A B2C Web 2.0 Application That Really Works

Web 2.0 is old news for many of us. After several years of businesses and Web sites touting their "Web 2.0" or "Interactive Web" or "Social Web" status, I have rarely found sites using Web 2.0 techniques to amplify their inherent "interactiveness". Most of the good newspaper sites like New York Times and Washington Post used this technology effectively, if not in a truly compelling way, like, most popularly, FaceBook. The Better Half is using LinkedIn every day to bridge many personal and professional gaps in online networking in promotion of her company's goals and helping her personal branding as an industry thought leader.

In light of this, after signing up for Verizon FiOS* (no, I do not have any affiliation with Verizon except as a new fiber customer!), and logging into their myFiOS page, I was floored by their magnificent use of the technology. What can I do on my FiOS page?

• Upon log in I am shown the status of my DVR (which I was allowed to rename), with amount of space remaining and shows that are set to record that day
• Remote DVR capability--say I need to work late that night and will miss my Countdown that evening, so I can go online and set my home DVR to record the 8pm broadcast
• Make space on DVR remotely by deleting watched or unwanted programs
• Look at the TV listings for future programs, and set the DVR to record
• Create channel lineup favorites
• Search for programs and set them to record

I don't remember the last time I bookmarked a page from a service provider like this, but after logging on and seeing the capabilities, it is now saved. Sure, there are more features that I'd like to see Verizon add to their site:

• RSS feed, so I can see if there's anything new without going to the Web site
• iPhone app--so I can control DVR from my phone
• request list alerts, so I can enter my favorite movies and be alerted/asked to record them when they make it on to the listings
• Recommendations ala Amazon or Netflix for shows I might be interested based on my DVR recording history
• FaceBook app of TV/Movie Recommendations

Even so, Verizon did a very good job with this and I must applaud good use, and good usability!

*On Saturday, March 7, I switched over from Time-Warner Cable to Verizon FiOS. I know that they are just doing this to entice switchovers and, after they've killed cable and become a monolithic monopoly, they will raise my rates through the roof, but this is really an unbelievable deal: 20/5MB down/up Internet, wireless router, HD DVR, HD TV, and $150 cash back. Not to mention what I just wrote about above!

President Obama: You Had Me at 'Nonbelievers'

Washington, D.C.--What a great weekend it's been here: the city never looked so good, people from out of town and those from here all had big smiles on their faces. People were genuinely nice to each other and treated each other with respect--when was the last time you saw that in a major city?

My wife and I came for the Inauguration and Illinois State Ball. We ended up enjoying a concert and a parade as well. I don't have too many pictures because we were really far away from anything deserving of a picture and you've all by now seen the pictures from the National Mall and the Capitol Grounds.

As for the Inauguration ceremony, our tickets to the event said "Purple Standing". This now infamous section was one of the few which entrance was prohibited to us. Granted, we got there later than most people, but the line was long and we decided to watch the ceremony elsewhere. The one line that struck me the most was when my new President actually was talking directly to me: "For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers." That's me (the non-believer); no president had ever spoken directly to me and I appreciated that.

But what is truly the most important thing of all yesterday occurred in the cyberworld, not the real world: WhiteHouse.gov went live to Obama shortly after the oath of office was uttered by the new President. I look forward to the implementation of that agenda. The campaign was a tasty gumbo of great strategy, using technology to the fullest, and boots on the ground. It appears that government will now be the same.

My friend, Paul Anderson joined my wife and I. He's a reporter for the Daily Pilot (of LA Times regionals). He's posted some excellent dispatches from D.C., you'll enjoy them. I'm glad to be heading home now, but I will always carry with me the palpable sense of optimism, and, yes, hope, from Inaugural Weekend 2009.