Please review my startup: BuzzLabs • Hacker News Board

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#21

Post by jasontan » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:30 PM UTC

kevinr wrote: post #12

I bounced off findmybuzz immediately because you asked for an e-mail address before I had any idea what I was going to get in return. The screenshots help, but not enough -- I want to put in some business I care about, get sample results back, and then give you my e-mail address if I want to subscribe. Basically, show me your value proposition before you ask me to give you something of value in return.

we originally tried a "real-time" model and only asked for an email once the report was ready -- but this turned out to still be too slow and caused the user to wait too long. asking for the email upfront is our way of setting expectations on when they can receive the report.

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#22

Post by borski » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:37 PM UTC

Great idea! I actually like all of it so far, except one thing. The "social love animation," while cute, is misleading to my eyes; my brain is trained such that when it sees little objects moving into a larger object like that, I'm in a waiting period. It feels like a progress bar, if you will.

As a result, I sat there for 2 minutes or so (alternately reading elsewhere about the site), and was wondering if it was working or why it was taking so long. _Then_ I read the page. I'm just accustomed to not reading text while things are moving in that manner.

Let me know if I'm not making sense; I can attempt to clarify.

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#23

Post by jasontan » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:42 PM UTC

meterplech wrote: post #8

It's an interesting idea that I think local businesses would be interested in marketed properly. I have 2 remarks on the design. 1) Not all businesses have a single Zip Code. It is the right idea for a restaurant or bar for example, but only if there is only one location. For example, if I owned a small chain like 16 Handles for example I may be interested in how people like my business in general, not on one store.…

We have a separate product that better serves multi-unit chains and "brands" (http://www.buzzlabs.com), but that is not as self-serve as Find My Buzz.

Thanks for the feedback on the screenshots, definitely a common theme here and we're fixing that now.

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#24

Post by SupremumLimit » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:47 PM UTC

meterplech wrote: post #8

It's an interesting idea that I think local businesses would be interested in marketed properly. I have 2 remarks on the design. 1) Not all businesses have a single Zip Code. It is the right idea for a restaurant or bar for example, but only if there is only one location. For example, if I owned a small chain like 16 Handles for example I may be interested in how people like my business in general, not on one store.…

I agree with your points. Not all businesses even have a physical presence or particular location. I'd like to get a report for my business for example, but I'm selling to a global audience (online) and I'm not even in the US, so I can't use this service.

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#25

Post by jasontan » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:48 PM UTC

paraschopra wrote: post #9

Looks nice. You should make Zip code optional because you may get non-local businesses as well. For example, I couldn't try out the service because my business is not local. Also, I am curious to know how Zip actually helps you. Do you use it to disambiguate similar sounding businesses?

It appears that we can do a better job of messaging that this product is intended for local businesses with a physical address. Yes, the zipcode is for disambiguation and ensuring that we only include mentions relevant to that business in that location.

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#26

Post by jasontan » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 10:56 PM UTC

borski wrote: post #22

Great idea! I actually like all of it so far, except one thing. The "social love animation," while cute, is misleading to my eyes; my brain is trained such that when it sees little objects moving into a larger object like that, I'm in a waiting period. It feels like a progress bar, if you will. As a result, I sat there for 2 minutes or so (alternately reading elsewhere about the site), and was wondering if it was wor…

no, you absolutely make sense. other comments also point out this problem. previously, Find My Buzz was more like an "instant feedback" product, instead of a wait-for-your-emailed-report -- the animation sequence was displayed while they waited. we ditched the "instant" part, but thought the animation was too cute to let go... alas, we must do what's best for the user!

Re: Please review my startup: BuzzLabs

#27

Post by nhangen » Wed, Jan 19, 2011, 11:02 PM UTC

Smart idea, and it's something that's going to be in demand.

A few issues:

Your images need captions I don't like having to give an email before I know what you do I want to see examples

You are going to face competition from all sides, mostly because this is something that's fairly easy to implement. You'll need something more to differentiate yourself.