The age of hybridization does not seem to be confined to airlines. We now have a new form emerging - hybrid intermediaries.

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In IT circles there is much talk of the so-called fourth wave or Smart Computing.

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Two recent studies point to the emergence of the newly chastened traveler. So what are we - victims or champions?

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Social Media has only one constant – and that is change. So how on earth do you keep up?

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Way back when – the Internet was new and DOS titles were giving way to CD-ROMs and Windows 95 based software (not apps as we now call most of them) – there were a number of staple products.

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This week will probably see the launch of Apple’s Tablet – the iSlate (I had backed iTablet as the name but apparently there were copyright issues). So iSlate it is.

The unveiling of the product will give a big boost to the eReader category and resulting adoption.

Lazard Freres analyst Colin Sebastian has done an excellent research piece on the Tablet/Slate/eReader Market in his regular subscriber bulletin.

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The airlines of late have toughened up their ticketing policies in a number of areas.

These policies are designed frequently to make sure that revenue collected stays that way. With yield management more of a dark science, revenue management can be just as important.

But now it is time to talk about ADM – airline-issued Agent Debit Memos.

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I am now a convert to the concept of Ancillary Revenue and it’s a bit like giving into my secret most desires.

I want to say NO! but the economic case is compelling.

So I have surrendered to the inevitable and accept the concept both as a user and as a commentator.

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Recently I have been looking at the user experience with a lot of online travel booking engines and other search tools.

Frankly they mostly suck. This is in the main because this is not simple or easy.

There are too many dimensions to the process. But that doesn’t mean that we have to put up with poor user experience in the main today.

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To many people this could be the next best thing. In truth Augmented Reality has been around for some time.

Originally deployed in a commercial environment by Sky Sports we have been exposed to it probably without know it.

The use of displays on playing fields via TV (for example showing the play in American Football) is a common indication.

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OK, so I am really comfortable with email. I have been an Outlook user since I beta’d the first office suites when I was at Microsoft with the Office 1997 version.

So here we are more than ten years later and I still prefer it over all the other tools I have tried and abandoned.

Now its Office 2010 beta. It’s pretty useful and has some nice new features.

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Let’s face it – a seat is a seat is a seat. Or is it?

When you think about the motivation you have to choose one airline over another – in the past it was accepted that you would purchase a bundled product.

Thus the sale of the final item required an assessment of a basket of features that came bundled with the ticket.

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My Tnooz colleague Tim Hughes is a fan of the concept of Augmented Reality.

And being a bit of a geek myself I rather like the idea. But is this an end or a step on the way and if so to where or what?

Professor Chris – also from Down Under (where they clearly have too much time on their hands) – recently forwarded to me a very interesting piece from TED on sixth sense technology – wearable technology that interacts with data.

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Here is some advice for the customer service challenged.

Travel and self service should be made for each other.

In most cases they are. However there is a significant disconnect of what to do when a user reaches a problem/issue that he cannot resolve himself.

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The recent PhoCusWright study on online travel agencies in the US market revealed some interesting tidbits of information.

However in context with some other sources and developments, we are beginning to see a picture emerge that should have cause for some concern on the part of investors in OTAs.

So let’s start with the PhoCusWright study.

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