Hyperdistractability

We’re big believers in keeping things simple. Since the outset Graeme and I have continually revisited what we’re attempting, and pealing back layers to make sure we’re keeping things simple.

So when we embarked on creating the user interface for Scouta, we both made sure that our aim was to enable anyone to use it. Granted, that’s a very difficult task, and there are no promises that we’ve come close, but we’ll continue to improve it.

What has amazed me over the last couple of weeks while testing the UI with close friends and family, is just how short the average person’s attention span is with online content. Of all people, I should know this, I often make reference to the fact that I am hyperdistractable. However, when people use Scouta they miss things on-screen. Their eyeballs literally only have to move millimeters, if that, and there is that little snippet of information they were after. Now I’m not blaming anyone for that, because I’m one of the worst offenders, I guess I’ve never scrutinized it like I am now.

Humans are definitely complex.

Building Buzz Without Hype

With the rapid approach of a private Scouta beta, I’ve been thinking a lot about building a small amount of buzz to get the right amount of people signed up over on the Scouta web page. However, what I don’t want to do is over-hype the app, before anyone has any idea what it really is, and hence damage the actual launch next year.

Over the years there have been many stories of vaporware–a term coined to explain software that doesn’t yet exist, and in some instances never sees the light of day–and they are usually caused by too much hype too early. Wires News runs a Vaporware Award each year, the nominations for this year opening last month.

So, my aim is to spread the word about Scouta in small doses, building up to the right amount of people needed for the beta. Does anyone have any good ideas on ways we can do this that I can add to my collection?

McAffee Turns Scouta Green

I mentioned the other day that McAffee SiteAdvisor had flagged the scouta domain as yellow, and alert that essentially suggests web surfers should be wary of the site. I also said that scouta’s good friend Rooster was the person who let us know.

Well, Rooster has been busy recently being proactive. Just the other week he posted a cheque for $1 to Apple asking for a license to use the term podcast. There had been some concern that they aimed to limit the use of the term, given the recent activity around the use of “pod.” He receive a reply from Apple saying, “Apple does not object to third-party usage of the generic use of the term podcast.”

We’ll Rooster doesn’t just sit back anymore. He emailed SiteAdvisor expressing his concern over their inaccurate assessment of scouta. Within hours they’d replied, and by the time we logged on the net the next morning the site advisory had been changed to green.

So, we’re very thankful to Rooster, and have a good amount of respect to McAfee’s responsiveness. In today’s virtual world, response times can be days, if ever. So a positive response in hours is mighty impressive.

SiteAdvisor Giving Wrong Advice

A couple of days ago Scouta’s good friend The Rooster pointed out that Scouta’s domain was flagged yellow by McAfee SiteAdvisor. It claims it has a misleading site name, “Our analysis indicates that this site’s primary purpose is to capture traffic meant for scout.com, a more popular site with a similar name.”

Of course this is completely wrong, and we’re also pretty confident that the domain has no previous owners (though that’s hard to guarantee), that might have used the site for that purpose.

So I registered for a SiteAdvisor account, and have made a Web Site Owner Comment, and await McAfee to reassess the website.

Anyone have any ideas how I can speed the process up of correcting this error?

Marketing a Web App

One company we here at Scouta constantly watch is Carson Systems and all their affiliated work. They have some great examples of clever web apps, and their Workshops bring together some of the best minds in the space.

Today Ryan posted a great blog entry that we consider key to growing a good web app: Do you need to spend money on advertising your web app?

There seems to be a big misconception amongst many Internet start-ups that you don’t need to spend money on marketing your application to be successful. As an example, check out step 8 in this list. So Ryan’s point is that you need to budget for marketing in the mix.

Now I have a confession to make, I have a marketing degree. I’ve also used the Internet for over 10 years. So I know that marketing works, but it can be a little different online. I also know that being successful doesn’t come overnight, and takes some marketing muscle. That’s not to say that we’ll have plenty of cash to spend on it, but we’ll be focusing on as many clever ways as we can to help grow the business.

Using

I sat down with my wife last night. I wanted to see how she handled the Scouta “alpha.”

We think that usability is one of the major keys to web services (another important factor is usefulness), and so we want to try and ensure that the service is very straightforward, and as self explanatory as possible. In some respects that’s easy–like ensuring that we have descriptions that help the member–but in others it’s a lot more complex. Making things work seamlessly is an art, one that Apple handles well, and Microsoft doesn’t.

So I learnt some painful, but very useful lessons, last night. We’re going to spend a few days tweaking usability, and then go in for another round of testing.

Scouta’s Private Beta

Along with the migration to our new domain, and quietly announcing the name, we’ve reached a stage with development where we’re doing some testing with a small number of members. We’re also hoping that over the next month or two we’ll be able invite a few more people into a private beta, so today Graeme added a form to our front page to allow people to add their email address. So, if you’re interested in potentially being added to the private beta in the coming months, then drop by Scouta and add your email address. When we’re ready we’ll drop you a line.

Scouting Out Scouta

Graeme mentioned the other week that we’ve finally moved across to scouta.com, our actual product name. It’s exciting to finally make even the smallest things public.

A few days ago I read a blog post, at Download Squad, that provided tips for web start-ups. No meteoric tips, just normal common sense items.

However, the seventh tip focused on the name and web address of the service: “Don’t let your four-year-old name it.” Which couldn’t be truer, but not as simple as you might think to follow.

Flickr got away with ditching the vowel–you won’t. We were through with double-Os long before Squidoo, Calgoo, or Zooomr (triple-O!) came along, and the same goes for your EEs. Domain name scarcity is not an excuse for stupid product names any more than improved traction is a justification for clown shoes.

Just try and register a meaningful name. These days it’s close to impossible unless you have thousands of dollars to spend. Graeme and I registered close to half a dozen names, and bounced probably over a hundred around before we settled on Scouta. What was amazing was that scouta was completely unhindered; not one domain extension was taken when we had a look.

In some respects I’d have preferred a name that was plucked straight from a dictionary, but in many other ways making up a new one also has benefits. Google searches and trademarks will certainly benefit from a name that no one else has used. Of course there is always the fear that scouta means something in slang in some obscure company. The meaning of Microsoft’s Zune is already being scrutinized. We tried as hard as we could to check and make sure–good marketing practice–but it’s next to impossible to check every country/language.

So far the feedback has been great, and we’re pretty pleased with the name. It’s simple, short, and we hope easy to remember and communicate, “You know, Scouta, with an ‘A’.”