Question 7: What would you like from Internet Brands (site owners)

[SanDiego1K]

If you had the chance to sit down with Internet Brand leaders,what would you tell them they need to do to improve the FlyerTalk experience for members?

[United747]

I would prefer to minimize the ads on the website. Though, that is the way that Internet Brands makes money, but it is such a nuisance to see those ads on the website. Also, I am still not seeing the Flyertalk luggage tags in the store. I would like to see those added back. Although, I could just not be looking in the right place.

Delta747

[RichMSN]

To be honest, I have no real problem with Internet Brands. They've hired someone (Carol) who has held down the fort admirably after the departure of Randy. They have supported the existence of the TalkBoard. They have chosen to (with the exception of some workers)

I would like them to consider some technological improvements, certainly. The search has never been of the quality I think is necessary here. The mobile apps could be better. vBulletin could include some additional social media integration. At times, the performance of FT has slipped and the site has been slow or unavailable.

But these are all minor things and as long as IB is willing to work with us to keep things moving forward, I'm happy with their ownership and Carol's stewardship.

[Ancien Maestro]

Communication both initial and ongoing will be the critical key to fully understand Internet Brands Technical Capability, and what Internet Brand is willing able to do.. and what areas are going to be difficult for Internet Brands to address on a go forward..

With Carol onboard, there is a liaison and listening voice. imo.. Its' great that Internet Brands has given us Carol as a Community Director..

Perhaps the new Talkboard can gather a wishlist, whether that's a survey amongst members and/or focus groups identifying areas that can make Flyer Talk more user friendly, etc.. A response back from Internet Brands identifying the technical compatibility of requests could be a good starting point to the process.. Resources vs. Benefit amongst users determined by Internet Brands and the TalkBoard as part of the assessment. Something that is cost prohibitive that benefits a few, will need to be revisited at a different angle. The easy changes, that will improve the FlyerTalk experience immensely in the short term, becomes the priority sitting on the front burner..

The Talkboard and FlyerTalk members will benefit greatly, knowing what Internet Brands is capable of. Communication will establish the knowledge transfer, to understand Internet Brands technical capabilities. Once possible areas of improvement is identified, the TalkBoard and Internet Brands can get to work..

[goalie]

From what can be improved, I would stress the improving on the mobile access and making it interface seamlessly with the browser based version so that if one uses a mobile device at an airport and then uses a browser after arriving at a hotel or back home, F/t picks up right where they left off because the way it is now, the two don't talk to each other properly. This to me is a major drawback right now and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that.

But......If I had the opportunity to sit down with IB, I would also ask what they want out of F/t (in addition to making money ).

[dchristiva]

Overall, I have no significant issues with IB. I think the mobile platform would benefit from fewer ads, and sometimes I feel the same way about the computer-based platform, but otherwise, I have no issues. I would defer to the members or to those TalkBoard members with more tech expertise.

[dinoscool3]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

To be honest, I have no real problem with Internet Brands. They've hired someone (Carol) who has held down the fort admirably after the departure of Randy. They have supported the existence of the TalkBoard. They have chosen to (with the exception of some workers)

I would like them to consider some technological improvements, certainly. The search has never been of the quality I think is necessary here. The mobile apps could be better. vBulletin could include some additional social media integration. At times, the performance of FT has slipped and the site has been slow or unavailable.

But these are all minor things and as long as IB is willing to work with us to keep things moving forward, I'm happy with their ownership and Carol's stewardship.

I agree completely with RichMSN. IB I don't feel is bad, just minor things they need to improve (mobile site especially)

[Jinxy]

IB are a business and they need to treat it as such...

I think an elite membership program with no ads would be fantastic as well as better improvements on the mobile platform.
Would love to see a complete range of merchandise available to buy.

[nsx]

I'd like IB to update their vBulletin software platform we use so that it regains the preeminent position it had when Randy first chose it for FlyerTalk. Whenever we want to try something new, the answer is usually that the software does not have that capability and will not have that capability since nobody else is asking for it. Sites which use their own custom software don't have that problem.

Based on some discussions with IB, I believe that they intend to improve vBulletin substantially. I hope FlyerTalkers can help by providing some great ideas.

[jackal]

Unlike most of the candidates (except nsx, who posted just above), I actually have sat down with Internet Brands and brought up this very topic.

First, let me say this: Internet Brands is very pleased with FlyerTalk and is very happy to leave us pretty much alone and let us do what we want. That's good; there really hasn't been any orders sent down from the top to do things a certain way against the FlyerTalk community's wishes. Most of the IB-initiated projects come in the form of additional bolted-on products like TopFlyer that really don't affect the core of the FlyerTalk forum itself.

I laid it on pretty strongly to IB, though, that our technology platform felt out of date. IB didn't disagree; vBulletin 3 (what we are currently using) came out in 2004, and it definitely feels like we're still in 2004. This was brought to a bit of a head recently with the introduction of MilePoint running the vastly more modern XenForo forum software product. (No reason to dance around the issue and pretend MilePoint doesn't exist.) Frankly, I'm not proud that we're still stuck in 2004, but the IB tech guys are hesitant to move us to vBulletin 4--there are still a lot of bugs with that product, and IB values (probably rightly so) stability over look/feel/functionality.

Truthfully, though, I'm not all that unhappy that vBulletin 4 isn't ready for us. vBulletin 4's look and feel and functionality is not all that different than vBulletin 3 and is still not really competitive with some of the alternatives out there--like XenForo. My hope is, though, that now with the existence of a modern alternative forum software, vBulletin's development team will be spurred to significantly improve their product. Will it happen overnight? No; the scale is going to be measured in years, not months. But as one of the larger forums in Internet Brands' portfolio, we can keep the pressure on them to keep improving their forum software.

Other things like improvements to the mobile app, the return of the premium (ad-free) membership, and a replacement FlyerTalk merchandise store are in the works, as are other bolt-on additions (in the manner of TopFlyer) that have the potential to be engaging, although even if they aren't, they won't interfere with the forum itself.

[RichMSN]

Originally Posted by jackal

Unlike most of the candidates (except nsx, who posted just above), I actually have sat down with Internet Brands and brought up this very topic.

First, let me say this: Internet Brands is very pleased with FlyerTalk and is very happy to leave us pretty much alone and let us do what we want. That's good; there really hasn't been any orders sent down from the top to do things a certain way against the FlyerTalk community's wishes. Most of the IB-initiated projects come in the form of additional bolted-on products like TopFlyer that really don't affect the core of the FlyerTalk forum itself.

I laid it on pretty strongly to IB, though, that our technology platform felt out of date. IB didn't disagree; vBulletin 3 (what we are currently using) came out in 2004, and it definitely feels like we're still in 2004. This was brought to a bit of a head recently with the introduction of MilePoint running the vastly more modern XenForo forum software product. (No reason to dance around the issue and pretend MilePoint doesn't exist.) Frankly, I'm not proud that we're still stuck in 2004, but the IB tech guys are hesitant to move us to vBulletin 4--there are still a lot of bugs with that product, and IB values (probably rightly so) stability over look/feel/functionality.

Truthfully, though, I'm not all that unhappy that vBulletin 4 isn't ready for us. vBulletin 4's look and feel and functionality is not all that different than vBulletin 3 and is still not really competitive with some of the alternatives out there--like XenForo. My hope is, though, that now with the existence of a modern alternative forum software, vBulletin's development team will be spurred to significantly improve their product. Will it happen overnight? No; the scale is going to be measured in years, not months. But as one of the larger forums in Internet Brands' portfolio, we can keep the pressure on them to keep improving their forum software.

Other things like improvements to the mobile app, the return of the premium (ad-free) membership, and a replacement FlyerTalk merchandise store are in the works, as are other bolt-on additions (in the manner of TopFlyer) that have the potential to be engaging, although even if they aren't, they won't interfere with the forum itself.

I really don't understand this whole "competitive" technology comment. Is this costing FT posters -- in other words, have a significant number of people left FT for MP because of the technology change? Before I make judgments on whether we *need* to be competitive with the Milepoints in terms of technology, I'd really like to know if most of the more prolific posters care about the fact that we're on some vBulletin 3 implementation. For example -- while it would be nice to have a Like button on occasion, I think the "Like" button is a disaster over on MilePoint. And how many long-time users would get frustrated and leave if the changes in platform were too drastic?

Some of the "cooler" functionality that's available on vBulletin 3 has been disabled either for performance reasons or the potential for annoyance.

My plan would be to seek out a sampling of regular posters and see if there's a consensus for features that are really wanted. I'm guessing there really isn't, but I'm willing to be proven wrong. XenForo has some nice features and a nice feel in certain ways, but has its own bundle of annoyances.

My expertise in the real world is in the area of Capacity and Performance Management. In other words, when there are periods of high demand, are there enough computer resources available to handle the demand without being slow or unavailable. Also, as the user base grows, will there be enough processing power to handle that organic growth. So understand, I will always value stability, speed, and performance over bells and whistles that slow down the user experience for FTers.

But I have a good deal of experience in IT and have evaluated new technologies and requirements as part of my day gig for a long time and I would certainly roll up my sleeves and get involved in this process should I be elected.

[jackal]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I really don't understand this whole "competitive" technology comment. Is this costing FT posters -- in other words, have a significant number of people left FT for MP because of the technology change? Before I make judgments on whether we *need* to be competitive with the Milepoints in terms of technology, I'd really like to know if most of the more prolific posters care about the fact that we're on some vBulletin 3 implementation.

As far as if anyone cares: some do and some don't. I doubt very many people have actually left FlyerTalk for MilePoint because of the existence of the "like" function or the prettier interface.

How about attracting new members, though? It may not be a huge problem, given our strength in Google's results (any search about a loyalty program invariably shows a result from FT near the top), but if you were a new member stumbling upon both FT and MP, which one would you choose?

Imagine you're at an unfamiliar airport. You've misconnected and need to spend the night. You see two hotel shuttle buses pull up: one is a big, shiny, brand-new bus with a nice corporate logo while the other is a tiny thing from the 1980s with a hand-painted local motel's name on it. Which hotel are you going to pick?

Is the image and branding a guarantee of the value of the content? No; FT is clearly the leader in that department. But I must admit that MilePoint puts out a better image to someone who isn't familiar with the two products.

And yes, XenForo has its (significant) annoyances. It's not perfect, and I'm not advocating that IB abandon its own product and jump on the XenForo bandwagon. My point is that with the existence of some competition in the forum software marketplace, we can and need to keep the pressure on IB to make some significant improvements in its product--not necessarily for anything right now, but so that we can still remain competitive down the line when it might matter.

[kipper]

My "wishlist" from IB would include better mobile apps, a roll-out of a "premium" version of FT that is ad-free, and, while they've taken some steps to increase communication with FT members, I'd like to see that improved even more, along with more of a focus on resolving technical issues that are brought to their attention by the members.

A quick look at some of the threads in the technical issues forum shows that IB is aware of some issues, and has been for quite a while, and either still has not corrected them, or took quite a while to correct the issues, first blaming it on users' software, until it became obvious that it was larger than issues with one browser. During this time, information about what IB was doing to correct the issue or that they were even working on it, was not always communicated. When there is a problem, people want to know that it is being taken seriously and that steps are being taken to resolve the issue. Even if there isn't much to update, a simple, "We're still working to resolve the issue," goes a long way to letting the members know that their concerns are being taken seriously.

[kokonutz]

Other than better mobile browsing, I adore IB and vBulletin.

They leave us the hell alone and let us do our thing. That's pretty awesome. They are not trying to grow their business into a charter airline company or a seminar company. They give us our playground and we play. Good times.

I think MilePoint and the XenForo platform are a bloody mess and nearly impossible to navigate. All the bells and whistles distract from the useful information. I would strongly resist moving to a platform like that. And if vBulletin is headed that direction in 4.0 then I say keep delaying implementation PLEASE.

[CMK10]

Personally I'd like a new job, as I really don't like mine. So I'd see if they were hiring. Hell, it couldn't hurt, right?