Ideas

From time-to-time I'll post ideas. I may decide to pursue them, or perhaps not... I think it's always better to throw an idea around regardless, since success is often found in the execution (not the idea).

Idea 1: Social product review

This would be a service based around social product reviews. Essentially, users would register for the service and create reviews for products. Other users would be able to discuss the product, write their own review, or rate it's popularity. The user who posts the first review will receive a share of revenue generate from their review page. Other non-registered users would be able to browse what products are popular, what products are recommended, and what the overall rating of a product is.

Sociality begins when users connect with other's based on various interests. These socially connected users would be able to see their friends reviews, product recommendations, and perhaps items for sale.

Revenue would be generated by highly targeted ads linking to Amazon and eBay listings, perhaps eventually allowing users to upload their own listings.

Idea 2: Personal inventory

This would allow users to quickly create a personal inventory of items they have (perhaps items they don't want). Optionally, users would be able to tag and rate the items (or even review them); all of this information would go into a database indefinitely. Users could then connect with other users who have items in common to see what they might be interested in (as a sort of recommendation engine). These users could connect and discuss their interests and build a primitive network, perhaps buying, selling, or trading their items.

Other users could search through the database to find users with a specific item. They could then connect with the user and see if that user is interested in selling or trading the item.

Idea 3: E-mail based social network (objective unknown)

E-mail is the most primitive form of social networking. Many people have built at least a basic list of connections in their address book -- if they haven't, they generally know (or can find) the e-mail address of friends.

This service would allow people to upload their address book. As other users upload their address book, connections would be made. If user A has user B in their address book, and user B has user A in their address book, then a connection is made. If the A<-->B connection doesn't exist, it's left "open"; user B is made aware that user A is connected with them, allowing them to decide whether or not they want to "add" this person.

This would build a real-life social network with the people you know. The objective could be wide-ranging, from commerce to life tracking. Users could extend out by several degrees when looking for an item for sale or requesting some sort of information.

The virility of such a service could be pretty high, as users want to see who is or isn't connected with them.

Incubators - are they worth it?

I’m a man of statistics. How many huge companies have come from incubators? Not many (or any that I can think of). Given that the statistics are zero, why would someone want to join an incubator (provided they were accepted)?

Perhaps it’s because the concept is so new that there aren’t really any statistics for it. The concept is quite awesome – you have access to top-level executives and VC’s and you’re given a small amount of funding, all for a 5% stake! I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.

With that said, I’ve filled out an application… I found most of the questions easy – you just have to be honest. If a question is hard, then it could be your business, NOT the question! My only problem was answering questions related to myself. I’m more of a business geek than a programmer; is that acceptable? My education is only high-school; I haven't had the opportunity to go to college (although, I look forward to it!).

Even if we get accepted, I’m not sure that we’ll be able to attend. Again, I’m not sure if not going will hurt our statistical chances of success, but it might. I think as long as you build a good service, make others aware, and build traction that we’ll be able to secure funding – it (almost) always works that way.

So, are incubators worth it? Definitely… but not being a part of one won’t hurt you.

Understanding the Demographic

I'm having a hard time understanding the demographics that Wantsy will be catering to. There is an obviously visible market, but I just don't understand it. Several million listings per year -- it's a modest number, but still enough for a niche market.

BUT - what compels people to post a wanted ad rather than dig through the For Sale listings to find what they want? I see wanted ads for things like "GameCube" or "New notebook" or "Red Corvette". Why a wanted ad? Is it easier to simply post what you want, and then let the sellers come to you with their offering?

I think by applying more advanced (but not necessarily more complex) features, we might be able to increase the potential market size. I'm really interested in the tagging and RSS aspect of Wantsy. I'd like to think that this might be the first marketplace that really relies on RSS and notification; I'd like to get to the point where a user can simply select tags describing what they want, instantly notifying sellers.

Logo, again

So I screwed around with the logo, again... I just pushed the words together for a "friendlier" feel, and I unbalanced the "sy". I also thickened up the trails behind the ball.

I decided to make the changes when I made the master file 2048 x 1000 resolution (give or take some). I just want a fun feel to the logo...

Logo

I was messing around in GIMP and tried my hand at making a logo... I think this one works out pretty well.

It emphasizes the "want" with a different shade, and carries over the "sy" with a nice bouncing "ball" (I suppose that's what it is). While I may be biased, I personally like it... I just can't justify the cost to have someone come in and develop something else.

I made sure the logo was pretty simple, so that it could be carried over to other objects. I also wanted to make sure the brand name was a significant part of the logo - it's easier for people to remember if your name is your logo :)

Overall, I like the color scheme and think it would work with the Wantsy site. Shades of blue are always easy on the eyes.

Better UI Layouts

I'm working on some better UI layouts. My previous layouts were hand-drawn; the new ones are made using a combination of GIMP and MS Paint. They aren't what I would call "professional", and the color schemes don't portray the actual colors scheme that will be used, but I think they will make development a lot easier.

I've made sure to include just about every aspect of the service, mapping out various features and buttons. I've also made sure not to neglect potential future features, making it easier to implement them if needed. In an attempt to show the functions of various buttons, I'm going to create an animation for those features.

As I said, I think the better UI layouts will help in terms of designing the system and setting up the database by knowing how the user interacts with specific fields or queries.

Registration Optional?

While I haven't heard from Steven (co-founder and chief developer) in a while, I'm pretty sure we're going to go with the "registration optional" route. Our goal is speed, and registration diminishes speed. While I'm not sure if registration is a huge barrier, it could reduce our userbase more so than other services given our content.