There are a group of sports statistics sites, baseball-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, etc. that I sometimes use to look up sports info. The other day I noticed a new feature they’ve implemented that vastly improves the experience of reading one of their statistics pages. It is quite simple, really — they just highlight the line that the cursor is hovering over — but it makes it far easier to read the line you are trying to read.

This is just an example of how attention to the little details can make big improvements on any website.

(Too bad it doesn’t work in IE…)

On my recent trip to Chicago I flew United, who now offers “Economy Plus” on all flights — seats that are towards the front of the plane and offer about 5 inches more legroom than the normal coach seating. Upgrades were offered during check-in for $34 per leg from Philadelphia to Chicago (the round trip ticket was around $225).

Is it worth it?

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Anyone seen that vehix.com commercial that starts out with the manager saying:

“Vehix.com helps people find a car they want at a dealer near them. How do we improve that user experience?”

Since when did that term enter the popular lexicon? I guess we’re moving up in the world.

Update: Another mention in a 3M Comfort Ultra Fabric Bandages commercial — “…compared to plastic and sheer bandages, it is the preferred #1 bandage in user tests.”

According to the NY Times, 216 people bet actual US currency (on betus.com) that the world would end on 6/6/06. The site, of course, was committed to paying any winners: “Come rain, sleet, snow or apocalypse, our clients will receive their winnings,” a spokesperson said.

The learning here? While many web developers and designers are logical, web users are not.

I recently stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile while attending Creative Good’s LabFest.

Normally, this would not inspire anything remarkable, but the check-in process at this Marriott was truly remarkable. There was nothing new, but the speed and efficiency with which it happened was phenomenal. I walked up to the desk and said “reservation for Madaio”. The clerk asked for my credit card, scanned it, and handed me my keys, all in less than a minute. That was it!

Why are other check-in processes any more complicated than that? The speed in which they did this instantly created a positive experience at this hotel for me. Other than that, it was somewhat pedestrian, but I left with an overall positive feeling towards the place.

On a somewhat related note, Phil Terry also spoke of hotel experiences in his Keynote speech at the conference. The CG folks were staying at The James hotel, a hip, trendy boutique that was by all accounts extremely nice. One thing, however, was missing — in a downtown hotel that caters to business travelers, none of the rooms had desks!

(Oh — in case you are wondering, go here for my other Marriott story.)