ZAT – notes on Z to A Travel

ZAT is a name I came up with for a company I started in the mid-90s. That company made Java-based authoring tools for building Web applications, so it was only natural that we used a Javanese/Malaysian word for the name of the company. The word “zat” means “that in which a thing’s special potency lies”. Interestingly, zat also has meanings in several other languages, including Punjabi, Slovak, and (a rather funny meaning in) Dutch.

We had a lot of fun with the name zat, coming up with a number of regretably bad puns.

We eventually sold the company, but I managed to hang onto the name and domain for zat. Only years later, when I decided to build a travel-related site, did I realize that (all along) ZAT was actually an acronym that stood for “Z to A Travel”.

–wm

ZAT is:

• a mashup of social bookmarking and AJAX-based mapping for travel information
• a spatial search engine for travelers
• a site for finding and sharing travel information.

There is much travel-related information on the web, and most travelers use the web extensively. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find information that is relevant to travel. For example, if you want to find a Hilton Hotel in France, you might try to use a normal search engine to search for “Paris Hilton”. Even simple questions like “what are the most interesting sights in Oregon” or “where is a good place to eat between New York and Boston” are difficult to answer.

I’m building ZAT because I would like a site that helps travelers find good travel information. Unlike most travel sites, ZAT itself does not try to contain content, but instead is used to organize existing travel content on the web. ZAT is like a search engine, except ZAT is visual, using maps and spatial relationships to find information. This information can include traditional travel sites, blogs, photos, or anything anyone wants to submit to ZAT.

ZAT lets users rate places, so you can ask questions like “the most popular inexpensive hotels in San Francisco”. Users can also leave comments about places.

ZAT is about sharing information. You can create a list of your favorite places. Or you can use ZAT to share a trip with your friends and family. ZAT is especially designed to encourage sharing of specialized travel information. For example, a group of people can share information about scuba diving. Another group can share information on the best places to take toddlers. ZAT can be tailored to each traveler’s needs and wants.

–wm

Home page: http://leler.com
About me: http://leler.com/wm
Resume: http://leler.com/wm/resume.html

This week I attended the Webvisions conference. The first session I attended reminded me that I really need to keep a blog on the construction of ZAT, so here it is. I had an earlier blog on the design of ZAT, but kinda forgot about it. Let’s see if I can do better this time.

–wm

p.s. I moved the posts from the old blog into this blog (they are all in the month of May).