Another attempt to ease the onerous Web site registration process: A San Francisco startup called PrefPass is looking to do for this annoying everyday task what Amazon has done for online shopping: One click and you’ve got what you want.
And by “you” they mean both the site visitor and operator.
Making its public debut this morning at DEMOfall 2006 in San Diego, PrefPass depends on the participation of both parties involved in the registration process — the site publisher and visitor — so if it’s to catch on there will be a significant adoption curve. However, the PrefPass process appears to be incredibly easy for the end users and may offer significant advantages for Web sites by reducing the number of visitors who flee rather than cough up a form’s worth of registration info — yet again.
The sites that might be interested are those that require registration information solely to provide personalization and customization, as opposed to an Amazon or bank, which by nature of their businesses need more info.
A Web-based service, the PrefPass registration itself requires only two pieces of information from a user: an e-mail address and the URL of a first Web site or feed in which the user is interested. Users then add URLs to their “pref lists” over time, which PrefPass uses to provide its site operator participants with what they need to customize and personalize the user’s experience. When a PrefPass user encounters a participating site, all they need do is click on a button to register. In exchange, users agree to let PrefPass sites access their pref lists, thus allowing them to customize the experience, as well target advertising to the user.
“The site has no idea who I am, I’m completely anonymous, it just knows what I’m interested in,” says Adam Marsh, PrefPass CEO and founder.
From the company’s Web site: “In the past, people tried heavy duty ‘digital ID’ types of systems like Passport. These systems are doing the wrong thing: They’re trying to help you prove that you really are some specific person out there in the real world. … For the kinds of sites we’re talking about, there’s no reason you can’t stay completely anonymous. In fact, most sites really only need to know two things about you: That you’re the same person you were the last time you showed up at that site, and hat you have certain preferences, like your interests, the feeds you read, the area of the world you live in, etc.”
PrefPass has a tough marketing challenge ahead, but if it becomes a hit the pressure may shift to those sites that continue to require full-scale registration.
