I’ll do almost anything for miles. So when I got American Airlines’ email offering 1,000 miles for each friend I refer to the American Advantage program, I thought: no brainer. I’ll post to my Facebook profile and who knows, I just might know someone who will follow the link. A long shot, to be sure, but why not see what happens? Ready to convert, I clicked through the email link and landed a Flash landing page (oops, I do a lot of reading junk mail on my iPhone, so not being able to see this page on my phone becomes a likely...

In years of road trips to Delaware, I have never waited in line at the sandwich counter at Wawa. Credit their ordering kiosks, which do a few things: First, the entire premise of the deli counter is a sandwich my way. I’m a “customizer.” I like that. Second, I don’t feel rushed in assembling the perfect sandwich. (My wife might feel otherwise as I deliberate but it’s a moment of time that I control completely, creating just what I want. That’s downright relaxing.) I am not hurried or pressured by someone b...

After obsessing over the SteepAndCheap and Woot business models last year (and let’s not forget the insane and terrifying Swoopo), this year has given us something new to chew on: GroupOn and its group buying clones (this spreadsheet lists a ton of them). These are great businesses. Clear value proposition: deep discounts. Kept simple: one deal a day (basically). And they’re making money hand over fist. Love it. Naturally, my entrepreneurial friends and have been asking: Should we start a clone—doing something that improves ...

I’m going to kick a horse while it’s down. Last night at 9:23 pm I sent a friend who was at the Yankees/Red Sox game a text—I couldn’t make the game as expected but wow, what a nail bitter.  Just now, at 12:28 pm—the day after—I get his reply: “That is too bad. It is a great game. Fans r very rowdy.” 15 hours: 5 minutes later. He was sitting in the bleachers, under the giant AT&T advertisement, texting me from his iPhone. I would have liked to have gotten his message last night. Maybe we would have tra...

Looking at the opening still of this video, I began to rant to myself about the lame-ness of trying to replicate real world environments on the computer screen, but this “3D” tablet “desktop” goes beyond that and showcases some interesting touch screen innovations (the standard conventions of, oh, two weeks now are just getting so stale). It will be interesting to see if Google, who just bought the company that developed this interface, will integrate some of this behavior into their tablet project—or maybe make it the tablet’s...

If you can’t get the Photoshop.com domain name you want (e.g. BrianRagan.photoshop.com) because the iPhone Photoshop App is throwing you error messages, don’t discourage. Here’s my tale of how getting the run around got me my name (and sent the Photoshop App into UX Rehab). Opening the app, I was greeted with this Sign In screen. I don't have an account on Photoshop.com so I tap Join Now. I'm surprised there is no forgot password feature. I hit the sign up form, which thankfully doesn't ask for much. I start think...

I was unnaturally attached to Commerce Bank (TD predecessor) and would start conversations with friends about banking just to plug the bank. It was the first bank in New York to open 7 days a week and have long hours. They gave out dog biscuits and offer dog water bowls in the lobby. They didn’t have giant walls of Plexiglas separating me from the tellers (in my mind I live in a small town—but unfortunately they’ve been held up more than any other bank in NY). They had Penny Lane!—a free way to turn loose change into cash bill...

I don’t get to play with too many enormous touch screen displays, so the NYC official tourist office grabbed my attention as I walked by on 7th Ave the other day (between 52nd and 53rd). A typical tourism office has walls of brochures. (Fun!) But this tourist office brings the city’s options to life with a fun process that starts with grabbing a hockey puck (a little orange disk) and ends with a video display of your selected spots to visit in NYC. I can’t assess the utility of the service precisely—I’m not really the...

As I sort through recipes on Epicurious.com for the millionth time, trying to sort out a delicious, seasonal meal for a friend’s birthday celebration (I’m on my laptop, while watching the World Series, and am trying to keep my eyes on the game, not on my screen) I’m struck by what I think is a novel idea. First, the problem: In short, it takes me too long to scroll through the recipes in the search result list, then Cmd (or Ctrl on a PC)+click on the titles to open each one I’m interested in in a new tab, then find the...

Creating great experiences is tough. It’s easy to identify them (especially when they’re happening to you), but so much goes into the delightful and effective experience. A typical company is a wasp’s nest of competing personalities, departmental politics, twisted organizational dynamics and lack of coordination and proper incentive and reward systems. It’s a miracle that even mediocre experiences are planned and released into the general population. But great ones? Tough. Hats off to those who deliver. With this blog, ...