CSAA Wiki:About
From The California State Automobile Association Unofficial Wiki
planning a car trip with the help of, oh, 3+ million friends...
When we take a look at the California State Automobile Association web site ( http://www.csaa.com/home/ )-- we see a place that gives its members an immense amount of useful information. But the information flow is one way: from the Auto Club to its members. We can make an easy argument that what's missing is a way to more fully engage the membership by different _kinds_ of offerings.
The argument could be: CSAA may have a loyal readership, what it doesn't have is a committed community.
Two sites, WikiTravel (http://wikitravel.org) and WikiHow (http://wiki.ehow.com) offer ideas that the California State Auto Club might learn from.
- Think about all reasons AAA members travel and about how members enjoy experiences in their travels that go beyond the hotel guides and the concierge's suggestions.
- Then think about how many of us take great pride in little 'gems' that have come from our wanderings - be they delightful finds or hard-won lessons: cozy little restaurants in Brooklyn Heights to watch the sun set over Manhattan, an easy hike through the East Bay Hills where you get to see both San Francisco Bay and Mount Diablo, the best time to see the lions being fed at the Chicago Zoo, places with horrendous traffic flow in West Fort Meyers...
- And finally, "think about a way the CSAA could help these travelers share their discoveries in exchange for similar 'insider tips' from other travelers."
If done right - a CSAA memberWiki would be a broad-based venue for the exchange of ideas. As a community of over 3 million individuals, a CSAA 'forum' could be a place where practical expertise, in every informational category on the current CSAA online site, could be offered.
