PRODUCT STRATEGY
Martin Cagan, AOL Products
October 4, 2000
Overview.......................................................................................................................... 2
Content and Services............................................................................................... 3
Cross-Device Core
Services............................................................................... 3
Flexible Content Delivery................................................................................... 4
Global Services.................................................................................................... 5
Devices............................................................................................................................. 5
Device-Specific
Services...................................................................................... 6
Authentication............................................................................................................ 6
Screen Name Access............................................................................................. 6
Universal Member
Profile................................................................................... 7
Cross-Brand
Infrastructure............................................................................... 7
Personalization.......................................................................................................... 8
Personalization Hub............................................................................................. 8
Automatic and
Progressive Personalization.................................................... 8
Reflection.............................................................................................................. 8
Summary........................................................................................................................ 11
Optimize Overall Member
Experience.............................................................. 11
Appendix: Product
Principles............................................................................. 11
The goal of the AOL Anywhere initiative is to deliver the content and services that AOL members need and want, whenever they wish, wherever they are. This fulfills core company objectives by:
· Increasing time spent on AOL,
· Increasing revenue per household,
· Retaining and attracting new members; and ultimately,
· Increasing the overall convenience and value of AOL.
AOL Anywhere services accomplish these objectives by:
· Aggregating the content and services the member depends on, then
· Personalizing the information into the specific content and services that the member prefers, and finally,
· Disseminating the data to the various devices the member utilizes.
While not all content and services are appropriate to every device, AOL Anywhere is designed to provide members with a seamless, integrated experience to the maximum degree possible. For example, a member’s e-mail, stock portfolio, sports scores for favorite teams, and daily calendar, should all be accessible from the AOL client, from the Web, from AOL-TV, from a WAP-enabled cell phone, and via speech over any phone. Changes made via one device should be immediately accessible via any other. The same AOL screen name and password should be used to access via each device.
Likewise, delivery of the information needs to be as flexible as the choice of device. At times, the member will want to access her content and services on demand, perhaps by checking her PC in the evening or browsing via a WAP-enabled phone. At other times, she’ll want the information to find her by setting stock alerts to deliver a page or instant message to her phone.
The promise of AOL Anywhere is to dramatically raise the value of our services to our members and build a much closer and more frequent relationship between AOL and its members. We are very close to the vision described here becoming reality. Much of what is described already exists; for the rest, the technology is now available and the various components are being assembled.
The following sections elaborate on the building blocks for the AOL Anywhere vision: Content and Services, Devices, Authentication, and Personalization. From this we hope to illustrate the value to each of the various teams at AOL – across functions, devices, services, and geographies – of working together to achieve something much bigger than any of us could accomplish alone. [1]
Cross-Device Core Services
The AOL Anywhere strategy and product is only useful if there are content and services that AOL members want and need across the various devices. There is an endless list of potential services, but what follows is the set that was selected based on features that members use most frequently on the PC and that take best advantage of the AOL Anywhere world. Further, this is the core set that we plan to have available across all top tier devices.
The cross-device core services are:
E-mail – E-mail is today’s most critical and stickiest application. Many members are eager to get their e-mail wherever they may be.
Instant Messaging – In certain geographies and among specific demographics, this is already the killer application for a new class of devices. Soon you will be able to reach the people on your buddy list even when they’re away from their computer.
>Calendar – A big part of integrating the calendar into a member’s life is providing reminders and schedules delivered to their favorite devices.
Address Book – Increasingly Address Book is a key part of the AOL Anywhere strategy. Members need access to their critical e-mail addresses and phone numbers from wherever they are.
Stocks – A great many members want to check the status of their portfolio, receive notification when specific stocks experience major price changes, or receive a portfolio update immediately after the market close.
Weather – Members want to check the weather forecast for their city, get forecasts for their travel destinations, and receive storm alerts.
News – Whether it’s breaking national stories, or the reasons behind stock fluctuations, members want to access their favorite news topics. The key here is letting the members choose categories of interest for daily viewing or headline alerts.
Sports – Sports fans like to check game results for their favorite teams and may want periodic updates (especially when they’ve got a little something riding on the outcome).
Horoscope – Horoscopes is still one of the most popular services. Many members want to check their horoscope or have the daily predictions sent to them in the morning.
Movies and Tickets – Moviefone provides access from phones and PCs to local movies, as well as the ability to purchase tickets.
Directions and Traffic – Mapquest allows the user to track road conditions and traffic congestion in specific cities. They can also get door-to-door directions and maps tailored to their destinations.
Local Events – Digital Cities has complementary local services and events.
TV Listings – Members can get the latest TV listings delivered to their favorite devices, based on their viewing preferences and their local provider.
= Community – Members can keep abreast of the activity levels in their favorite message boards, chat rooms, and community groups.
Shopping – AOL Anywhere will allow you to use your wireless device to compare the store prices - while you are in the store. Members can also set up alerts to inform them when specific products are available at specific prices. Also, the shopping services will permit use of the AOL Wallet to ease the purchasing process.
Travel – Members can view a travel itinerary, make a reservation, check flight status, or get notified of flight schedule changes.
Additional services which will follow include “You’ve Got Pictures”, Music, Bill Payment, and Games.
Flexible Content Delivery
Content and services can be delivered either on-demand from the various devices based on a user-request, or proactively provided to the member in the form of alerts, reminders, notifications, or scheduled summaries. An example of a scheduled summary might be a report of your portfolio immediately after the market close, or lottery results. An event-driven alert might be flight schedule changes or auction activity.
Global Services
The high priority countries for AOL Anywhere outside the US are Germany, UK and Japan. The plan is to ensure that the full breadth and depth of AOL Anywhere is available across these countries, and then to work to spread AOL Anywhere to the rest of the AOL world. In many ways, the AOL Anywhere strategy is more critical overseas than in the US due to the increased penetration of alternative Web devices such as Web-enabled cell phones. For many users overseas, their initial Web or instant messaging experience may occur on a phone.
While the list of AOL Anywhere devices expands and changes with the rapid evolution of device technology, several important classes of devices stand out:
AOL Client – The AOL client is a primary vehicle for AOL members to access content and services from a PC or Mac. The AOL 6.0 client, in particular, contains new functionality in support of AOL Anywhere.
Web – The Web is another major vehicle for AOL members to access content and services from a PC or MAC. It supports browser-based access to AOL Anywhere.
WAP Wireless Phones – WAP-enabled cell phones support wireless access to AOL Anywhere content and services. The keypad is used for input, preferably with T9 assistance, and results are presented via the phone’s browser.
Voice – Any land line phone or cell phone, WAP-enabled or not, provides an interface to the new voice-activated version of AOL Anywhere. Voice recognition is used for input, and a combination of speech synthesis and audio feeds provide results.
AOL-TV – The Web-enabled television is another device providing AOL Anywhere access. An AOL-TV device must connect to the television and requires phone line access.
PDA – PDA’s, such as the Palm or similar devices, can be AOL Anywhere devices in wireless form and also can dial up for connectivity or sync with the PC.
Two-Way Paging – The new generation of two-way paging devices, such as RIM/Blackberry, provides another class of device for AOL Anywhere, especially for Instant Messaging and e-mail.
One-Way Pagers – Traditional pagers are useful for the one-way delivery of alerts and notifications to members that are away from more interactive devices.
Gateway Devices – Coming this December, AOL and Gateway will introduce a new class of interactive, single-use Web appliances. These will contain many of the same functions as a PC (such as a wireless keyboard and monitor) but will lack a hard drive and other PC components. For purposes of AOL Anywhere, these devices will allow for the same level of interactivity as a PC in connected mode.
Additional devices, some of which have not yet been announced, promise improved connectivity and usability, and will support a variety of lifestyles from teens to mobile professionals to soccer moms.
For purposes of AOL Anywhere, the five top-priority devices are the AOL Client, the Web, WAP-enabled phones, voice, and AOL-TV. The immediate priority is to make the core AOL Anywhere content and services available consistently across each of these five devices.
Device-Specific Services
This core set of services is intended to be augmented with device-specific services. For example, the wireless devices need location-specific services, such as those that will tell you where the nearest restaurant or service station is. Likewise, AOL-TV needs services which deeply integrate with the TV experience, such as a personalized electronic programming guide. The strategy is to combine the core services with the device-specific services into a compelling offering for each device.
Screen Name Access
Convenience is key to the AOL Anywhere product. One thing that could very quickly diminish the power and user experience of AOL Anywhere is to have each device require a different user id and code or PIN or password. AOL has a tremendous asset in Screen Names, and AOL Anywhere is designed to ensure that the member can always use her AOL screen name and password to access AOL Anywhere from her various devices. On certain devices this is more difficult than others, and on all devices we must maintain the security and integrity of the session. Nevertheless, the Screen Name Service is a key, very visible integration point for AOL Anywhere.
- The AOL Screen Name Service (SNS) is designed to support the various AOL Anywhere devices.
Despite the emphasis on Web security, many people use the same user ID and password at many Web sites because its simply too hard to remember which name to use where. The other prevalent strategy is to keep a list of user IDs and passwords for various sites in your wallet or on your PC. The Screen Name Service seeks to change this behavior, bringing convenience, personalization as well as added security to Web browsing.
With the Screen Name Service, members can use their AOL Screen Name to register at Web sites in the SNS network, reducing the need to remember multiple user IDs and passwords and therefore making it easier to browse the Web. Members sign in once - to an AOL Anywhere device or a site in the partner network, and then can browse from site to site, signing in with a single click.
Screen Names have been successful because they are convenient and easy to remember. The more we give members the ability to access information and communicate with each other via Screen Names the easier it will be to support community across devices.
As AOL Anywhere devices proliferate and members use multiple devices throughout the day, it could be pote