Plan for Michael "Evic" Wales
by Michael \"Evic\" Wales · 07/20/2005 (1:16 pm) · 6 comments
First of all, yes GibThis.com is still in the works. I'm getting slightly burned out on it, so I've been looking for something to give me a bit of a break from it. After looking over the Pic of the Day for Torsion, I think I've come up with a pretty neat idea.
First of all, I'd like you to take a look at this screenshot and tell me what you're first impressions of the website are. What do you think this website is about? What do you think it's purpose is?
evic.gibthis.com/betaflow.jpg
Now, the reason I have asked for your impressions prior to telling you what this website's goal is, is because I am not to sure if the front page adequately portrays the goal to a first-time visitor. So, hopefully you will provide me with that information as it will help me out a ton.
So, what is Betaflow? Primarily, it is a directory listing of Beta Tests for all sorts of programs. Visitors will have the ability to suggest a beta test, which the staff will review and if we feel it's appropriate, add it to the site. Visitors will be able to search/browse for beta tests in progress, and quickly visit that beta's website to receive more information. Betaflow will also provide a nice collection of community based features, such as commenting on betas listed in the directory, and the ability to maintain your own Beta Blog for articles on Beta Tests you are participating in and other related topics.
In addition to these features we'll also be offering a variety of products and services to assist companies in the operation of their own beta test. One of the most popular services is sure to be our recruiting service, in which we will provide companies a list of our registered user's that fit within a certain demographic (user's will have the ability to opt out of this demographic survey). Other services/products that will be available at launch (or soon after) are dedicated forums for beta tests operated in collaboration with Betaflow, as well as bug tracking software and bug intermediary services - where the Betaflow will act as the middle-man between your testers and your engineering team, to assist in the filtering of relevant bugs from the petty complaints, flames, suggestions, etc.
All around, I feel it's definitely a platform that can be successful, albeit I don't think it's something that will take off in a grandiose scale. It will still be a fun company to get up and going and competition is rather slim, with only www.betanews.com/ as a legitimate competitor in the consumer market, and very few competitors in the corporate market we're targetting.
So, I have a few suggestions for your comments on this plan:
- First off, did your initial impression of the page adequately reflect the intended purpose?
- Second, what is your overall impression of the design/layout?
- Third, would your company be interested in the services/products offered when it comes time to Beta Test your product?
Finally, phpIndie (I mentioned it months ago in a plan) has been cancelled as I really don't see a market for it with all of the CMS systems out these days. I encourage those of you that were looking forward to phpIndie to check out www.cmsmatrix.org/ for a list of nearly every CMS released and an easy-to-use comparison between them. I personally recommend Typo3 (very powerful, confusing to begin with), Mambo, or Xoops (very, very easy to use).
I am also available for free consultation on your website, whether it be design or content, and contract work in design/maintenance.
First of all, I'd like you to take a look at this screenshot and tell me what you're first impressions of the website are. What do you think this website is about? What do you think it's purpose is?
evic.gibthis.com/betaflow.jpgNow, the reason I have asked for your impressions prior to telling you what this website's goal is, is because I am not to sure if the front page adequately portrays the goal to a first-time visitor. So, hopefully you will provide me with that information as it will help me out a ton.
So, what is Betaflow? Primarily, it is a directory listing of Beta Tests for all sorts of programs. Visitors will have the ability to suggest a beta test, which the staff will review and if we feel it's appropriate, add it to the site. Visitors will be able to search/browse for beta tests in progress, and quickly visit that beta's website to receive more information. Betaflow will also provide a nice collection of community based features, such as commenting on betas listed in the directory, and the ability to maintain your own Beta Blog for articles on Beta Tests you are participating in and other related topics.
In addition to these features we'll also be offering a variety of products and services to assist companies in the operation of their own beta test. One of the most popular services is sure to be our recruiting service, in which we will provide companies a list of our registered user's that fit within a certain demographic (user's will have the ability to opt out of this demographic survey). Other services/products that will be available at launch (or soon after) are dedicated forums for beta tests operated in collaboration with Betaflow, as well as bug tracking software and bug intermediary services - where the Betaflow will act as the middle-man between your testers and your engineering team, to assist in the filtering of relevant bugs from the petty complaints, flames, suggestions, etc.
All around, I feel it's definitely a platform that can be successful, albeit I don't think it's something that will take off in a grandiose scale. It will still be a fun company to get up and going and competition is rather slim, with only www.betanews.com/ as a legitimate competitor in the consumer market, and very few competitors in the corporate market we're targetting.
So, I have a few suggestions for your comments on this plan:
- First off, did your initial impression of the page adequately reflect the intended purpose?
- Second, what is your overall impression of the design/layout?
- Third, would your company be interested in the services/products offered when it comes time to Beta Test your product?
Finally, phpIndie (I mentioned it months ago in a plan) has been cancelled as I really don't see a market for it with all of the CMS systems out these days. I encourage those of you that were looking forward to phpIndie to check out www.cmsmatrix.org/ for a list of nearly every CMS released and an easy-to-use comparison between them. I personally recommend Typo3 (very powerful, confusing to begin with), Mambo, or Xoops (very, very easy to use).
I am also available for free consultation on your website, whether it be design or content, and contract work in design/maintenance.
About the author
#2
As a gamer I'd be interested in signing up for beta tests, and as a developer I'd be intereseted in listing my project when it's ready for beta. But it's all about reach -- how many people could I get to beta through your service versus posting news items on GG and elsewhere? In any case, as a small developer, I would not be willing to pay for the service because I can find enough beta testers for free.
07/20/2005 (2:42 pm)
I like the graphic design and simple layout. Very professional looking. However, I think you should break it more clearly into "for testers" and "for companies" sections. I see this working similar to rentacoder, where it's very clear from the front page if you are intereted in being a buyer or a seller. As a gamer I'd be interested in signing up for beta tests, and as a developer I'd be intereseted in listing my project when it's ready for beta. But it's all about reach -- how many people could I get to beta through your service versus posting news items on GG and elsewhere? In any case, as a small developer, I would not be willing to pay for the service because I can find enough beta testers for free.
#3
Rather than require companies to physically signup to list a beta they intend to run, they can simply suggest it to us as any other visitor can do (although if it's good enough we probably already know about it and have it listed). The only time a copmpany will be required to maintain a form of username/password is when they would like to take advantage of a service/product requiring such (forums for adminstrative purposes, bug tracking, etc). Most of the services (recruiting, intermediary, data analysis, post-surveys, etc.) will be a one-time purchase.
As for the costs, we definitely intend to make sure you get your money's worth when purchasing one of our products, and none of our products will be very expensive. Plus, you get a targetted scope of potential testers, rather than just tossing it out in the wind and picking up whoever opts-in. You say you can get enough beta testers for free, but history has shown developers always underestimate their recruitment process exponentially for various reasons - every little bit helps.
07/20/2005 (3:11 pm)
@Joshua - Thanks for the comments, as I was developing the website I thought a lot about how Rentacoder approaches the two seperate "sectors" if you will. As I thought about how Betaflow will be approaching these two differing sectors I decided a true split-design wasn't necessary, as most of the services/products we offer will have very little, to no, visual effect on the website.Rather than require companies to physically signup to list a beta they intend to run, they can simply suggest it to us as any other visitor can do (although if it's good enough we probably already know about it and have it listed). The only time a copmpany will be required to maintain a form of username/password is when they would like to take advantage of a service/product requiring such (forums for adminstrative purposes, bug tracking, etc). Most of the services (recruiting, intermediary, data analysis, post-surveys, etc.) will be a one-time purchase.
As for the costs, we definitely intend to make sure you get your money's worth when purchasing one of our products, and none of our products will be very expensive. Plus, you get a targetted scope of potential testers, rather than just tossing it out in the wind and picking up whoever opts-in. You say you can get enough beta testers for free, but history has shown developers always underestimate their recruitment process exponentially for various reasons - every little bit helps.
#4
Don't make that your frontpage... It looks like a popup... It's very clean and professional... But your frontpage should tell them what you do... then guide them to a search/Browse page (another Menu Item) The Searchbar at the top is probably what is getting to me...
Do yourself a favour... Go to any big site... and type a character incorrectly... You'll find that people actually register these sites... and they look (Not as clean and professional though) similiar... the whole big search bar... Directory structure...
eg. http://www.mocrosoft.com/
Just my 2 cents... Other than that... It's very clean and neatly done.
Also check http://opensourcecms.com for free websolutions.
07/21/2005 (1:52 am)
FFS... Comment swallowed again...Don't make that your frontpage... It looks like a popup... It's very clean and professional... But your frontpage should tell them what you do... then guide them to a search/Browse page (another Menu Item) The Searchbar at the top is probably what is getting to me...
Do yourself a favour... Go to any big site... and type a character incorrectly... You'll find that people actually register these sites... and they look (Not as clean and professional though) similiar... the whole big search bar... Directory structure...
eg. http://www.mocrosoft.com/
Just my 2 cents... Other than that... It's very clean and neatly done.
Also check http://opensourcecms.com for free websolutions.
#5
Looks extremely professional! Fantastic work methinks.
07/21/2005 (5:04 am)
I like it as the first page. It gets right to the meat of the site.Looks extremely professional! Fantastic work methinks.
#6
Look at Google, Yahoo, MSN, Excite, Ask Jeeves, any portal site in existence. I have yet to see one that tells you what to do and makes you click another link to go Search. More clicks = bad.
Ultimately, Betaflow is nothing more than a portal for Beta Tests; we offer a few services and products (much like Google offers a few services and products), but ultimately it's a portal.
07/21/2005 (4:21 pm)
@BurningLook at Google, Yahoo, MSN, Excite, Ask Jeeves, any portal site in existence. I have yet to see one that tells you what to do and makes you click another link to go Search. More clicks = bad.
Ultimately, Betaflow is nothing more than a portal for Beta Tests; we offer a few services and products (much like Google offers a few services and products), but ultimately it's a portal.
Torque Owner Kirby Webber
Yes actually.
My immediate impression of the site (prior to actually reading anything) was "oh cool - a testing company."
The layout appears clean and professional while still having a friendly and inviting feel to it.
Potentially - I'd definitely be interested enough to investigate the services provided. Cost would be the determining factor however.
Interesting stuff - keep us posted. (C: