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i had an interesting conversation with matt and lisa last night. we went to saturn for dinner. i've been having these very interesting conversations lately about the future of the internet. and new media. and the crossroads of both and what the next big thing might be and how to best serve the regular users with tools that they can actually use.

anyway...i asked lisa and matt what they wanted the internet to do for them? and lisa said she was just plain frustrated that when she used search engines she didn't get the results that she's hoping to find. and she pointed out that when we were creating our postcards for the new office, she came up totally empty handed and yet i arrived at the meeting with over 200 possible images and a complete idea.

so i told her that i think it's a matter of actually knowing HOW to search. and i gave her a few pointers and was shocked at how very little she actually knew about both search engines and the internet in general. and then i realized that lisa is the average internet user, really. i'm lucky, i suppose, that i used to actually work in the industry. and so i understand it from the inside even if i don't actually work on the inside anymore at all. but i am always interested in communication and new media (it's one of my passions) and how to make things easier for everyone.

so i realized that the internet should really come with instructions. i also know that what i want more than anything else for the internet is something along the lines of how amazon recommends other items you might like.


so when i go to blog a, or website a, i get a little list somewhere that says, "if you love this website, you might also like this website. or this one. or this one, too." and the listings could even be weighted saying that 90% of people who read blog a, for example, also read blog b, but only 72% read blog c, and 46% read blog d.

it could also work in a really interesting way for retail websites. of course you can always go on froogle or shopping.com and just do a search for a specific item. say manolo blahnik shoes. but what if you're not sure what kind of shoes you want exactly?!

so instead you type purple retro pumps into your browser. and you get back a listing with a bunch of sites. and you go to site a (which you'd assume would probably be your best option given that it's listed first...this is often a mistake for many people searching because while site a may have the purple retro pumps it could very well be that site z is the one that specializes in retro shoes and has a much larger selection!) and when you get there you see the purple retro pumps. but then you also get a sidebar listing that says basically that people who came to this site also went to these other sites. and again they're weighted.

now before you go, "but retail sites don't want you to LEAVE their site!" and i agree. they don't. but it also would make the whole user experience so much better, i think. and retailers would know that they should offer the BEST user experience so you don't even bother looking to see "what else is there." but the thing is, online retailers already know that you're not just coming to their site and making a purchase. well, some people do, but most are also using the internet to look for the very BEST VALUE. so they're not going to just go with the first site they see. they'll perhaps open additional browser windows and do some other checking.

but imagine if instead of doing all that, you'd at least already have a list of sites where you know others who have shopped at THIS SITE have also shopped? might make you think about checking out those sites, too, right?

it's not unlike how you purchase something from a catalog and then suddenly you're getting catalogs from other similar companies. even though you didn't even ask to be on their mailing list. you make a purchase from sundance, for example, and then you're getting catalogs from garnet hill. kind of like that. only this is allowing you to CHOOSE the information you'd like to receive. because you can just ignore those offerings on your sidebar (and i see this as a browser plug-in) or not even have them appear at all if you don't install the plug-in to begin with.

just thoughts swirling around my head. i know that if i could have a browser like that, i'd be an even happier internet citizen.

what about you?