A counterrevolution in cyberspace

From the looks of it, 360Alaska is nothing more than an award-winning travel Web site, one of many that combine strong scripting and stunning visuals. Ditto for Perceptual Robotics’ Internet presence.

But browse through both and talk with their principals, and you get a different impression. A notion that these sites aren’t like the others.

The 49th state’s online showcase does more than offer viewers a sensory preview of the Columbia Glacier and Prince William Sound. And the Perceptual Robotics page doesn’t just give users control of a remote camera to snoop around exotic places like Palm Beach, FL, and Chicago’s famous Palmer House Hotel.

In fact, these projects represent something of a counterrevolution in cyberspace.

“It’s a backlash against the hypercommercialization of the Web,” says Lisa Wehr, president of Alaska Web Art, the Wasilla, AL, company that publishes 360Alaska. “Users want an alternative. They’re looking for content, not commercials.”

360Alaska delivers just that. It exploits the Last Frontier’s most spectacular natural resources — its mountainous vistas, towering glaciers, and endless forests — by capturing them on slideshows or panoramic QuickTime routines.

The site also offers sounds and statistics relevant to the destinations. Wehr links her site to tour operators who pay for the privilege of being there — but it’s a soft sell at best. The visuals are clearly the site’s focal point.

Wehr believes her project is meeting a pent-up demand for useful and engaging information online, pointing to the half-million visitors a month she gets at 360Alaska as proof.

“This is an alternative to promoting your product through banner ads. I mean, look at the clickthrough ratio on banner ads,” she says. “They’re a waste. They’re 1 percent on some of the search engines. I think there are ways to give people what they want without these ads. All it takes is creative thinking.”

When Perceptual Robotics designed its Internet cameras, it was thinking creatively, too. There’s no other way to describe the Evanston, IL, company’s hardware-software product, a remote-controlled camera installed at a destination and controlled by Internet users.

At the Palmer House, for example, I captured a picture of the hotel lobby and then zoomed in on a couple finishing dessert.

“How close can I get to my subject?” I asked developer Paul Cooper.

“Very close,” he answered.

I directed the camera to focus on the restaurant tabletop. Within a few seconds, I could see what kind of cake one of the guests was eating.

“Isn’t this kind of voyeuristic?” I remarked.

Well, maybe.

“We’re creating an experience that’s like being there,” says Cooper. “We call it telepresence. The whole point is to give users the ability to look around for themselves. That’s the most effective thing that a destination can do to promote itself.”

Check out the Perceptual Robotics site, and you’ll notice that it, too, is practicing the soft sell. With good reason. Cooper is peddling cameras that cost between $15,000 and $30,000 to install. He thinks prospective visitors will benefit from the technology, and, perhaps, a laid-back sales philosophy.

“When the camera is deployed, it becomes the most popular part of the Web site,” he says. “Users pass the banner ads and go straight to the camera. The technology is engaging because it gives them the power to look at what they want.”

To be sure, Alaska Web Art and Perceptual Robotics are different organizations. But they’re reading from the same script, one that puts a customer’s need for data ahead of a company’s desire to sell a product.

This may or may not be the winning philosophy for other interactive travel sites, but it’s one that seems to be working for them.

Ironically, the script isn’t new. It’s the same playbook that ruled the Internet before commercialization, but one we’ve nearly forgotten in this age of cross-promotional deals and co-branding arrangements.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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