Last week, I took a walk downtown for lunch, and decided to go to L&L Drive In over a similar restaurant – despite the fact the line was out the door at L&L, and my wait was therefore twice as long.

I thought a bit about why I chose to go there, sacrificing convenience over a place that was totally empty, just out of “brand loyalty” (L&L Drive In is a plate lunch place I’ve gone to since childhood in Hawaii) and of course started wondering how this experience applies to websites I frequent (yeah, I’m a geek).

This website-to-the-real-world analogy doesn’t completely work, but there are some points to be made about brand awareness and the image these companies and their websites have in my mind.

1. Google = The grocery store.

It’s not particularly exciting or sexy but I have to eat, and like many urbanites I buy food at the grocery store. If pressed further, I’d say Google is like a Whole Foods with no lines, or possibly a Trader Joe’s. You know what you’re getting, you get it, it works, and you can feel good about using it, since that “Do no evil” statement is kind of like eating organic blueberries (luckily, Google so far isn’t as expensive as Whole Foods – it’s mostly free).

But my point is that Google gives me all the basic stuff I need (mail, search, Google Docs) and does it well. Google is my browser home page, email client, handles all my search, serves up ads on this blog, and sustains a large amount of Web 2.0 companies.

I’ll also suggest this: A few years ago, many thought that search technology were wrapped up by Yahoo! and MSN, but Google came along and demonstrated that with some technical innovation, there was room for improvement.

It’s similar to how traditional grocery stores like Safeway or Albertson’s were caught unawares that organic groceries could be such a big market, and are now having to scramble and play catch-up at the “high end” grocery experience Whole Foods provides.

2. Apple Computer = Banana Republic.

It’s an elitist place where image is a big part of the package. There’s also a basic backbone of quality, however – the stuff isn’t as cheap as what you get from the GAP or Old Navy.

Going to an Apple Store lets you into a technophile world that the whole world of computing could be but never will. It’s that fantastic place like the detective touch screen flat panel fantasy in Minority Report. You just wish all computers could be that cool. That said, it’s a relatively expensive place, and I can’t afford to go there every day and do all my shopping there – although I’d like to.

3. Microsoft = The gas station.

Nobody likes to go to a gas station and hang out, but it’s a necessity if you drive a car, just as Microsoft is a necessity for anybody who uses a PC. And we’re handing money hand over fist to Microsoft, almost like a utility. But we have to.
It’s not glamorous or sexy to sell gasoline – but it sure is a huge money maker and anybody who needs them on a weekly basis is caught by the gonads.

4. Amazon = A nice mall.

You know the nice mall, the one with the fountain, the glass ceilings, featuring Crate and Barrel, Abercrombie and Fitch, The Sharper Image, a Lego store… it’s clean, reliable, and although shopping at one is a pleasant enough experience, I only go there every couple of months. I haven’t hung out at a mall in twenty years. Some malls have movie theaters, but I still avoid them like the plague.

5. Yahoo = A strip mall.

This is a mall with a big parking lot, a yogurt place, hair salon, insurance office, a new age bookstore, and Chinese take out. All things that are sort of useful but not exactly something I patronize regularly, and I actually avoid it. It’s feeling a bit run down and confused. It’s sort of a place that I look at and sometimes wonder how the heck do they stay in business? But they do. Maybe there’s just a lot of loyal customers I don’t know about, or people that don’t know any better.

6. Digg = The bar I go to with co-workers after a deadline.

Maybe it’s the fact that diggnation features copious amounts of beer drinking, but there’s this bar I occasionally go to with co-workers that’s dark, has a pool table, and people just shoot the crap. Sometimes the conversation strays from technology and dwindles into the stupid, but it’s all fun. The pint glasses are big and so are the laughs. The whole point is to have fun, catch up, and enjoy yourself.

7. Second Life = Las Vegas

I haven’t spent much time in Second Life but it’s a strange place, overrun by capitalism (buying stuff), advertising, entertainment – and if you have no money, it’s frustrating. With all the banner ads, blinking lights, and temptations to do things you wouldn’t do in your first life, my analogy is clear: Sin City, baby!

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Categories: General, Technology :: ::

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