I’ve been spending more time with Facebook lately and I’m very impressed. Not only does Facebook make it incredibly easy to see which of your email correspondents are on the site, they also prompt you to upload your AIM contacts.
Viral prompts are integrated into every aspect of this site’s behavior and it works. For example, I tagged a friend in a photo and as I typed in his name, a subtle email box appeared asking if I wanted to let him know.
What’s great about this is that it’s contextual, not intrusive and feels useful as opposed to spammy. No wonder they’ve been growing like crazy.
Most affiliate sites are designed to get users to discover the site, find what they are looking for and then click through onto the target merchant site to complete a purchase. Some sites take this a step further and try to close the loop. I was trying to book a flight on Kayak and clicked through on a JetBlue flight link. I then ended up not completing my transaction and clicked the back button. Kayak presented me with this screen:
My original search was in the background underneath this dialog box. I think this is fantastic. I didn’t complete my transaction - it’s a great opportunity for them to attempt to salvage me as a customer. The options to check for my flight or to be alerted for other flights going to NYC (my destination) make a ton of sense. By doing the extra work to personalize my options, they make me far more likely to engage with one of these secondary calls-to-action.
This is something we don’t do at Judy’s Book today but we are working on adding. Ultimately, our goal is to help the user succeed in what they were trying to do. If they don’t succeed with their initial path, trying to find out why and presenting an alternate path is a far better thing to do than to just say “oh well.”
Posted on July 13th, 2007 in Product | Comments
Users need to find that your product gets more valuable to them over time or they’ll find something else that does. The more a user can invest in your product, the less likely they will be to switch. You can achieve this by adding features regularly so users find your product more and more useful or you can allow users to add data (photos/emails/friends/tags) to your product. If you can use this information to personalize their experience and give them status, it creates a powerful incentive to stay with you. This is one of the reasons a strong community is such a valuable asset to a web site.
There’s got to be a reason to have a community though and your product has to provide some inherent initial value (even before users have gotten sucked in) for users to even consider using it in the first place.
Google has been innovating like crazy lately and it’s awesome and humbling to see how quickly they increase the depth and breadth of their offerings. One of their products I like a lot is Google Alerts. Essentially, you enter a search you’re interested in using any search operator and you get emailed at a frequency of your choice.
A simple feature well executed that I was able to look at and start using right away. We should all be striving for that. One point to note - the whole feature is irrelevant if they can’t deliver good results. Don’t forget about the content. Assuming that’s a given, it’s worth looking at the feature in more detail.
The Google Alerts Homepage
You don’t need to have a Google account to create an alert. You only need it to manage them all from one place. This prevents signing up for an account from being a barrier to deriving value from the feature while still providing a reason to sign up for active alerts users.
- Google Account holders who aren’t signed in also create alerts from this interface.
- Non account holders can sign up for 10 alerts at a time. If they confirm their alerts, they can sign up for more.
- One point to note: if you sign up for multiple alerts, you’ll get multiple emails.
- Search terms can contain anything you can type into Google
- Type can be
- Frequency
- Once a day
- As it happens
- Once a week
Confirmation Email
- People without a Google account and account-holders who aren’t signed in all get a confirmation email. This enables positive confirmation which is important for email deliverability.
- In addition, while it may seem like an obstacle to adoption, the fact is that alerts are ‘pull’ features. People choose to use them. As a result, a simple, 1-page, clear email like this makes it likely that the drop-off rate of people who signed up but didn’t confirm their email is low.
- Another benefit that I got to experience firsthand is that if someone signs you up for alerts without your knowledge, you only get one email. A good friend signed me up for all of Daily Candy’s email alerts without my knowledge. When I returned from vacation with 200+ emails, I really understood the value of the confirm step.
Alert Email
- Once you start getting alerts, the emails are sparse and to the point.
- The word “Google” is mentioned four times in a five line email, so they’re not shy about branding.
- The alert reminds you of its settings
- “Google Blog Alert for: judysbook”
- “This as-it-happens alert…”
- Another great thing about this is that the email doesn’t make you scroll.
- I really like the Remove/Create/Manage links at the bottom of the message.
Managing Alerts
Google’s Alert management interface is clean, simple and efficient. It’s not the most visually stunning piece of work, but it does the job and gets out of your way. You need a Google account to access this interface. If you choose not to sign up for one, your email management options are limited to the links at the bottom of each alert email you receive.
- One line per alert is great and the column structure, while it’s not pretty, gets the point across
- Delete & New are separated by the full width of the screen
- Edit and New Alert controls are clustered together
- They provide checkboxes for multi-alert delete (which seems obvious, but is forgotten a lot. Even the iPhone requires you to delete messages one by one.)
Creating an Alert from the Management Interface
- The new alert process is also straightforward and alerts are created inline.
- This is efficient and also keeps your other alerts handy so you can keep those settings in mind as you create your new alert.
- There’s an assumption baked into here that you will want all your alerts to be of the same format
- No support for sending alerts to email addresses other than the one associated with your Google account.
Editing Alerts from the Management Interface
- Editing also takes place inline
- They provide a cancel button which often gets omitted
- I like the use to yellow highlighting to make the alert you’re editing stand out.
- This isn’t needed when creating an alert because you’re working on a new line which provides the visual separation
Manage Alerts - The Empty State
One of the most often forgotten aspects of design is dealing with the empty state. We don’t do a good job of it at Judy’s Book. Basically, what you do display on the user’s very first interaction with a feature. This doesn’t need to be a fancy sound-playing-animation-heavy flash demo, just a simple text cue and call to action is sufficient.
Not only is this one of the most detailed, objective reviews on the iPhone I have seen to date, it’s also hilarious. If you’re in the market, I’d urge you to read this. With lines like this, you’ll be entertained while you learn all there is to know about this incredible device. (No, I don’t have one and I’m planning on waiting.)
Apple is in bed with AT&T for at least 5 years. Which circles me back to my metaphor. Signing up for the iPhone is like being tossed into a menage a trois with Angelina and Rosie O’Donnell. You want the beauty, you have to sleep with the beast.
Awesome.
PS: Thanks to Valleywag for the pointer.
I’ve been asked enough times about where we stayed, who we used for the charters etc that I decided to consolidate that information into a blog post. If you’re not lucky enough to be dating someone from Alaska, this list might be helpful to you. In general, we found that you’re better off calling and talking to people than trying to do all your research online. Alaska rocks. Go visit, you won’t regret it.
Books
- Frommer’s Alaska by Charles Wolforth
We used the 2003 edition, but most of the information in there was pretty accurate. A great guide book that had a ton of useful information on how to approach the trip. Another pointer from Alison was that it’s best to get to Alaska, have a general idea of what you want to do and let the trip evolve rather than trying to pre-plan every detail. This way you can adapt to weather, mood etc. It’s great advice - take it.
- Hiking Alaska by Dean Littlepage
Dave and Iva used this book and they seemed to like it. There were a ton of trails on the Kenai Peninsula and the book provides descriptions, elevation maps and difficulty ratings for quite a few of them. Don’t underestimate the bug factor - get some strong, mean bug repellent. Also, a moderate hike in Alaska means really bloody hard from what I can tell. The place operates on a different scale from what you’re accustomed to.
Lodging
- Copper Whale Inn, Anchorage - (907) 258-7999
Great, small hotel in downtown Anchorage. Some of the rooms have a view of the water and the staff is very helpful and friendly. If you’re arriving late, they’ll leave an envelope with check-in instructions taped to the door. Rooms are big, clean and comfortable and at $150/night, not super expensive (not super cheap either.) A continental breakfast is included and it’s about a $15 cab ride (20 mins) from the airport. Highly recommended, I’d stay there again in a heartbeat.
Food
- Sourdough Express, Homer
Great little diner/restaurant near the Homer Spit that bakes awesome sourdough bread on the premises. We stopped there twice for lunch. Prices are reasonable, portions are large. Don’t miss the Reindeer Melt (reindeer sausage, cheese, pepper and onions on a toasted sourdough bun) or the Clam Chowder (New England style - awesome.) Casual, no reservations needed. It is popular though so there might be a short wait.
- Land’s End, Homer Spit - (907) 235-0400
This is a hotel at the tip of the Homer Spit and their restaurant is called the Chart Room. We had a great meal there the last night of our trip. It’s pricey ($25 entrees) but unlike most places with amazing views, the food is pretty damn good. I had the Halibut Ilamna which is a fresh halibut fillet covered with crab and cheese and which is then baked. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. The place was packed when we went and I highly recommend reservations. Wednesday is Locals Night (which apparently used to be half off the bar menu, but has since become 40% off select bar menu items.)
Charters et al.
- Smokey Bay Air, Homer - (907) 235-1511
We stopped in here after finding the prices for flightseeing on the Homer Spit outrageously expensive. Most of the brochures will talk about a bear viewing trip that costs $500+ per person. At Smokey Bay, we were able to charter a flight for less than $400/hour and we had 5 passengers.
Make sure you ask for John, our pilot - he suggested our flight route which involved a trip around Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Augustine (which was spewing steam like there’s no tomorrow), a beach landing and a short hike to see brown bears.
Total trip time was 2.5 hours. Well worth it - one of the coolest things I’ve done.
- Mako’s Water Taxi, Homer Spit - (907) 235-9055
Mako’s has been around for a long time. You pay $70 per person and in return they will drop you off just about anywhere in Kachemak Bay State park at a time of your choice and will then pick you up at a pre-arranged time. The boat ride is about 30 minutes long and can get bumpy. When you get to your destination, they just drive the boat up onto the beach, stick a step ladder out and you walk off. The same process works in reverse coming back. They’ll wait about 15 minutes from your pickup time before taking off. Fortunately, cell coverage in the park is great so you can always call and reschedule. Another really cool thing is that you can ask them to meet you on day say 2 of a multi-day trip with kayaks (that you can also rent from them) so you could combine a hike/boat trip. They drop off and pick up the boats so you have a lot of flexibility. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable about route conditions, good hikes etc.
- Coal Point Seafood, Homer Spit - (907) 235-3877
We stopped in here to buy fish boxes to get our halibut catch home. These are big cardboard boxes with a polystyrene cooler inside them. Conveniently, they have them in sizes that are right at the limit of what the airlines will allow you to check in without excess baggage penalties. A box that will weigh 50lbs when fully packed with fish cost $20. We flew Continental and you can take 2 50lb boxes for no extra charge. The fee for 50-75lb boxes is only $25 extra per piece. This is a much better deal than shipping the fish yourself. This would have cost about $150 to Seattle for 100 lbs. They will also process and flash freeze your fish which is the best way to get it back home. Fish will stay frozen for 24 hours and will keep frozen for well over a year.
- Copper King Charters, Ninilchik - (907) 567-3479
Will and his assistant Quinn, were awesome. Alison’s Dad was generous enough to take the four of us on a fishing charter with Will. The boat was launched from Deep Creek. The way this works is really cool. Basically, a giant tractor pushes the boat (on it’s trailer) into the water at which point you reverse out. When returning, you drive the boat onto your submerged trailer and they pull you back out. You’ll need to buy a fishing license which we bought at the General Store in Ninilchik. It cost $20 for a day and allows you to keep 2 halibut.
Will is incredibly knowledgeable about fishing and the area. He was able to get us catching Halibut in just 50 feet of water. Apparently, 100+ feet is much more common. The advantage of shallow water for us novices was that it made reeling line in much easier. When fishing for Halibut, you need to weight your line so your bait drags across the bottom. Reeling in a 2lb weight that was 50ft deep was tiring. I can only imagine what a 4lb weight at 120ft feels like.
Will and Quinn were friendly, patient, informative and did most of the work but let you take all the credit for your catch. Watching Will slice up halibut was pretty humbling - he was clearly an expert - not a single cut was wasted. I don’t know what he charges, but if you have any interest at all, I can’t recommend him enough. You’ll have a fantastic time. Oh, you’ll also catch a lot of fish. We came back with 80lbs of halibut fillet.
If you find yourself solving a problem with one band-aid after another, but each time what you get is not quite what you expected, odds are you need to step back and re-think your approach. There’s something fundamental that’s not quite lining up. It’s also all too easy to become tied to the strategy that you started out with and to focus on optimizing that when sometimes, what you really need is to approach the situation in a completely different way.
A friend of mine has a great story about luggage that he learned in a systems engineering class.
People hate waiting for luggage. You can spend a shit load of money figuring out how to move baggage faster in order to minimize wait time. Or, you can step back and observe that the real problem is the waiting, not the absolute amount of time the luggage takes. A lot of airports increase the walking distance between the gate and the baggage belt. People walk more, but wait less.
Re-defining the problem and focusing on the core of the issue often enables another approach to work.
I got back on Sunday night from a trip to Alaska and it was one of the best vacations that I’ve ever taken. If you have any love for the outdoors at all, Alaska will blow you away. We spent a week on the Kenai Peninsula, which is a tiny part of the state, and were completely spoilt for choice in terms of things to do and see. I’ll be posting more on this later. In the meantime, here’s a slideshow of just a few of the pictures from the trip.
Also, if you’re interested, here’s a list of the companies we worked with and their contact information. Enjoy.
