This sounds exactly like the facebook/bebo/myspace/orkut/hi5 platforms.
338 karma · joined July 26, 2007
"don't release anything to the public unless you are certain it will get traction." This is a distribution issue which is in my opinion is a entirely different feature set than the "product". While off topic I agree the only thing you should be focusing on is getting traction. In fact I would say throw the product out of the equation and only worry about traction. But this is a different argument and admittedly I'm an extremist in this area :)
Essentially we are saying the same thing except you think discoveries should be made in private to increase your popularity at launch while I think (ONLY if you can keep up) going public is more efficient for the successful evolution of your product.
I guess it comes down to how much data you need to interpret what the market wants. Personally I need tons.Maybe you are a better interpreter than I am :)
I think you're taking what I'm saying out of context. I said half baked products give you the required flexibility to listen to the market.
I dont think you can over expose your self to the market. The problems come when you don't or cant move fast enough to meet its demands. It seems to me that "don't" happens a lot more than "cant" and that's usually because the founders are clinging to feature sets and ideals that aren't working. Its best to avoid that altogether and release a half baked product that you are willing to change as quickly as possible.
In the end Yammer looks fun while ididwork looks scary.
This is absolutely not true! Release ANYTHING. A half baked product will provide you with required flexibility youll need when the market tells you what you really should be making.
If you wanna chat over email I wouldn't mind sharing some tips.
In my opinion you're making all the same mistakes I made when I started working on social applications. You had a idea first and are now trying to make it viral. Thats the wrong order. You need to get all your viral channels defined and working and only then are you allowed to have an idea :)
I would make a bigger deal out of your reward plan. Maybe a banner or something and repeat that on every tab.
"You don't get rich by being nice."
This is seldom said but often true.
Your spam question sounds like something you need to answer for yourself.
Glaringly obvious to who? Your start up idea might not seem glaringly obvious to you but don't assume it isn't to your competition!
Anyone else here have plans for Myspace?