You should offer a few static screens for people who browse with flash and javascript disabled.
Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
11–19 of 19 posts
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#12Some comments, written as I think them as I navigate your site:
1. No explanation: A first-time visitor will have NO idea what the site is about. You have a bunch of "Register now" links, but without some idea of what the site is, there's no reason for anyone to register. This is a fairly serious deal breaker that will significantly limit your rate of adoption.
2. Email confirmation sign up: Once again, this will limit the number of people who sign up. Requiring users to first give you their email, and only then register once they've received it, is slow and outdated. I'd remove the confirmation step entirely, but if you really feel you need it you should allow the user to first sign up and only then confirm.
3+ The concept vaguely intrigued me (what little of it I could glean from your confusing videos on the main page), but for this to be successful you need to seriously revamp your site. To be frank, it looks like something made in a previous era of web development.
Interfaces should be easy to use and clearly laid out. Yours does not provide enough information at the start, and presents too many irrelevant pieces upon login.
As in all startups, the ideas behind them could be great, unique, groundbreaking, etc. but if the implementation isn't up to snuff you'll go nowhere.
I realize this criticism may be harsh, but you did ask how to gain a more widespread user base. The best way to gain users is to make the concept easy to understand, and dead simple to begin using.
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#13Some comments, written as I think them as I navigate your site: 1. No explanation: A first-time visitor will have NO idea what the site is about. You have a bunch of "Register now" links, but without some idea of what the site is, there's no reason for anyone to register. This is a fairly serious deal breaker that will significantly limit your rate of adoption. 2. Email confirmation sign up: Once again, this will lim…
We appreciate all the feedback; thanks!
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#14I spent about 5 minutes on the site and couldn't figure out what it was for. I even registered, and still couldn't figure it out. I then watched the videos and still couldn't figure it out.
I may be dumb, but I may be your average user, as well. I would put up a tutorial or something.
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#15"VCs, for example, aren't really interested because we don't need very much money" Not quite. Actually VC's normally won't fund a company unless they do have something that is working. So assuming that your game is worth paying for or the site can be monetized, talking to VC's wouldn't be a bad idea. One example of this is Google. VC's would not have talked to Google if all the founders had was, "Hey we've got this g…
"Are you ready for some hard core rejection?"
lol. That and some hard core misinformation apparently (at least according to a few of the VCs we've talked to).
We'll keep at it; where does one shop for good VCs who would look at someone in our situation?
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#16If you only had 30 seconds of attention, what's the best way to prove to the user that you're worth any more investigation?
Right now due to the current design deficiencies mentioned by AnotherUser, that user is heading elsewhere.
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#17I wonder if bootstrapping a game community can be accomplished with Amazon's mechanical turk? You'd probably want a tiny game change to keep the turks from playing each other, and to only bring in a turk if there is not a suitable real player.
I didn't even know such a thing existed...thanks for the tip!
If you get into Mechanical Turk and have questions about it, shoot me an email. I worked on it at Amazon, and I'm using it in my current project.
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#18Addressing 'b': Since you won't need a lot of money, you should try approaching angel investors -- affluent individuals who invest small amounts in startups in return for some share of the company. I suggest looking in your local area for angel networks and see if you can gain audience with them. You'll usually need a full business plan and presentation for audience with them.
Re: Glass Bead Network launches (finally)
#19"VCs, for example, aren't really interested because we don't need very much money" Not quite. Actually VC's normally won't fund a company unless they do have something that is working. So assuming that your game is worth paying for or the site can be monetized, talking to VC's wouldn't be a bad idea. One example of this is Google. VC's would not have talked to Google if all the founders had was, "Hey we've got this g…
"Are you ready for some hard core rejection?" lol. That and some hard core misinformation apparently (at least according to a few of the VCs we've talked to). We'll keep at it; where does one shop for good VCs who would look at someone in our situation?
You know, I'm not really sure where to find VC's. I've done a lot of homework on Angel investors, and there are lots of good resources, like FundingUniverse.com as one example.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck!