I found the recent release of the Times of London archive very interesting. Almost all news agencies are focused on using the internet to have “up to the minute information”, thinking that that is the main reason that readers go online. Others, are adding commenting and bookmarking abilities to their sites, creating a community around their news.

But – the Times of London took it a step further. Instead of being simply “up-to-the minute” or community focused like everyone else, they are also using the internet as an archive. The archive is very complete, allowing users to search on news from 1785-1985. You can search on stories, ads, classifieds and more.

As a marketer, I have an big interest in classic advertisements – especially cigarette ones since it shows how our views and our acceptances of these products and their promises have changed over time. I executed a search in the archive on “cigarettes”, refined it only to ads in the 1950s and found this one, about how Rothman’s was building the most state of the art factory in the world in Canada, while shipping in cigarettes to the workers to keep up with demand. What a different historical perspective on that one product.
With my interest in the History of the French Revolution, I did a search on Marie Antoinette for the year of her be-heading, (1793). I found this article, which describes what she was wearing that day, and
how some young people dipped their handkerchiefs in her blood. Wow -
what details!

I think this is a wonderful use of the web. In not only their idea of putting the archive online, but also their execution, with the search capabilities and refinements.

I wish that more organizations would think this way. Instead of simply executing “the latest and greatest” thing, the same way as as everyone else, they would think strategically: “what is unique about my organization, and how can it be leveraged on the web?” The Times of London found that with their archive. It is a shift of perspective that could be a huge benefit for even the most traditional organizations who want to gain a strategic advantage through the web.

There are quite a few of these social media sites appearing, where companies are getting ideas from customers, such as MyStarbucksIdea.com and Dell’s Idea Storm.

On the site, users can post ideas and rate and make comments on ideas others have posted. Similar to Digg.com, the ideas with the highest ratings float to the top, where the ideas with the lowest ratings sink to the bottom. On the Starbucks site, executives then respond to some ideas on the site. For example, the site has the executive in charge of food responding to popular ideas about having healthier, higher fiber snacks.

One of the most popular ideas on the site is to have free wireless access in stores, with hundreds of users saying they would go for coffee more if they could access the internet there without additional charges. It got my vote . All of these ideas could come in handy for Starbucks given their recent earnings sink (21% in May).

I recently heard an executive from an automotive company saying that he now felt like his brand and his product development had become a democracy, with a lot of voices speaking out, rather than a dictatorship, which is how his company traditionally operated.

I find these sites very interesting and strategically sound. The best application I can think of for a site like this is a civic application. Imagine a site that could collect ideas about how to improve a city that isn’t always working like MyTorontoIdea.com or even a country. Instead of voting for candidates, people would vote for ideas. Obviously I am not saying this would replace the political process, but it would definitely be a great input for it.

From MacNN, Apple is looking to enhance the online shopping experience. To relieve the sense that online shopping is impersonal and  isolating compared to real world shopping, the patent proposes adding a variety of features:

• Ability to see how many people are in different sections
• Ability to see the sun (daytime) or stars (night time), adding the time dimension to the experience
• Ability to follow other users into different parts of the store
• Ability to see users with name tags who are working at the store, and ask them questions

An enticing idea, especially the part about the ability to see how many people in each section. For example, if I only use the site for music, and I see a bunch of people in the electronics section, I would be pretty curious about that. Based on my experience with setting up online chat, people like immediate gratification. The ability to see other users who “work” at the store would kick it up a notch, making it more inviting. A bit hesitant about the ability to follow (or stalk ) other users though. I wonder who’s online shopping experience that mimics?

Since this concept is taken from virtual worlds, I think that the main challenge will be to make the site more realistic and sophisticated. If they overcome it – it could be a whole new world for online shoppers.