News

What Readers Want: More

We asked you, our readers, what you wanted, and your answers are thundering through the halls of NetWorld Alliance loud and clear.

February 4, 2003

We asked you, our readers, what you wanted, and your answers are thundering through the halls of NetWorld Alliance loud and clear.

More.

Our first Reader Survey, sent in December to all loyal readers who subscribe to e-mail alerts, produced a response that I think shows that many of you care, a lot, about what goes into KioskMarketplace. Your responses show that, in general, you like what you're getting from us; you just want more of it.

We sent the survey to nearly 3,000 readers. We're still going over the responses, but several themes are immediately clear.

First, you confirmed many of the beliefs we held. In other words, you told us we're doing the right thing. 60 percent of respondents visit the site three or more times per month (keep on coming!) and for that investment of your valuable time, it's our responsibility to deliver on our promise to keep you up-to-date on everything going in the kiosk world. That means frequent updates and regular additions to the site, whether it's breaking news or simply valuable content.

And with the changes coming in the kiosk industry, the inclusion of more self-service applications and more potential customers investigating kiosk deployments, that's a pretty big job.

One reader gave us an assignment that's both exciting and challenging. "Help the industry become well-known to prospective clients so everyone can grow and more kiosk-oriented firms can afford to advertise with you."

Hey, that sounds like a win-win for us all. We are striving to expand our audience, especially to potential buyers of kiosks and related products. We're doing it by focusing on more applications, writing and publishing more case studies of successful deployments, asking members of the industry to contribute thoughts and opinions on key issues.

You'll see evidence of that in 2003. We're in the process of creating more places on the site for this valuable content.

Let me extend in industry-wide invitation now: If you've got an interesting case study, white paper or research report you're willing to share with the industry, send it to me. We'll find a spot for it on the site.

Here's one more invitation - If you have something to say about the industry, where it's headed or what it should be doing, write a column for our Commentary section. I'll put it in the space you're reading this column right now. Doing so not only elevates your prominence in the industry, but it's a great forum for the exchange of ideas between readers. You've told us you want more of this interactivity.

Respond to me at rickr@networldalliance.com, or just click on my byline at the top of this page.

There's that word again. More. In response to the survey question "What can we do to improve KioskMarketplace.com?" the word "more" was used in 18 different responses. The word "less" did not appear. Here's a brief listing of what you told us you wanted more of:

• Innovations
• Vendor Info
• Wireless, Portable kiosks
• Pictures and Screenshots
• In-depth content on reviews
• Kiosk case studies, ideas, kiosk solutions
• News and features
• Information on UK and European applications
• Feature articles on companies
• Content outside of North America
• Services News
• Statistics, forecasts, industry analysis
• In-depth coverage of trends and products
• Software applications for kiosk hardware
• Deployment stories
• Stories on future use of kiosk technology

OK, we get the idea. It's reassuring for us to know that these are the topics that interest you, and we'll keep seeking out the most interesting and informative stories we can find.

The Survey revealed a lot of what we're doing is spot on with our readers. "Keep up the good work," said one. "It's good like it is," said another.

But the Survey certainly wasn't just a pat on the back. You made suggestions on things we should be doing differently, what we should be doing more of, and even some things we can do less.

We're listening. And we're encouraging you to send suggestions about the content of the site any time, not just when we ask for it.

Special Thanks: Lawrence Dvorchik of KioskCom generously offered to award two free passes to a 2003 KioskCom Show to a randomly selected reader who answered the survey. And the winner is: Amy Garland of Healthnotes.com. Amy wins two passes to KioskCom 2003 in Las Vegas, April 7-9, or any other KioskCom show of her choice in 2003.