Constant Beta

Planning a trip in the web2.0 generation

I'm taking a short holiday in Puerto Rico in 3 weeks from now and was browsing through the web to learn more about the island. There was no question about not looking for opinions, feedback and suggestions from past travelers and the cardinal rule to any search is - you start at Google.

And lo behold, I stumbled upon this fantastic mini-guide (a downloadable pdf) on TripAdvisor site aptly titled  "Puerto Rico highlights to go."   

It's a gem of a collection of quotes, suggestions and ideas from past travelers - and a great primer for a place I'm only beginning to explore. As I explored the site in further detail, I was pleasantly surprised to find more interesting little tools --all compiled by travelers.

I was able to browse through quick lists prepared by travelers, look through their un-prettified, unvarnished and very real photographs of the island and get a great feel for the hotels and restaurants that have received good reviews.

By providing users with bite-sized information, downloadable guides and real time visuals, TripAdvisor totally warmed me up to the place. Next, was checking out for any available videos on Turnhere.  No luck there, just a  little short film sponsored by Intercontinental Hotels. So we moved on to Travelistic and woah! I got more than my fill of Puerto Rico videos here!

I also spent a good 30 minutes browsing through photographs tagged Puerto Rico on Flickr. 

And then finally, spending some time downloading the right music thanks to tablettunes.com - to get into the mood on the flight to the islands. woah

Finally, I logged on to the AmEx  members website, used my travel miles and booked my flight and the rental car. I suppose the hotel can wait for a bit.

I wonder, I wonder -- how the role of a travel agent will evolve in 5 years? Will they be putting together such multi-media guides from over the web? Not a bad idea, eh?

L.A has standard

I'm in Los Angeles for a business trip and am staying at The Standard . I wanted to try a new hotel even though I am a Starwood preferred member which would have earned me some pretty sweet points towards a free stay at a Starwood property had I stayed at one. But this hotel was a fresh change.

The rooms are gorgeous - simple, stylish and very well designed but what surprised me the most was their attention to tiny details like (pictured above) providing an L.A city guide, Motrin painkiller, Mr Bubbles bubble bath (for kiddies) Kodak One time use camera (for the ones like me), a Volupsa candle (to set the mood for a romantic date....) and condoms (for after!) with the regular mini-bar items.
Oh and even a mixtape CD.

Ofcourse, the hotel charges obscene rates for using any of the items from the mini-bar, but I thought including non-food items such as these was a nice touch. (Although I have no use for any of these right now... it's nice to know that the management anticipates it's audience's needs (and in some cases, desires!)

That said, charging for internet is ghastly! Whether it's the Westin or the Standard.

(Excuse the quality and styling of the photograph above. Taken using the Macbook photobooth. Glad it came handy!)

Experience Westin online

I have been reading A new brand world, by Scott Bedbury. Bedbury was the creative mind at Nike and Starbucks before starting his own brand consultancy, BrandStream. His book is the proponent of the idea of brand environmentalism. Very simply put, (in Bedbury's words) Everything matters- - even the restrooms. If he were to re-write the book, I am confident he would have a seperate chapter on the digital experience of a brand. Here's why.

The hospitality industry could learn a thing or two from StarWood Hotels for literally by-hearting the 'everything matters' mantra. First, Westin (owned by Starwood) introduced the heavenly bed and the heavenly crib -- then they pioneered the white tea scent at their Westin hotels.. more recently, they launched www.findrenewal.com - a renewal council of six lifestyle experts that in addition to sharing their tips online will form an exclsuive, in-room TV channel for Westin hotels. The first thought that occured to me was - wow, why didn't any hotel think of this before! The website will work both as an extension to the in-room entertainment and as a welcoming micro-site to introduce potential Westin customers to the Westin experience.

What makes this website even better, is that my super cool friends at Electric Artists developed this site. Electric Artists were the same guys who bravely launched Aloft hotels in SecondLife before launching it in real life.

I'm not too sure how strong and original the content on the site will be - the council certainly have the 'celebrity' quality to them. But since the site just launched, my hunch is they will adapt to how their audiences respond.

It tires me when in every single book about branding, identity and brand experience - Starbucks is used as a case-study. I suppose Westin gives these branding experts a new case to ponder over?!

PS- If you haven't ready Scott Bedbury's book, 'A new brand world ' -- do it now!

UPDATE:   I am not surprised at all to learn this but turns out Scott Bedbury actually helped rebrand all five of the Starwood brands just 2 years ago!!  It's just there you know....Starwoods has it.. that 'it' factor... that 'bedbury' touch.

Luxury in the skies

Jet Airways, an Indian air-line is perhaps among the first to launch a mini-suite that features an 83 inch bed and mini-office of sorts in a private enclosed area. A return flight from London to Delhi can cost as much as 4500 pounds (almost $8500). These mini-suites come with a 23 inch flat screen TV, Dom Perignon and Krug are on the menu and food is served on expensive Bernardaud porcelain.

Jet Airways have always claimed to be India's finest airline and although I have a very brief one-time experience of traveling in a Jet Airways flight, it is an experience that I still remember vividly and positively. India's booming economy and the gradual rise of international companies in India, the introduction of high-end mini-suites is just the beginning. As the line between India's middle class and the upper classes blurs even more, there will be a swifter graduation of such luxury services, experiences and products.

Re-inventing life... or atleast the boardgame

My circle of friends and I have 'evovled' (notice how I use the word evolved) from going clubbin' and bar-hopping to spending Saturday nights inside our apartments hunched excitedly over boardgames.

Our current favorites are Cranium (only we've played it so many times now that we know all answers to the questions), Risk and Clue. So a few weeks back when my sister bought The Game of Life to add to our to our Saturday nights, it got me thinking how simplistic the strategy was. All you need to do to win is make the most money?

Imagine my surprise this morning when I read in WSJ that Hasbro is all set to introduce a revised version of the Game of Life in June 2007. A version in which- money, is not the ultimate measure for success. This version titled, The Game of Life: Twists and Turns, was revised to 'reflect consumer's wishes for a more balanced life,' according to WSJ.

In this game, the board is spilt into four areas Learn It, (education)  Live It, (adventures)  Love It (family)  and Earn It ( the moolah!) My guess is that the players can pick the area they want to play in and collect life points.The winner with the most number of 'life points' wins the game. Also gone is the old cardboard spinner and in with the new electronic spinner. Add to that a debit card for each player and now you're talking 2010!

What a wonderful example of how a brand has responded to the culutral shift and it's audiences. Hasbro is also releasing a slew of it's games in Express versions -- that can be enjoyed in 20 minutes. What I like most aboud board games is that they last so long :) But I suppose shorter versions wouldn't hurt.

Philadelphia - a rising creative class?

When I was an undergraduate student in Philadelphia, I didn't pay much attention to the political and economic aspects of the city because at the back of my mind, I always knew I was moving to New York. International students like me relate most to cosmopolitan cities like New York, London etc.  These cities speak to our displaced mentalities on a more visceral level. And they attract other people, like us. I remember when I started job-hunting, it didn't even occur to me that Philadelphia might have interesting opportunities for me. New York was the be all and end all.

And like I always knew, I did move to New York after graduation. Only to make a move back to Philadelphia within a year for my career.

But this time, it's different. This time, I'm genuinely interested in Philadelphia. If cities belonged to a high-school, Philadelphia would be New York's strongest competitor: atleast geographically! It's almost like we live in NY's shadow. I love NY, don't get me wrong. But I'm not jaded anymore. New York is not the be all and end all, like I believed once. Yes, so Sex and the City and Independence Day happens in New York and terrorists attack NY to cripple the nation and all cool people live in NY and stories float around about making-it-in-new york. But that's it's essence. And fortunately for New York, it's not concealed or left for people to discover. With other cities, like Philadelphia, it may take time and maybe effort to really discover it's essence.

It's a conundrum that faces not just Philadelphia. We are home to some of the best colleges in the country and obviously attracts smart students. But why then do they move after graduating? Is it the jobs, the action, the nightlife, the money? What is it that does not help the city retain it's talent?

While it's not NY, I think we have a fairly impressive list of companies HQed around here. I am puzzled. Is it the people? Will more companies come to Philly if we attracted NY-like people? Or will NY-like people come to Philly if we attract more companies (more jobs) ?

I started reading Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class," yesterday to help me understand this situation better. The basis of his work is how creative people are leading the current cultural and economic shift. He also makes an interesting argument: for cities to prosper, they should attract (and retain) the creatives.

I'm curious. What role can I play in assiting Philly to become the one more cultural and economic hub like other American and international cities?

PS- In case you didn't know, Philadelphia will soon become the nation's first completely wireless major city.

Relics of our decade

Who wants to take a plastic L'LO home? My Scene Goes Hollywood: Lindsay Lohan and Limo (I'm not joking) Available at Amazon and Sears. Barbie's retirement isn't far off. The new generation of dolls and playtoys are begining to derive inspiration and income from creating 3-d lives of celebrities.

Any takers?

Olfactory branding

Anyone afflicted with a bout of nostalgia will tell you how certain smells push them in the long forgotten worlds of past memories- some happy, some sad. Fresh rain on the asphalt reminds me of my adolescent monsoons in Bombay and a pomogrante scented candle from Henri Bendel reminds me of a particularly happy time in my life that is only a faint, hazy memory that I try recalling everytime I light that candle.

I read this fantastic article in BrandChannel today about brands learning to incorporate an olfactory element in their overall experience. Remember those Westin Hotel advertisements promoting their White Tea scent? Even Anthropologie stores have a french chatlet-like feel to it, complete with the music and the amalgamated scent of the soaps, candles and perfumes.

Another example are magazines -- esp. fashion mags. I typically relate my copy of Vogue to rich, expensive perfume (even though the strips are only advertisements) I've already written about scented credit cards and scented cell-phones in the past, it will be interesting to see how brands, both physical and virtual experiment with this emerging technology.

This also reminds me of a lovely short story I read aeons ago. The story is set in a little town of Europe. Mr. Thimble owned a flailing hotel that losing all it's customers to his competitor's hotel that was right down the road. So in an effort to lure back his customers, Mr. Thimble hired the best chef in the country and decided to rename his restaurant to "The Seven Bells," But he asked the painter to draw only six silver bells below the name. When the hotel reopened the next day, people were puzzled about the new name and the bells. Invariably, some would walk inside the hotel to point out that there were only six bells painted and the seventh bell was missing. Once inside the hotel, the delicious smell  from the chef's kitchen had them extend their stay to lunch or dinner and if they were tourists, they often ended up staying at the hotel. Slowly, the word spread about the food and Mr. Thimble's six bells became the pride of the town!

You get the idea? (yea, he also went on to live a happy life )

Philips Simplicity campaign

We live in interesting times. Phillips Electronics paid Hearst magazines $2 Million dollars to remove subscription cards from Hearst magazines 4 titles, Redbook, O at home, Weekend and House Beautiful. Instead a two-page ad will read, "Simplicity is not having subscription cards fall out of your magazine."

While I read none of these magazines, I am curious to witness the experience of reading a consumer magazine without any insert cards. Apparently, Phillips had also bought all available national time for one episode of 60 minutes last fall only to give back some of the time so the show had fewer ad breaks and longer segments. Again, to align with it's simplicity campaign.

I like what Phillips is doing. And while I am no expert on products and speak strictly from experience: unless they revamp their product line and provide me with products that last longer, are designed better and have better quality, I could give a damn about Phillips's efforts to simplify my life.

Birthday Strategies and ML Clinic- Week 2.5

I turned 23 recently and instead of a deluge of phone-calls, I was inudated by a deluge of alerts in my mailbox from facebook and orkut. Long lost friends, recent friends, blogger friends and old friends walled my facebook or scrapped me in orkut wishing me. Ofcourse, I recieved a few phone calls. But no paper cards and a few e-cards.

Oh Baskin Robbins sent me a coupon for a free icecream. Victoria's Secret sent me another for $10 off and Mexx sent me another for $15 off a purchase of $50. A couple others too that I can't recall.
I will admit, I kinda liked it I recieved these birthday offers/ even though I knew I was their commerical whore for the day.

It was fantastic though. The thing is -- growing old is fun but birthday's aren't always remembered that often and gifts are almost inexistent once you hit 21+. (I think!) So what if it's the retailers who remember to send you a little something? It's still super cool.

I rather liked being celebrated on orkut and facebook. What the hell-- I even had a little MSN Chat party for my birthday complete with cake and balloon symbols.

***
I'm into week 3 of avoiding social networking and keeping my interaction with the internet to a minimum and honestly-- it's really not working. I'm questioning the point behind this silly exercise? It doesn't help if I don't network online; because my friends are still leading blindingly fast lives online. Besides, I make atleast one new virtual friend every week. Either I'm emailing people or they are emailing me. Essentially by cutting off my internet time, I also cut off my opportunity to meet cool new people. So once again, someone remind me why I'm doing this?

I'm hestiant to continue further. As you see, I don't have many insights about what I *did* outdoors and *how* I'm enjoying the summer. My updates and insight instead reflect on how it feels to be virtually cut off and why I miss it.

Point to ponder?