After telemarketers, the most excruciating phone experience is dealing with interactive voice response systems. That’s what the industry calls those things that I call phone mazes and most people just call damned annoying. Unlike telemarketers, IVRs are hard to avoid.
Enter Fonolo, which won top prize at Om Malik’s Mobilize 08 conference. Fonolo “crawls” these systems and provides a visual interface to them. Go to the Fonolo Web site (or iPhone app), select the business you want and visually browse through the interface until you find the menu option you want. (My bet is on “agent.”)
Fonolo then calls the business and listens through each prompt, entering the appropriate tones. When it reaches the right prompt, it calls you.
It’s unclear whether Fonolo will also wait on hold until an agent comes on the line before connecting you. That would be the killer app for me — I never again want to hear a recording tell me that I’m a “valued customer” and that they “know your time is valuable” while they keep me on hold for 20 minutes.
Fonolo allows you to keep a log of your calls, record the calls and even take notes. Perfect for when the agent tells you one thing and does something else.
The service drew a lot of admiration from the crowd at Mobilize. Of the demos I saw, this is the one that had me saying “I want! I want!” The judges agreed: Fonolo’s was the only demo to get a 10. One VC on the panel was ready to open his checkbook. Ryan Block, editor of GDGT.com, said it best: “I want to give that guy a hug.”
The business model is unclear. You could sell switch ads: “Fed up with your current bank? Try Bailey Building & Loan.” Or use the data gleaned from calls and sell it to companies that actually care about improving customer service.
Fonolo is in closed beta right now. I’m looking forward to seeing it in action. Actually, no, I don’t want to have to use it. But it has the potential to make a really painful task a lot easier. In the meantime, I’ll have to rely on Get Human for any customer service needs.
One of my favorite iPhone apps is Rotary Dialer. There’s just something fun about making the latest and greatest device act like something from the 60s. Rotary Dialer isn’t like the “classic” phones from Pottery Barn, where the buttons are just laid out like a rotary phone. You have to make a circular motion from the number you want to the metal thing at the end. (Anyone know what that’s called?) And just like on real rotary phones, if you slip you have to start all over. It took me 1 minute and 2 seconds (and three tries) to dial my own number.
“Dial” is one of those words that still hangs in there, despite a lot of changes in technology. Most people haven’t “dialed” phones in this country in two decades. When I was in Minnesota, the local phone company made it impossible. It was costing them too much to maintain the equipment to detect the pulses, so they forced everyone to Touch Tone.
Some other words and phrases that are hanging in there:
Film, rolls. We film events, even though a lot of that is actually on DV tape or recorded on an SD card. Hollywood still makes actual films, but many of those are now going digital. Apple refers to the recent pictures on the iPhone as the “Camera Roll”.
Rewind. Back in the day, the VCR had to physically rewind the tape to show a scene you missed. Now you hit rewind, but you’re probably just going back through a buffer.
Albums. Vinyl has all but disappeared, but album art is still with us.
Turn off the the TV. With no more knobs to turn, we’re actually pushing it off.
Washboard stomach. I think I might have seen a washboard in a museum, but I can’t be sure. At least we still have six packs.
Google’s Panoramio has launched one of the most exciting advances in online pictures since flickr added geotagging. A new “Look around” feature shows you when pictures are available from other angles.
In the screenshot below, you can see the dome of the Taj Mahal highlighted. Clicking on that takes you to a picture of the dome. (Shown in red on the right.)
The UI is a bit confusing. For example, in the screenshot there is a blank image in the middle. I assume that means something, but I haven’t been able to figure out what. The same goes for the overall arrangement of thumbnails. Regardless, it’s a lot of fun to play with.
The feature is only available for sites with lots of pictures. Try the Brooklyn Bridge, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Tower of London and the Ponte Rialto. I had an easier time finding places to explore in Europe than in the United States. (This could reflect the fact that Panoramio is based in Spain.)
Microsoft’s Live Labs has been demoing similar technology called Photosynth for more than a year, using images of the Basilica di San Marco. Photosynth offers a spectacular 3D overview. I’d love to see it out of the labs.
Economist traces height trends (Chicago Tribune) — What does height have to do with economics? A German economist claims that it reflects a nation’s wealth and income equality. He finds that the tallest people are in countries with universal healthcare. “Today the average height for Dutch males is a shade less than 6 foot 1, making them the tallest people in the world. Scandinavian males run a close second.” He doesn’t seem to take into account the effects of immigration, which undoubtedly lower U.S. averages. via Erica Schlosser
Web 2.0 has brought a lot of innovation in how we connect with people. Sites like flickr, Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube have unleashed the creativity of hundreds of millions of people across the planet. People have struggled to come up with new ad models to monetize all that traffic.
Web2.0Expo brought an ad model I hadn’t seen before: wheelchair advertising. The jive ad you see below is on a 6-foot wooden sign attached to a wheelchair.
Some interesting stories from the last couple of weeks:
Penny Dreadful (New Yorker) — Please, please let’s kill the penny already. It’s one of the nuisances of everyday life. Aside from Lincolnphiles and the companies that make money selling zinc to the government, who really wants these things? “Breaking stride to pick up a penny, if it takes more than 6.15 seconds, pays less than the federal minimum wage.” Anti-penny crusader Jeff Gore was on The Colbert Report last week. Obama, from the Land of Lincoln, would “seriously consider” getting rid of the penny. At least in Illinois you can use the penny in toll booths.
Senate bill has plenty for home builders (Marketplace) – The big scandal in American politics isn’t that money can buy influence; it’s how little money it takes to buy that influence. In an unusually blunt display of force, the National Association of Home Builders announced in February that they would stop making campaign contributions, saying that Congress and the Bush administration “have not adequately addressed the underlying economic issues that would help to stabilize the housing sector and keep the economy moving forward.”
The Senate, feeling the threat to their campaign piggy banks in a critical election year, responded with $6 billion in retroactive tax breaks for the builders. Yes, that’s $6 billion of our money going to the same people who helped exacerbate the housing bubble and subsequent pop through endless hype, captive finance arms which steered people into unsuitable loans and overbuilding. Since January 2007, the homebuilders have given $961,650 to campaigns with 46% going to Democrats and 54% going to Republicans. Let’s see, that’s a 624,000% ROI.
Nats home opener – Jon has a great collection of pictures and a review from the opening of Nationals Park. One of my favorites is below.
Filed under: fun, personal — Rocky Agrawal @ 8:37 am
As I was checking out of the spa at Princeville a few weeks ago, the receptionist said “You Welcome,” exactly the same way my friend Wanita does. It got me thinking about the distinctive ways we express ourselves.
There is another distinct Wanitaism: she expresses mild dissatisfaction with “grumble.” Not actually grumbling, but saying the word grumble. (She expresses strong dissatisfaction more directly.)
Many of these things we do without realizing it. Tricia expresses sympathy with a drawn out “saaaaaaad”. Wanita and I pointed it out one day and she had no idea she’d done it hundreds of times.
Doris expresses confusion with “the hell?,” omitting the “what.”
Jon keeps his own list of Darrenisms, weird sayings by our friend Darren. My favorite is “astrocity” to refer to a satellite dish on a neighbor’s house.
In a post like this, it’s only fair that I share my own. (As shared by my friends, because I don’t necessarily notice.)
My “no”s and “yes”es are sometimes unclear, coming out as “nyep.” My poker buddies hated this.
It can be hard to read my facial expressions as the expressions for indifferent, sad and angry are the same.
Apparently I have a communications superpower that some of my friends are jealous of. Revealing it would dilute that power, so I won’t.
Wall St. Journal Makes Politics Its Business (Washington Post) – Media critic Howard Kurtz takes an in-depth look at changes at the Wall Street Journal since its takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The biggest change is the increase in political coverage amid one of the most interesting political campaigns in recent history. The Journal, a rarity among newspapers, is increasing its news hole thanks to its new benefactor. via Howard Kurtz
Steered Wrong: Drivers Trust GPS Even to a Fault (WSJ) – For all their convenience, portable navigation devices and online mapping still have one big problem: the world’s road network is constantly changing and digital mappers can’t keep pace. Some countries in Europe even have signs at tricky intersections telling drivers to ignore their GPS’ instructions. Yet many drivers put their faith in technology and blindly follow their GPS’ instructions. Perhaps this is because their accuracy is oversold; a TomTom TV ad (see below) shows a couple driving across a bridge during the ribbon cutting ceremony. The typical map on a PND is a year old the day you take it out of the box. via Doris Truong
Eating away the innings in baseball’s cheap seat (USA Today) – What’s more American than baseball and Cracker Jacks? Possibly stuffing yourself silly. Faced with anemic attendance, some teams have come up with a new way to generate revenue: all-you-can-eat sections where you can eat all the hot dogs, french fries and soda you can stomach. At the Braves’ Turner field, the “typical all-you-can-eat customer downed: 3.35 hot dogs; one 20-ounce soda; one 7.9-ounce bag of peanuts; one 3-ounce order of nachos and 32 ounces of popcorn.” In unrelated news, the average seat at the Mets’ new Citi Field is 21 inches wide, 2 inches wider than those at Shea.
IRS making sure your rebate gets spent (Marketplace) – One of the big concerns about the “economic stimulus” package is that people will do something silly with it — like save it or use it to pay down debt. I suggested that the rebates be issued as VISA debit cards. Apparently the IRS is using lifestyle analysis to determine what taxpayers want and spending their $600 rebate checks for them. One couple received an air conditioner instead of the check they were expecting.
I was out at AT&T Park yesterday for an exhibition game against the Oakland A’s and was reminded why this is one of my favorite parks in baseball. Although I’ve been to the park many times before, in its various incarnations of the Ma Bell reassembly, this was the first time I took in all the features.
(RSS readers, click to the blog to see the embedded slideshow or view it on flickr.)
Among the things I love about the park:
The stadium itself. There are great sightlines from most seats in the park. (I wouldn’t recommend the top of the lower deck, though.) You can walk all the way around. If you don’t like your seat, there are plenty of places around the park to stand and watch the game. AT&T Park offers a blend of old and new. In addition to the high definition JumboTron in center field, there’s a manually operated scoreboard in right field.
The setting. Of the parks I’ve been to, AT&T Park has the most picturesque setting. You get sweeping views of San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge.
The food. Purists may object, but you can get a wide range of food, including burgers, dogs, seafood, pizza, barbecue and Mexican. Among the more unusual items for a baseball stadium: Ghiradelli hot chocolate delivered to your seat. (Which can be important, see below.) You can get a hot dog for under $5 and a bad domestic beer for under $6.
The other activities. Again, purists may object, but there’s plenty to do at the park even if you aren’t a baseball fan. You can take a plunge down the 80-foot Coca-Cola slide, walk the promenade or just take in the great views. If you’re truly bored, use the parks WiFi or Internet kiosks. (But I’ll be rooting for your laptop screen to be shattered by a foul ball.)
The fan-friendly policies. You can bring in food and non-alcoholic drinks. You can also transfer your tickets electronically to someone else through the Giants’ Web site. Before Major League Baseball imposed StubHub on all its teams, you could also buy tickets from season ticketholders.
The fact that it was privately funded. The stadium is a true rarity among sports facilities these days: the public didn’t pay for it. Unlike the hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars that some parks get, taxpayer subsidies for Pac Bell were limited to improvements around the site for access.
With all that it has going for it, AT&T Park does have its challenges:
The team. Sure, it sold out quite frequently last year, but those stats were juiced with the Bonds draw. Don’t look for a winning team anytime soon.
The cold. San Francisco is a bit on the chilly side year around and the park’s location right on the water means you’ll probably be cold at some point. Bring your best football clothing and blankets.
The neighborhood. It’s not a bad neighborhood, but it’s a new one and still somewhat plastic. You won’t find the street vendors and party atmosphere that you see at Wrigley, Fenway or even Camden Yards.
