Using a Jabber account, you can log into Yahoo! IM via iChat

Jabber is a free IM service and functions much like email service. You must find a Jabber provider and setup a Jabber account with them. Once you have a Jabber account, you can communicate with any other Jabber user.

The unique thing about Jabber is that it supports "transports." Transports enable Jabber IM servers to communicate with other IM services such as Yahoo! IM, MSN, IM, AOL IM, Google Talk, etc.

The key, which was not obvious to me as I searched online for tutorials on how to do this, is to find a Jabber server that has Yahoo! IM transport capabilities. There are many Jabber servers out there which do not have Yahoo! IM transports.

Setting up a Jabber account to access Yahoo! IM via iChat: the definitive guide

1. Assuming you don't already have a Jabber account, you must create one. To do so (on Mac OS X), download the Psi application at: http://psi-im.org (as of this writing, Psi version 0.12 is what I used).
2. Install and launch Psi
3. From the "General" menu, select "Account Setup"
4. Click "Add" to add a new account
5. The name of the account can be whatever you'd like -- this is used for referencing the account in your account list.
6. Choose a Jabber server from the drop-down list. This server list will populate from Jabber.org's service listing at http://www.jabber.org/web/Services.
   1. I used im.apinc.org as they were the only one of several which I tried with Yahoo! IM transport capabilities.
7. Choose any login and password you like for your Jabber account. This doesn't need to match your Yahoo! screen name. Leave all other settings as-is. You may get a certificate validation message -- just hit continue (this means that they have not purchased an SSL certificate and are using a free certificate).
8. After creating the account, it will show up in the Psi window. From the "Status" menu, choose "Online" to log into your Jabber account on im.apinc.org.
9. Right-click on your Jabber account name in Psi window and select "Service Directory" and click the "Browse" button on the window that appears. You will see the following window:
10. Right-click on the "Yahoo! IM Gateway" and select "add to roster". This will add the Yahoo! IM Gateway (labeled as "im.apinc.org") to your list in your Psi window.
11. Right-click on the newly-added item in your Psi window:
12. Select "Add/Authorize to contact list"
13. Right-click on the item again and select "Log on".  This will prompt you for your Yahoo! ID and password. Enter them here.
14. You're all set with the Psi application. You've now established your Jabber account and linked your Jabber account to the Yahoo! IM Gateway via the Jabber service. Quit Psi and launch iChat -- we must now setup iChat to log into your new jabber account.
15. With iChat opened, select the "iChat" menu and choose "Preferences." Click the "Accounts" tab.
16. Click the "+" button to create an account. Select "Jabber Account" from the Account Type drop-down menu.
17. Enter the Account name and Password you chose in step 5. Note that your account name will be in the format: username@im.apinc.org  (you must include the "@im.apinc.org" or whichever Jabber server you created your account on).
18. You must now add all of your Yahoo! IM buddies to your Jabber buddies list. Unfortunately, the Yahoo! IM buddies in your Yahoo! buddy list don't automatically transfer over. To add a new Yahoo! IM buddy to your Jabber list, you MUST enter them in the following format: yahooid@yahoo. In other words, if your friend's Yahoo! IM username is johndoe, you would enter this as johndoe@yahoo in your Jabber buddy list. The "@yahoo" tells the Jabber server to utilize the Yahoo! IM Gateway for routing instant messages to Yahoo! users.

Congratulations go out to Foodzie.com for receiving $1M in seed financing to support the startup's business in building an online marketplace for artisan food producers. This is very good news for the startup, particularly in this economy.

Back in April, I posted an entry about Foodzie before Rob and Emily (founders of Foodzie & friends of mine) headed off to Colorado to start the venture as part of the TechStars program.

Foodzie recently launched with 25 artisan producers and is offering 20% off all food products on orders placed by 12/31/2008. For the latest on Foodzie's adventure, visit their blog at http://blog.foodzie.com.

"May I have your attention. We are experiencing a higher than normal volume of calls. Your wait time may be excessive."

Excessive? Did they really say that? On the heels of a similar post by Yabia, I couldn't help but post my own reminder that viewing your business through the eyes of your customer or a consumer is critical to providing satisfying service.

"Excessive" implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable

My beef with the above recorded message is the use of the word "excessive." Excessive is so often used in conjunction with something overly negative (excessive speeding, excessive drinking, etc.), why on earth would you use this language with your customers?

Now, granted, this is local government -- generally an area where I rarely find customer service going above and beyond the call of duty. This automated message is either a complete stroke of genius by realistically acknowledging that the wait time is totally unacceptable...or a sobering realization of the lack of awareness. My vote is for the latter.

Soften the blow

If your phone system doesn't support the ability to tell a caller how long they will wait, then don't mention anything about the wait time being excessive. At the very least, choose different wording if transparency is your objective.

It makes me wonder: what would life be like if we lived in a world where there was only one supplier for each product we used in our day-to-day lives? Would you also have "excessive" wait times?

TV needs its own version of the RSS feed

It then dawned on me: TV needs to be like this. Essentially, it's what all of our DVRs are striving to be. In our house, we have DIRECTV HD which means we are locked in to the underwhelming DIRECTV HD DVR. DIRECTV is taking a step in the right direction with the ability to schedule your DVR online. The problem is that it differs from Tivo's implementation of online scheduling (we have Tivo in another room in the house).

Proprietary DVR scheduling "protocol" limits potential

If I visit ABC.com (or any television station's website), there's no standard way for me to subscribe to a show. I have to separately go to my provider's website to use their proprietary method of scheduling the DVR to record a show. This is the beauty of RSS feeds -- they are the same no matter which client you read the feeds from.

I really hope the future of DVR scheduling moves towards a standard which allows all networks to use a common syndication interface which can communicate with a network-connected DVR or computer. At the end of the day, there'd be a standard way to subscribe to an episode, series, and set it to record new episodes and/or repeats.

Advertising opportunities

If there were a standard DVR scheduling protocol, just think of how this could be leveraged through online advertising. A few ideas:

1. A call-to-action could be included within a link or a banner ad to "schedule this show to record" by simply clicking on it and adding the "feed" to your TV scheduler. You could then directly measure campaign effectiveness to new "subscribers."
2. Similar to FeedBurner, a measurement service could be provided so networks could understand total subscribers.
3. Standardizing on a protocol would also allow online video sharing sites (Hulu, YouTube, etc.) to provide feeds to a DVR when a new episode/show/clip is available from your favorite show/contributor. I'd love to see YouTube feeds in my DVR list -- when I'm sitting at the couch is when I have free time to check out online videos in longer sessions.
4. Viral marketing would be much easier -- forward an email to a friend: "Hey, record this one episode, it's hilarious." Recipient clicks and they're done.

Hulu is a step in the right direction

I can subscribe to an RSS feed for new episodes posted for a show or channel on Hulu. The missing link is the ability to play this content through the television. It's still not quite convenient (or comfortable) to huddle around a MacBook Pro 15" or a 20" iMac -- but good enough for catching an episode you missed or while on the road.

Yes, this is vastly over-simplified

I realize there are technical considerations that need to be accounted for, however my ignorance to DVR and TV-scheduling technology allows me to demand features like this.

12/6/09 Update - I recently upgraded to a Blackberry 9630. The 8800 modem script works for the 9630, too (I couldn't find a modem script explicitly for the 9630 so when I tried the script for the 8800, it connected just fine). It should also be noted that the link to the modem scripts below DOES work for Mac OS 10.6 as I'm also running that now, too.

Internet access anywhere there's a cell signal

No more having to pay $9.95 at each airport I sit in for Internet access. I'll basically have Internet access wherever I have a cell phone signal!

Here's how:

1. Install the BlackBerry 8800 modem scripts in Macintosh HD > Library > Modem Scripts
2. Pair your BlackBerry with your Mac (I have a MacBook Pro which has built-in Bluetooth functionality). To do this: Apple Menu > System Preferences > Network > Bluetooth and click the "Set Up Bluetooth Device..." button. Follow the prompts to pair your device.
3. For the Sprint wireless network, you need to enter the following configuration information in the Bluetooth settings for Modem connectivity:
   1. Telephone Number:  wap.sprint.com
   2. Account Name & Password fields can both be left blank

Apple just gets it. Today they announced the iPhone 3G, a thinner, faster, and more affordable iPhone. I continue to be fascinated by how they take difficult or time-consuming processes and make them easy. Take for example MobileMe.

How will Plaxo respond to MobileMe?

As a die-hard Plaxo user, MobileMe seems to be a fairly significant threat to Plaxo. In the wake of Comcast's recent purchase of Plaxo, I would imagine Plaxo will be find itself in a difficult position to continue innovating as it works through the transition to Comcast ownership and business processes.

Apple has quite simply leap-frogged Plaxo in features and functionality that I currently pay $60/year for with Plaxo: Address book and calendar syncing. Plaxo also has other bells and whistles such as contact "networking" features (a la LinkedIn) and Plaxo Pulse (a la Friendster -- essentially a "life stream" of your data)...neither of which I pay the yearly fee for. Calendar and contact syncing is where the value is for me.

MobileMe goes beyond address & calendar syncing

Most importantly, MobileMe will also sync email, photos, and files. As I hop between an enterprise BlackBerry, an iMac at home, and a MacBook Pro for work (running VMWare so I can play nicely in the Windows world), the MobileMe synchronization is really the best of everything. No matter which environment I'm in, I'll have access to my most frequently-used data.

MobileMe could be the ticket

While I'm not about to switch email addresses, the photo and file syncing are very nice add-ons for the $99/year fee with 20GB of storage. Google's Picasa photo hosting only provides 2GB of storage (it's free, though) and DropBox (for file sharing) is still in its infancy. Is this enough to convince me to buy an iPhone? Only if it'll work with Enterprise email. MobileMe however looks to be the ticket when it comes out (with or without an iPhone). I'll be testing the 60-day trial for sure.

All old posts and links will automatically forward to the new blog URL. The RSS feed remains unchanged!

-Eric

Just used RedBox DVD Rentals for the first time this evening and what an impressive service:

• DVD rentals for $1.00/day
• Easy-to-use interface
• Online integration (rent online, pick up at your local RedBox location)
• Return the DVD to any RedBox kiosk (not just the one you rented from)
• Slick little DVD dispenser that casually spits out the DVDs in their hard-plastic cases

These are new to our area in Greensboro, NC but I know are popular in the Atlanta area (based on feedback from a few friends who pick up DVDs from the RedBox at their local McDonald's). And what a business model this must be: Drop a kiosk in the store, feed it new DVDs each week for new releases, and watch the money roll in. I'd love to learn more about their infrastructure and how they keep tabs on the health of the machines.

The user experience on the computer kiosk is well-done, although I wish the system was a little more responsive (i.e. faster). It could use a slightly larger screen to view the DVD titles. These are very minor complaints considering how easy it was to walk up and rent a DVD for the first time. Our main problem the whole time was feeling "rushed" by the other people waiting in line to rent and return their movies!

Here's the new and improved design which, so far, stays much cleaner, easier to open, and easier to use:

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make me happy. Oh, and by the way, Chip's Ahoy has improved the labeling on their product so you don't accidentally open it on the sides of the packaging (see my original post where I accidentally mauled the package):

Like any company adjusting to modern times, AAA is moving many of their services to their website at AAA.com. This includes the TripTik service (you can still order a printed copy!).

AAA TripTik vs. Google Maps
One thing I do give Google Maps is the fast, convenient nature of their mapping tool -- which is great for short trips and quick directions to that new restaurant or store in your area that you want to check out. For road trips, however, it falls short of the robustness of AAA's TripTik service.

Google's UI Advantage:
This post wouldn't be complete without some discussion on usability and user interface. Google makes it extremely easy to quickly type in your start and end destination. Simply enter in the following:

minneapolis, mn to chicago, il

And voila! Your map is created.

AAA's UI Disadvantages
On AAA.com's TripTik, you have to first find the "Internet TripTik" link (small, fairly unnoticeable button...see it? It's under the "Gas prices near you" tool on the bottom right-hand side of their homepage.):

There is no easy URL to remember like there is for Google Maps (maps.google.com). If there is one, they don't advertise it, which is a bummer. A simple http://triptik.aaa.com that redirected to the full URL would work wonders! Here's their full URL:

http://ww1.aaa.com/scripts/WebObjects.dll/AAAOnline.woa/2004?

association=aaa&poiKey=259&club=111&page=ITTServices&

sessionRedirect=1198155291293

Next, there's the interface for entering your "start" and "end" destinations. This is also another usability issue compared to Google Maps in that you are required to type in your city separately from the state (you have to choose the state from a drop-down menu). This is another reason why Google Maps is better than AAA for "quick" directions & maps. It's much easier to quickly enter a "start" and "end" destination within Google Maps: Type in maps.google.com, page loads instantly, type in "from city, state to city, state" and you're done. The extra clicks and effort to fill in the AAA TripTik do not make it a viable tool for extremely easy and quick data entry.

AAA's advantage over Google
The meat of the TripTik service is its ability to map out detailed driving directions, including lodging information, notices on when to expect heavy traffic (when traveling during rush hour through various cities), and road construction details. These are all areas where Google Maps does not provide any guidance.

Additionally, the "printable" version of AAA's TripTik provides a nicely-formatted PDF specifically designed to be printed on your home computer. Google Maps on the other hand will print like any normal web page would -- adding page breaks where it's most inconvenient. AAA's TripTik PDF's have directions in logical chunks so that it's easy to follow on your road trip. Take a look at the screen shots:

(The yellow boxes indicate road contruction. Also notice the rush hour notification at the bottom of map #2)

AAA Internet TripTik trumps Google Maps for road trips...but not for quick, local trips
With a few minor changes, AAA could actually be a contender with Google Maps for quick, local directions and trips. Longer distances, where it's important to know where lodging is available, where road construction is, etc. and it's an excellent tool. I'm willing to look past the usability nuances for the much more detailed information for extended road trips.

Evaluate the usability on your website
Are there any areas like this on your website? Would a simple, easy-to-remember URL benefit your consumers or customers so they can quickly arrive at a tool they use most often (i.e. maps.google.com)? Or do you force them to navigate through your site to find the tools they need?

Subtle changes can go a long way in improving your site's usability and customer satisfaction. It's always good to solicit feedback from your web users and do frequent competitive analysis of "the other guys'" sites.

I just came across a fantastic free service which utilizes the CAPTCHA image generation feature (you know, the hard-to-read distorted words on website registration forms) that offers a free service for performing the same protection for linking to an e-mail address:

A CAPTCHA is a program that can tell whether its user is a human or a computer. You've probably seen them — colorful images with distorted text at the bottom of Web registration forms. CAPTCHAs are used by many websites to prevent abuse from "bots," or automated programs usually written to generate spam. No computer program can read distorted text as well as humans can, so bots cannot navigate sites protected by CAPTCHAs.

Here is a link to my e-mail address (fill out the reCAPTCHA form and you'll get my unencrypted e-mail address). This is perfect for posting your address publicly, but protecting it from being picked up by spam bots/spiders that routinely scour websites for e-mail addresses. I've also posted this link in the "about the author" page on this blog, too (no more having to contact me through my LinkedIn profile!).

Furthermore, reCAPTCHA also has the added benefit of using their API to help digitize books: