Re: AIA ONLINE: Any Thoughts? [Long]

  - - The original note follows - -

From: pdd1@xxxxxxx (PDD1)
Subject: Re: AIA ONLINE: Any Thoughts?
Date: 26 Mar 1995 19:20:42 -0500
Sender: root@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This is a copy of some thoughts to AIA Online's Administrator, Mr. Ben
Silverstein that can be found in PLACES on AOL and within AIA Online....I
hope your friend takes a shot at AIA Online....it still needs a lot of
work....but they are improving everyday.
______________________________________________________________
Found some time to write you concerning AIA Online and a partial wish
list.

To make some points and suggestions for a better Online service:
The product information I would use in my practice would have to have up
to the minute, accurate information from the manufacturer s.  The
Manufacturer s for too long have been giving architects what they think we
need in the form of diskettes to load onto our hard drives.  By having
Product Information Online, it affords architects the luxury of not
clogging up our hard drives with info that we only occasionally use (This
upcoming issue of Architecture Magazine, April 1995, has a letter that I
wrote about this subject). By being Online, the manufacturer has two
choices.  They can either supply up to the minute product info to the
service provider to post into the Online system, or they could have the
Online service tapped into their computer in their offices, that would
store the information.  Either way, it should be transparent to the end
user.  As an architect, if I point and click to get info, I don t want to
know how it got to my screen.  I want to capture and paste the info into
my documents with the security that the info is accurate.  The concept of
linking AIA Online s product information database to multiple remote
information sources is not as complex undertaking as it would initially
seem.  Each information provider (Product manufacturer) supplies access to
their system and they administer the content. The World Wide Web is based
on this system of Hyper Linking.  Less work for AIA Online to administer,
yet you are supplying valuable content to the end user, the AIA member
architect. Your product information area now is woefully inadequate.
There is nothing there of substance that I can use to further my practice
or to justify the cost of accessing that info through AIA Online. As for
the info content of what is useful:
CAD details ready for copy and paste in any format (Mac, Windows, .dwg,
.dxf, .gif, etc.);
Specifications in CSI Format for the specific product we have chosen
(Marvin Design System, by Marvin Windows is the best manufacturer software
product for architects on the market today....they include this Spec
feature and I find it indispensable);
To find a product? A keyword search interface that is user friendly (Your
existing search interface is poor at best...too technical for the average
user....we are architect s that know computers, not computer people that
know architecture....if you have the chance, see America Online s keyword
search window...easy, nice, powerful and user friendly....you can type in
full sentences if unsure of what you are searching for);
Photo s to either download or copy/paste for client presentations;
In addition to the written specs, Spec data sheets for code compliance;
800 phone numbers/addresses/etc;
How & where to contact Area rep s;

AIA Online s area for Costing Info and Codes is also not worth the Online
charge.   What content within these areas could I possibly use in these
areas to further my practice?
Costing: Downloadable estimating content that is timely (Costs of concrete
per cubic yard in different geographic locations per week, etc., all in
CSI format) would help architects deliver better estimates to their
clients;
Don t continue to have these areas as electronic billboards for services
that I need to call on AT&T to access the company to access the software
to access the information that should be Online to begin with. It makes
AIA Online look cheap and that you just were ripped off because you spent
valuable Online time searching these areas only to find out it is a poor
man s version of an Infomercial.  If you are going to offer Costing
info....provide the content....if you are going to offer the category of
Codes....provide content.
Codes: The same keyword search should be provided in this area as in the
Product Info described above;
Every state building code, energy code, BOCA code, etc. should be Online
for us to access.  The majority of the codes are public domain....you only
need to electronically publish it.  We need this information, this would
be a cost justification of accessing info Online.

Your grassroots angle of having architects participate more Online, either
in the forums or otherwise, is a good angle......the problem here is, at
the grassroots level, leadership breadth is small.  If every architect in
my Chapter were educated by myself as to the proper Online etiquette,
etc.....how will that help the rest of the system?  If we here in NY are
going crazy with an Online discussion in a forum, how will the architect
from another part of the country, who has not been educated or exposed to
the  rules and regulations  of what an Online service is, how will they
react?  General instructions, rules, regulations, policies and education
should be handled by a higher authority than the grassroots efforts of the
few.  Hype creates interest which creates critical mass...

Another area that AIA Online could help the membership is having AIA forms
and documents Online for Copy/Paste or download.
CES/CEU credit forms should be Online for us to send through AIA Online to
Washington. The system and the technology are there, why not implement it?
Saves time, money and energy while making the system useful for the
practitioners that may not use it at all;
The ability to access AIA Documents Online by a Pay-Per-File system would
be great. If a member wants a B141 document, they put in their credit card
number, expiration date, and member number, and that allows the system to
release the document for download onto the members hard drive.  A good
revenue generator for the Institute and a good service for the member.

Templates for Chapters to use to post Chapter events, newsletters, meeting
minutes,etc would be extremely helpful to get Chapter business involved.
I know there are icon buttons saying these things (Newsletters, etc) but
every time I ve clicked on them....nothing there....anywhere.....  The AIA
California Council has begun putting their newsletter Online....good
idea....it would be better if there were a standard template that would
show the info if you were in CA, TX anywhere....so if I wanted to research
info, I could look in a familiar place and find the info.

The policy of having no access to AIA Online by outsiders is a failure of
the system.  Not that non-member architects should be able to access the
same info as a dues paying member, but you could allow that non-member to
access a Public Area or level to find info about the AIA, allow purchase
of Pay-Per-File documents, have a membership application Online ready to
go to Washington at a click of a mouse button.   By restricting the access
to AIA Online, the limitations are enormous.  It is a communications
tool.....Linking to the Internet allows architects to be exposed in the
most public of forums....yet without a public area....who knows we exist?
 If potential clients are informed about AIA Online and you give them
access to inquire about architecture and architects, you are providing
members a good service.  I would appreciate if being an AIA Member, if
there were an inquiry by a potential client through accessing a public
area of AIA Online, that client could type in a geographic area, and 5 or
so names of AIA architects in that area could pop up on his screen with
email addresses/phone numbers/pictures/project bios/etc......Those 5 or so
architects would go to the bottom of the list until the list brought them
back to the top again.  This rotating database is an idea I have thrown
around at the AIA Long Island Chapter Board of Directors meetings....there
is a definite interest about this concept.  AIA membership helping clients
find architects.

The Internet access is eagerly anticipated.  Although only email service
initially, you mentioned that AIA Online users will be able to  surf the
Net  in the future.  Does that mean a Web Browser? FTP? Gopher searches?
Usenet groups? Mailbase groups? Surfing the Net may work on Madison
Avenue, Surfing the Net doesn t work in a business.  If AIA Online is
going to release a full blown Internet access interface, is that an
additional charge? Is your service provider able to handle this or will
they have to use an Internet provider? Can costs be saved by finding a
Online service that will provide both an architectural online service and
Internet access? Can AIA Online take the model it has now and bring it to
a cheaper alternative? I applaud the effort in bringing the service out of
the closed end area of Online communications.  AIA Online s worth will
increase with Internet access.

I am the developer of The Construction Specifications Institute s Online
service for the Northeast, West and Southeast regions. We are hoping that
the Pilot projects started in these regions as a grassroots effort by me
will work successfully to be implemented Institute-wide.  I have heavily
researched the Internet and service providers for my model of what
Specifiers needs and wants are.  I found a national provider of this
information and Online provider service called AECNET.  They are providing
CSI Members a full blown Online service with full Internet access
(including the valuable Web Browser) for $10/month per firm.  AIA Online
is $9/hour.  The service providers are out there.  I don t know what
agreements or arrangements you have, but 15 cents a minute is
high.....line charges are 8 cents a minute....even on a Fiber Optic
system.  I can get you this info if you want it.

The proverbial Genie is out of the lamp....Online services are only going
to get better.  The commercial service, mass market giants like AOL,
Prodigy and CompuServe are not going to cater to the needs of 55,000 AIA
members when they have a 2-3 million subscriber base each to begin with.
AIA Online is potentially a valuable tool that I would love to see better
received by the membership as a whole.  If the AIA doesn t provide info
like I ve described here, and soon, there maybe a service that does....and
that would be a shame.  The platform is here and the need is beginning to
swell with practitioners like myself for an information based Online
service that will enhance my membership in the AIA.



Paul Doherty, Architect
American Institute of Architects
Garden City, Long Island, New York