New Consumer Help Web Site Launched

A new Web site, sure to be a boon to confused consumers, has just been launched. The site, www.consumertechtips.com, takes the complexity out of shopping for technical products. The products covered range from digital cameras and computers to home theater systems.

The site’s creator, Reid Neubert, says "Everything has gotten so complicated these days, it's hard for people to keep up with everything." Being the answer man for friends and family members puzzled by all the technical jargon and complex product specifications, he decided to provide the information online so it would help more people.

For each product on the site, there is an "In Brief" section that provides a quick overview with all the information many people will need. For those who want more, further detail is also provided. Each product page has a short list of important "Things to Consider" for that type of product. Direct links to online retailers who sell the product discussed on the page are also provided for the shoppers' convenience.

Mr. Neubert is no stranger to demystifying technical jargon. From 1994 through 1997 he wrote the technology column for a local newsweekly. In the column he wrote about the computer industry in a way non-technical readers could understand. "People regularly thanked me for explaining things that everyone assumed they understood," Neubert says. "It was extremely gratifying."

Neubert is an alum of several San Francisco Bay Area software companies, including Autodesk, where he was the company's first product marketing manager. Stints at IMSI and ASG, where he was Marketing Director, followed. "Working in marketing in the software industry is where I learned to take what the engineers say and translate it into plain English so that normal people can understand it," Neubert says.

The new Web site does just that. For example, with new computers costing from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars today, it's hard to know what one needs. Consumertechtips.com helps people resolve just that kind of quandary.

The site doesn't push people toward higher priced products with all the latest bells and whistles. In fact, it is likely that some product manufacturers will not like the down-to-basics type of information the site provides. Tips like "Feature Overload," included on the site, caution that just because a product is loaded with features does not make it the best choice. In fact, that often just makes it more complicated to use.

"In the early days of desktop computing, we used to tell clients that someday computers would be as easy to use as a telephone," Neubert recalls. "Unfortunately, it has gone the other way, and we need operating instructions to use a telephone today." That is why there is such a need for a site like this one that actually simplifies things for the non-technical consumer.

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