Article

You never forget your first...

When new KIOSKmarketplace editor Michael Jackman took the job, he didn't know what he was in for. On his first day, with the ink still wet on his W-2 form, he flew to Orlando, Fla. to report on KioskCom 2001. It was sink or swim.

April 1, 2002 by

Editor's Note:

Michael Jackman began his job as editor of KIOSKmarketplace at the KioskCom 2001 trade show in Orlando, Fla. It just worked out that way, but for Jackman, it was like having your boss throw you in the deep end - without knowing how to swim. He decided to continue his employment at KIOSKmarketplace anyway. Here's what his experience was like.

My dad wasn't the kind of guy to throw his kid in a swimming pool and sit back while his thrashing son learned that chlorinated water didn't belong in the lungs. He did teach me how to ride a two-wheeler. First he took off the training wheels. Then he pushed me down the sidewalk, holding on to the rear fender.

"Don't worry, I won't let go," he said.

I hurtled straight into a wall and knocked out a tooth. He had let go.

I survived, and I enjoy riding two wheelers to this day, so I had an experience upon which to build when my new boss, general editor Rick Redding, threw me into KioskCom 2001 my first day on the job.

I knew a little about kiosks. But my understanding was based on the dictionary and some pre-conference reading. Kiosks, as I saw it, were structures that provided you with something. Big Apple tee-shirt stands in New York were kiosks. But by this definition so were my medicine cabinet and sock drawer. ATMs seemed like kiosks, and I learned at KioskCom they were, and I also learned at KioskCom that they weren't.

Some people consider them highly specialized kiosks, and others define electronic kiosks as everything but ATMs.

Even the wisdom of specialization was debated. Diving for answers, I discovered two views. One stated that the more specific a kiosk was, the better for the return on investment (ROI). Too many functions diluted the ROI.

The other view stated that if a kiosk project is too specific, in the long run it damages the ROI. Eventually, people won't use kiosks that way any more.

ATMs were cited as examples of both cases. According to James D'Aprile, vice president of self service/ATM banking for Fleet Bank, ATMs do one thing, dispense cash, extremely well. And because growth of ATM revenue has flattened, Fleet Bank is about to turn its ATMs into kiosks, said D'Aprile.

You see where a newcomer to the trade might be floundering around.

I found opinions to be varied on ROI as well. There's the opinion that no one has yet had a profitable kiosk deployment. When I asked other attendees if this was so, I was told that several kiosk projects had been profitable. TravelCenters of America and Kodak were both cited as success stories.

Both cases are also examples of kiosks that do one thing well -- like ATMs.

Eventually, I felt I was splashing less and learning to swim in the kiosk pool. For the past two years I've been writing about Microsoft Windows and PC hardware. At KioskCom I saw something nearly identical to what I covered in my previous beat: enclosures containing computers and a lot of peripherals, like printers, bill acceptors, and video cameras.

Kiosks allow you to surf the Web, buy stuff, get bus directions, play games, or find the Old Navy store in a mall. In Japan you can even order a takeout dinner that will arrive at your apartment when you get there. Kiosks are cool.

I'd like a cool machine in my living room that uses peripherals and will let me surf the Web, get bus directions, play games, buy Old Navy sweats and order take out. Wait, I have one of those-it's my laptop. My laptop is a kiosk!

Now I'm floundering again.

As an editor, it's vital that I learn the language of the trade. While I spoke to reps, I listened carefully. I learned about ADA, OEMs, ODMs, ROI, and POP. The amount of TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) comforted me. This was just like writing about Windows operating systems and PC hardware!

If the many exhibitors I met at KioskCom are examples of the trade, then the kiosk industry is made up of people especially warm and welcoming. They want to convert you into a kiosk believer, of course, but they do it with a sprinkling, not a dunking.

The conference is over now. Exhibitors have packed up their glorious machines and headed elsewhere. I met the players, got to know the teams, and learned about the issues. I'll be able, I think, to swim in these waters.

So what are kiosks? Ah, that's a good question. I learned that they are structures, powered by computers, which are placed in public spaces to enable users do things, in order to create revenue. And there's an exception to each part of that definition.

Sound too broad? Broadness, I learned, is a hallmark of kiosks and their applications. Broadness is a good thing. It gives editors lots of copy.