This is too infrequent a problem to be worth working on. And your solution sounds overly complicated.
Before my experience this past weekend I would've agreed with you. However the same argument can be made for earthquake or flood insurance. Chances are you wont need it, but if you do need it you'll be glad to know you have it.
As far as Tattlr's complexity is concerned, I'm not sure it gets much simpler than 3 quick button presses on one's smartphone to alert theater staff of an issue.
Interesting point. Especially given the current "bigger is better" trend for smartphone screens these days. That's why it'd be important for Tattlr to offer a short process to report the disturbance. Look at it this way: If I pull out my phone to use Tattlr to report a person chatting it up on his phone behind me during a movie, I'm simply piggybacking on the existing disturbance as opposed to creating my own disturb…
Now there is two jackasses causing a disturbance in my movie. Some guy being noisy and another with a bright light from a phone. Sorry, I think your whole premise is flawed.
I would assume most people would view the bright light as far less abrasive than the guy being noisy talking on his telephone in the middle of a movie. Besides, 3 quick button presses ensures that most people will hardly notice the brief illumination in the theater you'd create with Tattlr.
How do you propose handling the abusers who download the app and then point their virtual fingers at some random person in the theater?
No problem. In order to use Tattlr, you would have to "check-in" using the app. The theater, thanks to the complementary Tattlr web app, would have instant access to the basic info of each user including their seating location. It'd be impossible for a person to submit bogus complaints without getting called out for it
So the malicious user lies about their location (and other "basic info") - trivial if you're at the point of having users enter their seating location, only slightly more difficult if you also use GPS to verify it. Yes, they have to be in the theater, but if you get bored during a movie and feel like messing with people, then there's nothing stopping them.
1 of 2 ways: 1) Charge each user a nominal fee for download. OR 2) Charge movie theaters for their participation. Imagine the profitable data we'll be supplying them with on every person that checks-in to their movie theater using Tattlr. They can incorporate their own special promotions based on the ongoing user data they obtain each time a user checks in. This what I've come up with thus far. I could be totally off…
I think you would be surprised by how many theaters would find this useful and will pay you to have this in their theaters. It improves the service and gives them Jmp feedback. Go talk to some movie theaters. Also don't over engineer it. A simple wa to say that the sound isn't working for a particular movie at a particular movie theater should be a good start. -vivek
Thanks a lot for your input. I'm struggling with the monetization issue though. Namely:
What type of pricing model can we offer movie theater companies? Monthly fee? One-time lump sum for each theater? I'm not sure how that would work.
No problem. In order to use Tattlr, you would have to "check-in" using the app. The theater, thanks to the complementary Tattlr web app, would have instant access to the basic info of each user including their seating location. It'd be impossible for a person to submit bogus complaints without getting called out for it
So the malicious user lies about their location (and other "basic info") - trivial if you're at the point of having users enter their seating location, only slightly more difficult if you also use GPS to verify it. Yes, they have to be in the theater, but if you get bored during a movie and feel like messing with people, then there's nothing stopping them.
Fair enough. How about using FB Connect for login as a means of holding people accountable for their complaints?
Now there is two jackasses causing a disturbance in my movie. Some guy being noisy and another with a bright light from a phone. Sorry, I think your whole premise is flawed.
I would assume most people would view the bright light as far less abrasive than the guy being noisy talking on his telephone in the middle of a movie. Besides, 3 quick button presses ensures that most people will hardly notice the brief illumination in the theater you'd create with Tattlr.
I like how you assume all these concerns away when this is the top comment and repeated multiple times. Light is visible from basically an entire dark theater. Sound, on the other hand can vary from a slightly loud neighbor to a loud guy the whole theater can hear. So, you, my loud neighbor may be disturbing me and maybe 8 others in your immediate surroundings, but I, with my cell phone distract everyone behind me, all 100 of them. You want feedback, don't just tell me I am wrong, listen to your audience. I don't want cell phones being turned on while I watch a movie for any reason.
I would assume most people would view the bright light as far less abrasive than the guy being noisy talking on his telephone in the middle of a movie. Besides, 3 quick button presses ensures that most people will hardly notice the brief illumination in the theater you'd create with Tattlr.
I like how you assume all these concerns away when this is the top comment and repeated multiple times. Light is visible from basically an entire dark theater. Sound, on the other hand can vary from a slightly loud neighbor to a loud guy the whole theater can hear. So, you, my loud neighbor may be disturbing me and maybe 8 others in your immediate surroundings, but I, with my cell phone distract everyone behind me, a…
Fair enough. So how do you personally deal with disturbances in movie theaters?
I like how you assume all these concerns away when this is the top comment and repeated multiple times. Light is visible from basically an entire dark theater. Sound, on the other hand can vary from a slightly loud neighbor to a loud guy the whole theater can hear. So, you, my loud neighbor may be disturbing me and maybe 8 others in your immediate surroundings, but I, with my cell phone distract everyone behind me, a…
Fair enough. So how do you personally deal with disturbances in movie theaters?
I go to the movies all the time, I've had disturbances maybe twice in all that time... Where do you go to movies?
I think you would be surprised by how many theaters would find this useful and will pay you to have this in their theaters. It improves the service and gives them Jmp feedback. Go talk to some movie theaters. Also don't over engineer it. A simple wa to say that the sound isn't working for a particular movie at a particular movie theater should be a good start. -vivek
Thanks a lot for your input. I'm struggling with the monetization issue though. Namely: What type of pricing model can we offer movie theater companies? Monthly fee? One-time lump sum for each theater? I'm not sure how that would work.
Forget pricing model for now. They are big companies so you can basically charge whatever you want if there is a need.
Focus on figuring out if there is a pain.
I remember reading that some company had built this on springwise or sprouter weekly. But it was a hardware device which had to be installed in the theater so you could beat them by price.
Bottom line: Write up a proposal (4 slides of how this will be used) and then hammer linkedin to get an interview with someone who is slightly executive at a movie theater. Do like 10 interviews. You'll know by then if there is a pain.
Fair enough. So how do you personally deal with disturbances in movie theaters?
I go to the movies all the time, I've had disturbances maybe twice in all that time... Where do you go to movies?
Against my better judgment I went to a theater that's notorious for being a teenage hangout.
I, like you, can maybe think of one other bad experience I've had at the movies before this weekend. Tattlr certainly wouldn't be an everyday kind of app. Heck, one may only use it once or twice a year. However, I think there's value in the peace of mind of being in a large dark room knowing a theater attendant is only a couple screen taps away.