No Orbitz, You Didn't Need To Develop That Facebook Application

August 5, 2009 at 9:04 AM | by Omri | Comments (2)

Memo to booking and airline companies: despite how it sometimes might appear, we're on your side. Really we are. We want you to only do smart things. When you do not smart things you incur costs without producing revenue, creating shortfalls that you pass on to us. That means we travel less, which causes us to get just a wee bit claustrophobic, and without getting into too many details - everybody loses.

Shifting gears, the last few years have seen something of a trend among the 30 year old former frat boys who inhabit the classrooms of our nation's fine MBA programs. Specifically, if a project has a Facebook application or somehow involves Twitter, it's gold. Conversely, projects without Web 2.0 tie-ins are preemptively deemed failures. Proposals don't have to make sense. They just has to have lots of phrases like "viral advertising" and "user generated content."

Fast forward a few years and these supple minds are now consultants, randomly going from business to business telling middle managers to invest in Facebook apps. To which we can only respond the same way fashion blogs react when starlets show up to awards shows wearing formal shorts. Oh honey, no:

Orbitz Worldwide, has launched a new Facebook application, making it easier than ever for consumers to share their travel plans and express their passion for travel through Facebook. Orbitz�s Facebook Connect integration offers a trip-sharing capability that allows consumers who book a flight, hotel or package on Orbitz.com or CheapTickets.com the ability to post their travel plans directly to their Facebook profiles.
The Orbitz application is one of only a handful of Facebook functionalities that allow users to make and share travel plans before-hand, making it easier for groups to make plans together. Facebook friends are able to see one another�s travel itineraries in their News Feeds, and by clicking on the feed story, they�ll be taken to Orbitz.com where they can book a similar trip.

You can see how this pitch went down, right? "If we have a 'Facebook presence' then a coeds will 'share' their Spring Break plans on their 'feeds,' driving more traffic to Orbitz." Air quotes were most definitely used.

Except that doesn't reflect the process by which travelers collaborate on itineraries. If it did reflect that process, people still wouldn't do it in full view of hundreds of friends, frienemies, and ex's. The only thing worse than this application failing is if it worked. Can you imagine some creepster or stalker you've been dodging for months commenting under your status that they're coincidentally on your flight to Cabo?

Yet somehow the development costs of this epic fail are still going to get passed on to us. And that makes us grumpy.

Related Stories:
· Facebook Coverage [Jaunted]
· Orbitz Coverage [Jaunted]

Comments (2)

Return to » No Orbitz, You Didn't Need To Develop That Facebook Application

You are so correct. Superb insight into the post-fraternity MBA consultants mind. Beautiful.

Facebook has become the new MySpace. Ironic, since a few years ago, MySpace was touted as becoming the new Facebook. More people are joining the social networking site, and it's also a great place to advertise for a business - it's free advertising space, and social networks have become a marketing hotbed over the last few years. There are precious few opportunities for a business to have access to so many potential customers, which can be a great way to build customer rapport, as long as you aren't spamming anyone - customers hate that. And since the website is free to sign up for, a business can start advertising on Facebook without needing payday loans to start an ad campaign.

Jaunted

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