You’ve probably seen advertisements at this point for Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX with that interesting new Mayday button. Like me, your first reaction probably was, “Wow!” or some variant of that response.
That’s because the technology is indeed pretty cool. When a Kindle user has trouble figuring out Amazon’s fancy new tablet, all they have to do is press a button on the screen and a person will pop up to help them.
The experience includes the agent being able to remotely control the Kindle to show the user how to use a particular feature. Of course, it can also just be used for basic questions.
In this time of increasingly complex digital user interfaces, we need a little help from time to time. I even cursed Apple’s (News - Alert) user interface last week, which for me is a sign of the times and a testament to what Apple’s late CEO, Steve Jobs, did to protect us from bad design until recently.
The Mayday button is pretty cool because it cuts through all the complexity instantly. We always have the sales representative from Amazon there to show us how it is done. We always have the Amazon equivalent of Apple’s Genius (News - Alert) Bar there with us when we need it, no appointment necessary, even when we’re lounging around in our pajamas (thankfully, the Kindle doesn’t show the rep what we look like, so we can ask for help even when we’re not presentable).
What’s even cooler about Amazon’s Mayday button is that it is drumming up a lot of interest despite the fact that it isn’t even really a new technology. Just like Apple popularized smartphones when they already existed, so too has Amazon cast a spotlight on a technology that businesses have already been able to use.
Mayday is basically co-browsing technology.
Businesses don’t need to wait for the future to bring the benefits of a Mayday-like experience to their website, app or digital platform. Co-browsing technology enables that same experience today, on any site, without the need for software installation that was the case with older screen-share technology.
A company can offer a similar Mayday option for their customers before the end of the workday.
Companies such as LiveLOOK deliver a seamless, powerful co-browsing technology that can be added almost instantly to deliver help with filling out forms or explaining features. It is instant, universal, and can bypass firewalls that used to cause trouble for earlier screen-sharing solutions.
So, Amazon’s Mayday is cool. The best part is that businesses of all types can leverage such functionality, too. We don’t need to frustrate our customers. We now can give them the help they need—when they want it, without hassle.
Edited by Blaise McNamee