Opportunity: Multi State Website Usability Focus Groups

Troy and I try to maintain the editorial integrity of this blog and stay away from hawking vendor services; however, from time to time, we do see opportunities that we feel might be extremely compelling to our readers. This is one of them!

Indiana based SMARI is offering state tourism offices an opportunity to participate in a "group" based web usability focus group. Oregon participated—and I personally attended—the 2006 version of this study along with Minnesota, Missouri, Montana & Indiana and gleaned some fascinating insights about how consumers use the web for travel research/booking and also how they specifically use state tourism websites to plan their trip (A screen shot from a snippet in the report is featured above). We also received a detailed evaluation of TravelOregon.com and how it compared to our competitive set.

SMARI conducts the facilitated focus groups in a closed lab environment and the panel is recruited based on the participating states' target demographics. The next focus group panel is scheduled to happen on July 30th and while the cost varies on the number of states who join, SMARI assures me that the maximum would be $4,000. If you're interested, please contact SMARI directly.

Retro, Vintage, Handwritten Notes & Watercolors - Hot Trends in Web Design for 2008

About a year ago, I compiled a huge list of artistic sites. It seems like the trend has carried on in 2008 and is growing stronger (thank God the glossy style is gone). So what’s hot now? Pencil sketches, handwritten notes, card stocks, watercolor effects, collage art, script fonts, grungy and splatter ink backgrounds (glossy gradients are not "in" this year). Another trend to be on the lookout for are the vintage and retro styles. >>Full Story

Thoughts// If you're like me and feel indifferent about the modern—and sterile—look of "Web 2.0" sites but have a nostalgic fascination with all things retro and vintage, this is a good year to surf the web! The talented creatives at WebDesignerWall, just posted a really inspiring blog about 2008 design trends. Among the "hot" trends this year are:

• Vintage/Retro: Designs inspired by '40's and '50's design elements, which interestingly at the time were considered "ultra modern or futuristic"; example: McTarnahan's

• Handwritten Notes & Paperclips: Handwritten fonts and paper clips add depth and emotion to what can be a sterile online experience; it's no surprise that many sites are using it to add personality to their site; example: Point of Entry
  

• Grunge: While the word "grunge" evolved as slang for "dirty" or "filthy", this design style is anything but that. The unconventional style is defined by irregular, ugly and crooked visual elements, subtle dark tones and weathered or worn textures; example: Sundance

• Spatter Ink: Punctuated with bright colors, free flowing design elements and large blots of color, this design aesthetic communicates "vibrancy" and "fun"; example: Virginia (for 'passionality' art) & Pointless Ramblings.

• Watercolor: Inspired by Monet's impressionism, sites designed in this style are soft, vivid and feminine; example: Spring in Tennessee; (wow props to TN for being in two trendy categories!)

• Woodsy: Irreverent yet timeless, this whimsical retro inspired design is increasingly popular with state tourism offices; examples: Travel Oregon, Minnesota, & Idaho

• Collage: Free flowing and refreshing, collage designs are a nice break from the more conventional and rigid design schemes that litter the web; example: Free People & Tennessee
  

Of course, it goes without saying that using an ephemeral design trend just for the sake of "being cool" without consideration of brand, audience or goals will get you no where.

~ Happy Wednesday!

Update: I originally was thinking of Tennessee's old site when I put them under "splatter ink"; looks like they've since evolved to a more "collage" aesthetic.

Random Thoughts: Travel 2.0 and TripWolf

As all of you know, new travel sites (travel 2.0!) seem to pop-up on a daily basis, each one promising more features, better advice all while being faster than the other guy or at least more social. And while we usually just don't have time to review all of them, the recent beta launch of TripWolf gives us a good chance to ponder.

Thoughts// Ah, the benefits of launching a new travel site...learn from everyone else's mistakes, integrate the latest 'insert buzz word here' technology, use plenty of 2.0 looking fonts and logo reflections...and launch. However, in this increasing competitive slice of the online pie, the disadvantage to starting a new travel site is trying to break into the consumer consciousness that really only knows about the 3 big OTAs (online travel agencies...Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity) and TripAdvisor.

Honestly, with such a huge head start, I am not sure how or who could catch up to TripAdvisor. At this point, TripAdvisor has pretty much pulled a Band-Aid and replaced the phrase 'social review travel site' with the word TripAdvisor.

Ron: 'I going on vacation to the Bahamas.'

Brian: 'Really? You should check out a social review travel site on the world wide web. Perhaps use your favorite search engine to find it.'

Yeah, I didn't think that sounded right.

Plus, the clock is ticking on seeing more consolidation in this sector. With so many sites offering similar (in the consumers mind) services, not all of these new '2.0' sites will survive.

That all being said, I would include TripWolf in a group of travel sites that are starting to stand out from the rest...Dopplr, TripIt, VibeAgent, etc...and provide a solid as well as unique service to the traveling public.

As far as TripWolf itself, a very user-friendly site in terms of design and aesthetics, while combining good info from around the web (YouTube, Flickr, etc.) with local advice, reviews and Facebook integration. The two pieces that stood out were a website to .pdf creator (not new, but nice to see) and that the travel guide sections are set up as a wiki...meaning you or I can edit the main content of a section. Rather than just append standard 'has to stay the same' info on a site such as TripAdvisor or Travelocity.

And Claude, our friend at Les Explorers, has a good interview with Sebastian Heinzel, the TripWolf CEO...complete with shocking revelation from CEO Heinzel:

'...people won't go to a travel website every day...'

Holy crap, this guy gets it!

But I still wonder, how many travel social review sites can one person be a part of...

(Author's Note: Full disclosure, Jennifer at TripWolf invited us to the private beta a couple of weeks ago.)

All About Your 'About Us'

"About Us" is usually one of the most highly trafficked sections on a brand website. But if you looked at the brand experience in most, you wouldn't know it. Too often it's static copy ripped out of an annual report or some painful regurgitation of corporate responsibility programs. I'm not against it being static but we're seeing some brands really explore how to narrate their story in a digital age, without getting in the way of the shopping experience. >>Full Story

Thoughts// A good story from Ad Age asks why most of our 'About Us' sections are really not about us...from the consumer's point of view. It this age of digital storytelling and brand-centric everything (raise your hand if you are in the middle of a re-branding) the old, reliable 'About Us' section is simply cut and pasted together with a few paragraphs from various interdepartmental memos, mission statements and a faceless, blacked-out image of 'business workers' from Corbis (check!). As the story pleads, why are we wasting this valuable real estate with such uninspiring and non-brand building copy?

So, why is this important for a travel site.

1) Search engines find everything, so your About Us section is being indexed, bad copy and all, in Google.

2) Consumers look at these sections. While I don't have any official 3rd party studies confirming my suspicions, I will assume that a lot of users tend to skip right to the bottom of sites they are unfamiliar with. Knowing full-well that the above the fold content is marketing fluff (stop it, you know it is) and looking for the site map, about us or FAQ pages (all of which are great for SEO). For example, the site map page on arizonaguide.com...located at the very bottom...is consistently the 5th or 6th most visited page.

Another interesting quote from the article points out that 'but those sections do lay out the basics for someone comparing against competitors with two browsers open.' Ah, competition. Now we are talking.

Some examples:

(some page content was longer than others, so at the risk of making this post too long, we just clipped the first paragraph)

Michigan:
(listed as 'About Michigan')
Michigan is a state blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the world's longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like oceans, shimmering beaches, miles and miles of cherry orchards, glorious sunrises and sunsets, daytime skies of the deepest blue, nighttime skies scattered with stars.

Oklahoma:
(listed as 'About Oklahoma')
GENERAL INFORMATION
• Oklahoma's current population is 3,450,654 ( 2000, estimated).
• Oklahoma is comprised of 77 counties.
• Oklahoma covers 69,919 square miles.
• Guthrie was the first state capitol of Oklahoma.

Tennessee:
(list as 'About Tennessee)
Traveling to Tennessee makes sense. We have natural beauty, southern hospitality, serene weather, and something for everyone. And, we are within a day's drive of 65 percent of the United States population. What more could you want in a travel destination? Tennessee welcomes you to explore everything we have to offer.

Nevada:
(listed as 'About Us')
Nevada’s tourism department is responsible for promoting and marketing Nevada as a tourism and travel destination. This includes editing, publishing and distributing publications that promote the state of Nevada. A director appointed by the governor directs and supervises all tourism department operations. An 11-member commission advises the tourism department.

Minnesota:
(listed as 'About Minnesota')
There's a lot to know about Minnesota. Here you'll find plenty of facts, figures and informational tidbits about the state's history, geography and climate. Everything from the prehistoric carvings found throughout the state to the 7,326 square miles of water found within its borders. Not to mention, practical travel information like the average low and high temperature throughout the year. One thing is for sure: the more you know about Minnesota, the more you appreciate all that it offers.

As you can see, some of our counterparts are beginning to tell the 'insert state name here' story via the 'About Us' section, not to mention, start to differentiate themselves from other states in the consumers mind.

To put a very simple spin on it, consumers just want to be told why I should do X vs. Y, state A vs. state B and the 'About Us' section is a great place to start.

Of course, there are some states, Arizona included, that simply do not have an 'About Us' section on the site. Which is fine, if there was a rational decision to leave the page off the site, rather than just not being able to write more than 3 lines about yourself.

And not to be out done, after reading the article, we decided that the Travel 2.0 'About Us' section (or About Travel 2.0 as it was called) could us some help as well and provide another example for how you could start re-branding (love that word!) your 'About Us' section.

Old version:

About Travel 2.0:
The Travel 2.0: Interactive Trend Report was originally created to provide insight into the interactive marketing and travel fields for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

In an effort to broaden the scope and reach of the report, the Arizona Office of Tourism invited Travel Oregon to contribute and collaborate on the Interactive Trend Report.

This partnership will present additional views and opinions on the ever-changing interactive marketing landscape, including the latest travel trends, online (and offline) advertising campaigns, Google, user-generated content.

New version:

Why Travel 2.0:

Because...

...we know the travel industry.

...we read hundreds of blogs…usually far too late at night.

...we can’t get enough technology.

...someone had to do it.

...you need insight about social networking for a big presentation.

...we blog even while on vacation.

...your peers are reading it.

...there are too many experts who are not really experts.

...travel trends are constantly changing.

...analytics is hard.

...it's free.

Ah, I can feel the Travel 2.0 brand becoming stronger every day.

Ntsayka Ikanum: Our Story

Technologies introduced into North America during the past 500 years have certainly proved disruptive to indigenous societies and their cultures. The introduction of the horse and later the repeating rifle changed living patterns and tribal organizations significantly. Movies and television so distorted traditional values and stories that Mickey Mouse supplanted traditional Native American figures such as Hopi kachina dolls. Tribal storytelling was partially replaced by outside, for-profit storytelling. Time and again, technology has worked against the preservation of indigenous culture. Until Now. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Having worked on a number of tribal issues during my agency days in Arizona, I've always been fascinated and intrigued by the vivid storytelling and heritage of Native Americans. As tribal members increasingly become assimilated and lose their their tribal heritage, preserving tribal language, folktales and oral histories have become a common challenge for most, if not all tribes.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being on a "Heritage on the Web" panel at the Oregon Heritage Commission in Eugene. I also had the distinct honor of listening to fellow panelist Lindy Trolan from the Grande Ronde Tribe's Cultural Resources Department who explained the tribe's efforts to build a "digital museum" in order to tell the tribe's story until a time that a physical museum can be built.

A moving experience brought to life through video, audio and rich photography, the virtual museum is an immaculately designed site that gives visitors the opportunity to hear and read the words and teachings of the tribe's ancestors. What was most interesting to hear was the meticulous planning that went into the site; they include: chronicling and photographing tribal artifacts all over the world including the Smithsonian in Washington DC and collections in London; capturing elders' stories on video and audio; putting together a tribal alphabet teaching program online.

This Webby honored site is most definitely an inspiration for anyone looking to bring historic preservation to life through digital storytelling.

Random Thoughts: “Can You Build a Website?”

If you serve in the Interactive/digital department, you’ve invariably—to the chagrin of your very talented IT team—been referred to as the “IT team” or been relegated to the role of “website designers”. Indeed “interactivity” itself is often reduced sometimes to a discussion of tools instead of a strategy.

But it’s easy to see how this misperception started.

1. Back in the “wild west” days of 1990’s the guy or gal who “got” the digital medium was also the person who set up your network and made sure that your Outlook Contacts were synched up with your “PalmPilot” or that nifty “Handspring”.




2. And yes it is also true…the skill set for interactive does include a broad swath of “geekdom” such as analytics, search strategy, UI/IA, server-side technologists, coders etc.

But least one forgets, “interactive” is also an art form. A recent Creativity article by Renny Gleeson, Digital Strategist at W+K, makes a profound argument that the interactive medium has reopened the door for “collaborative storytelling”. Shakespeare plays were meant to be “interactive” with active audience participation; ancient folklores such as the Iliad, Gilgamesh, The Odyssey were “collaborative experiences” that were passed through generations orally.

Marketing and brand communications need storytellers and their stories. We inform, educate and create cultures based on stories. We define ourselves through their telling and their interpretations. A story is realized through the act of the storytelling. Of engagement with an audience. A great story, unread isn't. The interactive medium by its nature invites people into the process—suggesting, collaborating, amplifying, advocating and diffusing. And there will always be good and bad storytellers. The best of them move us, inspire us, change us, drive social change, and sometimes—yes, sometimes—sell us something.

In advertising, when we are at our best, we build a message around a fundamental human truth, we engage the heart, and we tell compelling stories that create meaning for brands awash in a rising quagmire of white noise. And yes, we sell stuff.

As my friend Stephen Landau says, when we think about “digital brand strategy”, it’s not thinking, “let’s build a web site.” At the heart of it all, it’s about building a relationship with people. It’s about creating an emotional experience with consumers through storytelling and through their interaction with your brand via whatever tool that makes sense.

Just be sure to have the IT team on board when you're building the tool. ;)

Update: a colleague just pointed out that our friend Troy is indeed "an artist by trade". See I wasn't kidding!

Usability is Worth Rappin' About....

How do you improve the usability and customer experience of your site? Forget attending conferences or reading blogs. Just check out this awesome usability rap video! Enjoy.



And if you're craving more, check out m0serious' take on Paid Search and Link Building.

Do Web Users Scroll?

We’ve all heard it: “Web users don’t scroll.” But through our analytics work, our team has found very little actual data to support that common web myth. In fact, one of our biggest clients knows that users can be motivated to scroll down even the longest page (89% of users scrolled a long story page, and fully 60% saw 90% of the page). >>Full Story

Thoughts// An interesting blog post from Avenue A's Digital Design Blog about the age old question on whether web users scroll or not. A recent analysis of user behavior on both e-commerce sites and publisher sites provided some insights into this question. Among the findings:

• On average more than two-thirds of users on these pages scroll

• Nearly 75% of these users scroll before they do anything else on the page

• How far a user scrolls depends on the site; this research demonstrates that on average, users on publisher pages scroll to view about 40% of a page, while users on product pages scroll to view about 60% of a page.
  

Travel Trends - Blogging While Traveling, Forms, yatt'it

Have Blog, Will Travel - One of the ways I keep up with the Arizona Office of Tourism's social footprint is by subscribing to several Google Alerts on the subject. FYI, you will see some interesting things written about your state / city / attraction. But I digress. The other day, I came across a blog currently being written by an Irish family who decided to take 3 kids and a RV across the U.S. for 6 (count 'em, 6!) months. Aside from the fact that it is amazing that technology allows them to share the entire trip with relatives and friends thousands of miles away, in near real-time, the blog is a fascinating read as well as an interesting look at how travelers perceive your destination. One of many, I am sure, but really, 6 months...you owe them a quick look. We can only hope they make it to Wally World.
http://freerangetravels.blogspot.com/

Did you fill out a form for that? - A lot people don't like forms, count Luke Wroblewski as one of those people. Website blog A List Apart brings us an excerpt from Luke's upcoming book that discusses why forms are bad and how you can start to get rid of them. Of course, for a DMO or attraction or airline that needs a physical address to fulfill that brochure you ordered, getting rid of forms is going to be tough...okay, impossible...but Luke does provide some pointers to at least make the process less painful.
http://www.alistapart.com/

Join our Social Network too! - You mean you are not part of your favorite hotel's social network? Well stop writing posts on your GE Microwave / Blender social network (those blendies are so last year) and point all of your free time at yattit.com. Hyatt launched into the social networking world last year with this travel tip / recommendation site which combines Gold Passport members, concierge advice and Frommer's information. I think the idea of including tips from the on site concierge staff is great, same with subsidizing the content offering via Frommers, but the site seems to be coming up a bit short. So far this year there have been a grand total of 2 tips in the Phoenix / Scottsdale section...2 tips in 3 months...not exactly the up-to-date insider information I am looking for. Again, it all goes back to critical mass. If you don't have enough people populating your UGC site with content it will slowly fade away. Perhaps Hyatt should have focused more energy into providing (for example) text message alerts during your stay...the concierge could send you a text if they have show tickets or a great dinner reservation or a tee time. Anything besides another social network. I already belong to 489 of them...one more is just too much.
http://www.yattit.com/

Travel Trends - Deltalina, YouTube, Michigan, Wealthy Consumers

Deltalina - From now on, all Delta flights are smokin'. (Zing!)

That oh so cute line from the Atlanta Journal Constitution is in reference to the increasing publicity that Delta and more specifically, Katherine Lee (Delta + Angelina (Jolie) = Deltalina...which was thankfully not coined by yours truly) is receiving from the mainstream media and YouTube. Our friends over at Under the Wing premiered the new in-flight video on the blog February 20th via YouTube. The new in-flight video was probably not the most interesting video on paper, but communicating this new video (or any new or 'exclusive' content) to a loyal group of users via a blog is an ideal way to build consumer trust and loyalty (and having Katherine in the video does not hurt). Plus, posting the video on YouTube extends the reach of the spot beyond the blog...7 comments on the Delta blog, 624 on YouTube. Not to mention over 400,000 views and national media coverage.

Which brings us to an interesting point, how does Delta measure all of that coverage?

There are several ways to address that question...number of comments, views, time spent, traditional media coverage, etc. But I would be interested to know if Delta is looking at this viral campaign as a way to sell seats or as another piece in building the new Delta brand.
http://blog.delta.com/

YouTube Launches Insight - Google has introduced a free YouTube tool that will provide those who post clips -- whether they are semiprofessionals or media conglomerates -- with deeper insights into when, where and how often their videos are viewed. Using YouTube Insight, publishers can analyze the viewing patterns of individual videos far more thoroughly than in the past, when only total views and users ratings were available. For example, with the new tool, any content producer who posts videos on YouTube can examine which days of the week or hours of the day traffic spikes; which U.S. states account for the most viewing streams; and how long particular clips remain popular.
http://www.adweek.com/

Michigan Rolls Out New Design - The team up in Michigan has launched a new design for Michigan.org. The new look is clean and uncluttered, plus easy to read. The large image in the background is a nice touch, and one that we have seen in a couple other state-level sites. However, the biggest change is breaking away from the Michigan Economic Development Corp's website. No need to tell travelers about the great tax breaks for opening a diner in Lansing...just get them to the state first.
http://www.michigan.org/

Wealthy Consumers - Some good stats from the Center for Media Research on Wealthy Consumers and social networking sites:

According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook.

A national sample of 805 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $287K and average net worth of $2.1 million, was surveyed online. According to the report:

- The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.

- They are intolerant of opt-out techniques, with 65% saying that having their personal data given out without permission would cause them to disconnect; 63% have an interest in "do not track" lists.

http://blogs.mediapost.com/

You've Got Video

Well, I've got video.

We talk a lot on the Travel 2.0 blog about other sites, ads, trends and technologies throughout the travel industry, but never too much about ourselves (Arizona Office of Tourism and Travel Oregon). I mean, how much more can you take? Well, now it is your turn to critique some of our work.

One of our (my co-worker Johnny and I) major projects at AOT for the past few months has been creating a rich library of video about the Grand Canyon State for our consumers. Luckily, our relationship with Arizona Highways Television provides us with a wealth of footage from around the state. After partnering with Arizona Highways Television, we looked for a robust, yet easy to use and manage video hosting solution.

We looked at using YouTube or Google Video (same thing, I know) as a solution, but alas I want too much control for YouTube. Plus, I don't like that little YouTube logo on my videos. After some research we settled on the Brightcove Platform.

When looking for a video platform, we were looking for several key functions...usability, integration, ease of use, customization, flexibility and control. And so far the Brightcove system has been easy to implement and manage. Plus, it comes with all of the standard viral tools...email to friend, link, embed, etc.

I invite all of the Travel 2.0 readers to take a look at the new section:

http://www.arizonaguide.com/video/

Please note the section is still in the development stages, so we are still tweaking a few things as well as adding addition videos. Eventually, we will be offering several hundred short clips about attractions and experiences in the state.

In addition to this centralized location, the videos will be integrated throughout arizonaguide.com within related sections, cities and attractions.

The new video section has certainly been a lot of work, but I am excited to present this new offering to our consumers. I really believe this level of video will enhance there visit to arizonaguide.com and increase actual visitation to the state.

As Mo and I have talked about ad nauseum, engaging your consumer is key in this new 'Web 2.0' world. For the Arizona Office of Tourism, taking advantage of our partnerships to introduce this level of video is just one of the ways we are increasing engagement among our visitors.

I will continue this post once we start seeing some numbers on viewership and engagement, but for now take a look and let me know what you think.

Oh, and if anyone is looking at developing a video site, I would be happy to share my experience and thoughts.

Travel Trends - Nokia, Tennessee, Google Maps

Nokia Urbanista Diaries -Nokia introduces it's new Nseries N82 multimedia computer (in convenient cell phone size) via a great blog / map / widget / camera phone mashup titled the Urbanista Diaries. The idea is pretty simple, send 4 bloggers around the world in 14 days and record their every move, photo and story via the Nokia. You can view the travels via the site or widget. In addition, Nokia teamed with some other companies, namely Lonely Planet and National Geographic, armed them with the smartphone and recorded every move. Obviously, not everyone is planning on watching these urbanistas 24/7, even still, I can't help but think there is a good fit (somehow) for the tourism industry with an idea like this.
http://www.nseries.com

Howdy, Tennessee! - The team over at Tennessee Department of Tourism has revamped the homepage of tnvacation.com to squeeze even more of Dolly Parton into your browser! Seriously, this is one of my favorite state-level sites, although there is a lot going on within the site. The site is beautiful to look at, very rich and detailed...but I wonder if it overwhelms some travelers. Quite a contrast from the California site we talked about a few weeks ago. The new design widens the page and cleans up the navigation to make it more legible and easy to find. Take a look y'all! (Since I am from the south, I am qualified to use the word 'y'all' in this post)
http://www.tnvacation.com/

Google Maps - So, when searching for your house on Google Maps, did you notice it was out of place? Or perhaps your dry cleaner was in the wrong building. Well, the guys and gals over at Google Maps thought you should be able to do something about it. Earlier this week, Google Maps opened itself up to user edits. Meaning the wisdom of crowds will now be helping to create and refine the map. TechCrunch summarized it best, think of this new offering as what Wikipedia did for the encyclopedia...Google Maps will now do the same for maps.
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/

All Content Is Dead

Content, it seems, is no longer king. User experience is high on the agenda as ‘lookers’ seek more a compelling offering. “I spent 40 minutes online trying to book a trip to White Plains, New York, with United Airlines. But the site kept telling me an upgrade wasn’t available. It shouldn’t be as difficult as this to book a flight.”

“I’ve spent four hours researching a single trip to Germany, and I still don’t know if I’ve got the best deal.”

A couple of not-so frequent flyers, you might think, who are not used to booking travel online, and have yet to cut their teeth on travel websites. Actually, no. These two quotes are from Henry Harteveldt, vice-president and principal analyst for travel at Forrester Research, and Joe Buhler, senior destination marketing analyst at PhoCusWright, two of the world’s leading analysts of the online travel market. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Okay, so that headline is just for dramatic effect. As a follow-up to yesterday's article (User-Generated Content Is Dead), our friends at Travolution posted a quick comment highlighting the article above, 'User experience - Time for the personal touch.' A great follow-up and a very well written article...thank you David...that we wanted to call attention to.

While I am the first to say that content is key, especially unique, engaging content, there does come a point where 10, 20 or 100 websites will have the same content as yours. And guess what, that probably already happened.

For example, how many ways can you creatively say that your flight to Milwaukee is $172? Or that the Washington Monument is 555ft tall?

The way you begin to differentiate yourself from the competition is user experience. And a combination of user experience, engagement and content will set your site apart.

Enough of my comments, I would highly recommend reading the article.

Long live the user experience!

(Editor's Note: Special guest appearance by the 'Burger King' made possible by your local Burger King restaurant.)

Travel Trends - Mexico, Internet by State, Virgin Charter, Bloggers

Viva Mexico! And Pacifico! - A good map-based creative execution from Pacifico Beer. The site allows visitors to click on the little yellow bottle caps to explore the site, which consists of videos, photos and plenty of good-looking people having fun with a Pacifico! In all seriousness, even though this is a beer-related site, the use of the map, video and design elements could translate very well into a tourism site. Giving away beer to tourists...a sure fire way to increase visitation!
http://mexicoviapacifico.com/

U.S. Internet Usage by State - Some good stats courtesy of eMarketer. Turns out that the most internet users, at least in terms of total households per state, are in some of the smaller states such as New Hampshire and Alaska.
http://www.emarketer.com/

Virgin Charter - Virgin Charter, the online charter jet booking service from do-everything Sir Richard Branson, has recently launched for public use. The site allows you to book charter jet service online and fill those 'empty legs' that most private jets fly.
https://www.virgincharter.com/

Bloggers Are Better Than You - We just could not resist this story from TechCrunch. A new study has found Bloggers are better adjusted and live healthier, happier social lives. The research, from Swinburne University of Technology found that “people felt they had better social support and friendship networks than those who did not blog” after a two month blogging period when compared to people who do not blog. The good news also extends to users of social networking sites, with the study finding than any online interaction makes users “feel less anxious, depressed and stressed.” I feel better already. How about you Mo?
http://www.techcrunch.com/

Case Study: VisitCalifornia.com Launches...Again?

Okay, so maybe not a Case Study in the traditional sense, but let's take a moment to look at the brief history of VisitCalifornia.com.

Thoughts// On Monday, Melissa from our Research team at AOT forwarded me this press release about California launching a new website (visitcalifornia.com)...and my first thought was, 'didn't they just launch that site?' Turns out they did, about a year ago in fact, and if you had been visiting the site every so often you might have noticed some small changes which could shed some light on this most recent update.

So, let's take a look at the 'old' site:


A pretty nice looking site and, if I remember right, there was a good amount of conversation about the layout and design of this site. This is, or was, the whole homepage. The design kept the page 'above the fold' and very compact. Visually it is a very easy to read design. However, having being involved with another compact design choice, I did wonder how the consumers and constituents would react to such a minimal homepage.

When creating a minimal homepage, there are two big challenges (out of many) that come up...navigation and the desire to have everything on the homepage.

With such few choices on where to click, users must understand your navigation structure immediately in order to locate the content they are looking for. In VisitCalifornia.com's case, the navigation at the top only provided one or two words of copy and no drop-down menus. For visitors who may not be familiar with the state, that could be a lot to ask.

Another big challenge is what content goes on the homepage. Ah, the homepage. Everyone in your organization wants everything there, all the time...but, make sure it is appealing and user-friendly. Okay, so a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. With such a small homepage footprint, I would assume that keeping certain content off the homepage required a strong internal policy or earplugs for the webmaster.

The 'old' site, version 1.1:


Here we have version 1.1, as I will refer to it. Notice the white bar in the middle of the page...the one with the surfer image...that is a new element. Too small to read in this execution, but the text basically says there is a lot to do in California and has links to destinations, activities, events, etc. In theory, the only reason to add more links to a certain area of site, especially a broad one such as this, is because consumers are having a hard time finding it. Again, just an assumption on my part, but I feel pretty confident this was one of the reasons.

And now the new site, version 2.0:


As you can see the new site is visually similar. Colors, photos, structure, the white boxes all remain, however the size of the page, content on the homepage and the navigation have all been updated. I liked the boxy-feel on version 1.0/1.1, however with the expanded content on the homepage, the boxes begin to feel a bit cluttered, with too much information for this simple, effective design.

In version 1.1 a user only had to scan 5 boxes, which is just about right for the average person...easy to read and understand the content that is presented in those 5 areas. In version 2.0, we have 9 boxes to read, which requires more than a quick glance. Plus, the boxes are not as clearly defined. Interesting what a large difference those additional 4 areas create.

Finally, the navigation certainly provides more information, which should be a plus.

As with any of our case studies, this is certainly just one point of view. I am sure the CT&TC did a large amount of research when making these changes to ensure that the new site is beneficial for the consumer. And FYI, I am trying to contact my counterpart in Sacramento for some more insight as well as a look at the process that went into these design changes.

That being said, this is a fascinating example of website design and a good case study for anyone evaluating the effectiveness of their own website.

Digital Outlook 2008

Digital agency Avenue A Razorfish just released their 2008 Digital Outlook Report (note: this is a 164-pdf) this week. This annual report tracks consumer behavior in the digital space and includes reports on media spending, mobile web usage, social influence marketing, search, and behavioral targeting.

Thoughts// Digital technology has empowered consumers with the ability to access the content they’re interested in, at a time, place and device of their choosing. If you're in the business of building an emotional relationship with consumers in this tough environment, this report makes for an interesting read. Some of the things outlined in the report include:

• The relevancy of homepages: Search, social networking, blogs and RSS have reduced the impact of the traditional "homepage"; some major properties are reporting that 50-75% of their traffic someplace other than the "homepage". Every page is a homepage and every page on your site must offer an opportunity to make a compelling impact on consumers.
  

• Connectivity: Consumers don't see a distinction between their online and offline lives; in fact, they expect a "seamless transition" between them; thus digital technology is a life management tool not simply a utility.
  

• Social Media Fragmentation: Interviews with the "digital class" (consumers 18-34) show that they're not just using new technology, social, and communication platforms—but they’re using them voraciously to express different sides of themselves. Consumers are are leveraging digital tools to show who they are, where they fit, what they think, and what they think of others; the digital context of the site or the social network plays a critical part in
  determining which part of themselves they show.

Random Thoughts: tcm.com

A lot of people ask me which websites I like, which ones have good design, good navigation, etc, etc. So, I thought I would share one of my non-travel, long-time favorites.

Although they just recently purchased the harmonious domain tcm.com, the team at Turner Classic Movies has been producing this fantastic site for several years. In fact, the basic feeling / design of the site has been consistent since at least late 2004...proof that you do not need to undertake a major redesign of your site every 2 years. Yeah, stop doing it.

The site is rich, detailed and informative...and in my humble opinion, the best TV-related site out there today. Take a look at the site and explore the detail in the 'schedule' and 'games' sections as well as the enormous, but easy-to-use, 'Movie Database.' And in honor of the Academy Awards, click over to the '31 Days of Oscar' microsite to see how Flash is supposed to be used online. Interactive, enjoyable and not overwhelming.

Travel Trends - Oregon #1, Luv From Southwest

Oregon Is #1 - In honor of the great American road trip, our friends at the IgoUgo blog have selected, in an unscientific way (honestly, we are not sure how they picked them), the top ten 'most dynamic tourism websites'...and look who claimed the top spot, Travel Oregon. Congrats to Mo and the team at Travel Oregon. I am currently placing a request for a recount as we speak.

The top ten are:

1. Travel Oregon
2. Visit Florida
3. South Dakota Tourism
4. Utah Travel Council
   (IgoUgo reviewed the '.com' version, not the 'official,' official '.travel' version.
   
5. Wyoming Tourism
6. Arkansas Tourism
7. New York State Tourism
8. Minnesota Office of Tourism
9. New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism
10. North Carolina Tourism Services

Certainly a singular look at the sites, but still an interesting commentary on what some users are looking for in a travel site.
http://www.igougo.com/

Luv From Southwest - Well known for there 'Luv' campaigns, Southwest sent along a little Valentine's Day card last week to it's Rapid Rewards customers. Honestly, what other airline could get away with such a thing and not look like hypocrites? The email was pretty simple, but included a fun little, brand-hypnotizing, fly your jet through the clouds of love game. Silly, sure, but I still played it.
http://www.southwest.com/

Design & Branding For A Presidental Campaign

STYLES make fights — or so goes the boxing cliché. In 2008, they make presidential campaigns, too. According to design experts, the candidates have left a clear blueprint of their personal style — perhaps even a window into their souls — through the Web sites they have created to raise money, recruit volunteers and generally meet-and-greet online. >>Full Story

Author's Note: Not travel related but relevant.

Thoughts// It's Super Tuesday! With almost half the country voting today in both the Democratic and Republican primaries, this NY Times article is a relevant study in how candidates (brands) extend their personalities (values) in the digital medium. Specifically, this article focuses on Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton and analyzes how their websites and other digital channels reflect their personalities.

BarackObama.com— much like the candidate—reflects a modern, elegant look that uses a soft blue palette with a lot of white space and harmonious integration between the website and other platforms such as social networking sites. Of course it goes without saying that the effective use of mobile and social networking have no doubt galvanized the outreach to young people and this effort appears to have positively impacted voter turnout.

HillaryClinton.com on the other hand takes a bit more of a traditional design approach with the tried and true red, white and blue palette, rigid boxy navigation and "cookie cutter" icons. The site also uses mobile and social networking for voter outreach.

Overall, in reviewing the sites of all five leading candidates (Clinton, Obama, McCain, Romney, Huckabee), it's remarkable that:

1. All candidates view their digital offering as a conversation - they all offer offer a mechanism for voters to interact with the sites (feedback, voting, blogging, communities) and harness the power of these site tools into action (fundraisers, events etc.).

2. Blogs are omnipresent; from campaign updates to policy news, candidates and their fans are "blogging mad". The most noteworthy blogger however appears to be the effervescent Meghan McCain who writes what appears to be authentic stories from the road.

3. All of the candidates are tapping the power of social media - from Flickr to YouTube and Eventful to Facebook, voters have multiple ways to interact, follow and "evangelize" their favorite candidate.

Happy Super Tuesday. Now go vote!

Update: Troy and I were chatting about this subject via e-mail this morning and he mentioned hearing a great story on NPR last night on the same topic; you can listen to the story here.

Random Thoughts: Website Redevelopment

Over the last several months I have been to a few online / interactive conferences, including the HSMAI Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference and the Madden Media eTourism Executive Preview. Both of which were fine conferences with some very good speakers and attendees (summaries of the conferences will be a separate post). But as I was sitting in the audience listening to the presentations I had a thought.

Any salesperson, vendor, presenter can convince you that your website design / layout / technique is wrong, but only your consumers can tell you if it is right.