Motivating the buyer to BUY!
The idea of buying a new laptop was looming in my mind for a while now. I visited CNET to find whats the right product for my needs and did some research. I also visited Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Circuit City to take a look at whats out there. I liked Toshiba, HP and Dell from a price/quality perspective. When at Best Buy i almost bought a Toshiba but decided to do some more research before i spend the bucks. Last week i was continuing my research and visited Dell website and found some thing that i liked. Dell Inspiron 1420. While reviewing the product i found a “Chat” button on the website and clicked to ask a few questions. I wanted to know if i can ask Dell to package Windows XP instead of Vista. The girl i was connected to said that is not possible. She continued asking if i would be purchasing the Laptop today. She mentioned to me that she can get me a 25$ discount if i made the purchase today. She connected me with her Supervisor who was able to call me instantly and we were on the phone. Apart from answering my questions, the Supervisor doubled the discount. At that point i decided that i will make the purchase. The discount was not that great for the price of the product, but hey i was going to buy a Laptop any way and any discount i would get is good. We made the transaction and there you go, i finally bought the laptop i needed. Even though i had a need to buy a laptop, i needed some motivation to make the final move. I loved the chat service and also the ability of the sales associates to guide me and throw some discount. Who does not love discount especially when offered on the spot. Dell website did have comparisons and product reviews – but all of that were static. What made me really buy was the personal touch of somebody offering me product information and a discount at the right time.
Is RubyonRails Production Ready and Scalable
A must read for those evaluatiing Ruby on Rails.
What about the looks
The following is a very good compilation of Look and Feel tools available for Web 2.0 softwares. Its a nice thing to distinguish yourself. Clearly an indication that web 2.0 apps want to stand OUT from the others. A must read for all web 2.0 aspirants:
More than 100 Web 2.0 Online Generators
Updating the link as per jest staffel’s comment. I too hate copy cats.
Adopting Web 2.0: Should we rewrite the Internet?
Finally i decided to take the plunge into the blogging world and write about the so called Web 2.0 (i guess, i should mention the “so called” to be politically correct)
While the business and ivestment gurus in the US are debating whether Web 2.0 is a bubble or boom, the technology has created several initiatives including consulting firms specializing in Web 2.0 in India. I was recently browsing few Indian blogs and corporate websites and was thrilled at the developments. WATConsulting – a Web 2.0 consulting firm run by a 22 year old techie, has advices for corporations on why they should invest in Web 2.0. (see slideshare below)
Back when Microsoft introduced C#, I happened to visit Chennai around the same time. I noticed several billboards around the city advertising course offerings on C#. The technology was featured as cover story in magazines. The clarity of Indian entrepreneurs in adopting new technology is clearly unique.
Zimbra’s success and its acquisition last week by Yahoo, hopefully convinces the Web 2.0 Skeptical’s and helps them cross over. The company clearly has proven a new approach in product development and also a new business model – One that values the open source community and model. However, I am quite disappointed at the deal though. When Oracle paid ~400 million USD for acquiring Stellent – a content management company early this year, Yahoo has managed to acquire Zimbra (a clever & strong contender for Microsoft Exchange) for ~350 million USD. May be I am missing the scoop.
Unlike the buzzword “Portal” which i think is the most misunderstood and misused term in the Web Technology world, Web 2.0 has a clearly identified concept, technology and benefit. Moreover isn’t it easier to say Web 2.0 rather than Collective Intelligence and User generated content and Social Netwroking and Blog and Wiki and Mashup and Rich Internet Applications.
The rewriting of the internet has already started i guess. Day by day you can see that sites are offering a better user experience by implementing these new technologies. I truly believe that any thing other than static content can be done a lot more better utilizing these new technologies.
“Are coporations willing to take a shot at these new concepts and technologies?” is the bigger question lingering in several minds.
