Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#1

Post by iamjonlee » Thu, Oct 13, 2011, 11:36 PM UTC

I've realized that getting feedback for a landing page on HN can be rather gnarly. Maybe we ought to change the way we leave feedback. Instead of asking for feedback, let's write about why you wouldn't sign up for that particular service. Keep it short and one reason per comment please.

Reasons why you wouldn't sign up for: www.grooovy.me

(I know not everyone has an iPhone, but let's not use that as a reason.)

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#2

Post by iamjonlee » Thu, Oct 13, 2011, 11:37 PM UTC

I'll go first:

The page seems a bit bland. The design is clean and clear but it doesn't have the "pop" that makes it stand out from other landing pages like the camera plus app. Maybe it needs more color to brighten up the page

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#3

Post by hitokirikensan » Thu, Oct 13, 2011, 11:46 PM UTC

The email submission area should stand out more. This is one of the major points for the homepage so the user should be able to identify it and its purpose immediately and feel inclined to submit. Also, the response after sending the email is very dry.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#4

Post by bartonfink » Thu, Oct 13, 2011, 11:56 PM UTC

I don't like going out in most cases, and I like it even less with people I don't know already.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#5

Post by millie » Thu, Oct 13, 2011, 11:57 PM UTC

The idea doesn't "pop" for me. I don't see why I should try this vs. the alternatives (like Match.com, Meetup, grubwith.us). I need to feel persuaded that this is going to work where the others did not.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#6

Post by pixeloution » Fri, Oct 14, 2011, 12:02 AM UTC

at a glance it doesn't seem interesting to me. Trying to think analytically I'd say it just, in a boring way, tells me what it will do, not what it will do for me.

Which car would you buy:

* (a) The new Zappino is slick, good-looking, and modern.

* (b) The new Zappino: Women will find you irrestible and Men will be jealous.

Your landing page is (a).

Edit: as an added note, I was so un-thrilled by your landing page that I just noticed there's more information to be had, on my third look.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#7

Post by gbelote » Fri, Oct 14, 2011, 2:42 AM UTC

I don't feel the "pain" of wanting more friends, so maybe I'm not your target market. This probably makes me a bad person to take feedback from, but since giving opinions is fun...

The problem for me isn't not knowing how to meet new people (e.g. going to interesting meetups), it's getting past the social anxiety of leaving the house and trying to make friends from strangers. At a glance, your app doesn't help solve that -- it looks like another kind of meetup aggregator (albeit a more casual one). While it may be something else and/or technically be a perfectly great service to help me, it doesn't seem like it helps me get past the irrational mental resistance of going somewhere uncomfortable. So when I look at your page and see headers like "GROOOVY FOR IPHONE" and "WE'RE LAUNCHING SOON" and see what looks like a list view of a calendar, it doesn't get me excited. I eventually noticed that clicking the little circles lets me look at different "pages", but that feels like work and I lost interest quickly.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#8

Post by ianpurton » Fri, Oct 14, 2011, 8:20 AM UTC

There's a lot of "Coming Soon" sites out there. So I don't sign up for that reason. I figure if it's any good then I'll hear about it again when they're up and running.

Also, the tag line.

"GROOOVY LETS YOU MEET NEW FRIENDS COMFORTABLY AT YOUR OWN PACE."

I'm not sure what it is you have.

Hope this helps.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#9

Post by DanBC » Fri, Oct 14, 2011, 11:04 AM UTC

I thought the > on the first page was connected to the email submission thing. I didn't notice it at first. I didn't click it. I only knew to click it after reading another comment here about the little circles and then I saw both , and realised they were clicky.

Suggestion: Make the extra pages much easier to find, make the more discoverable, make the little circles more obvious.

Re: Reasons why you wouldn't sign up.

#10

Post by DanBC » Fri, Oct 14, 2011, 11:12 AM UTC

I want to make new friends. Let's have a read of the blurb:

>GROOOVY LETS YOU MEET >NEW FRIENDS COMFORTABLY >AT YOUR OWN PACE.

That's exactly what I need; nice and gentle and not scary. I am your target users. I'm not looking to date or hook up; I'm not sketchy or skeezy. So, who are these people? Where do they come from? What's the "pool of people"?

>Join or create customized >events. Chat with the people you'll meet, check-in and add >them as friends. Finish off your event experience by >writing your first thoughts of each other.

Wait, what? I have no idea who these other people are. Are they all just randoms that sign up to your service? How do I know they're not crazy axe-murderers? Are they taken from Facebook or some such? Do we pay to join? Do we pay to send messages? Let's say I set up and event: Do I just ping people and ask if they want to go? Or does my event get listed and other people say they'd like to turn up? What happens if Bob (a made up name) has been to an event and I HATE HIM? Can I not let him see events I create? Can I filter events Bob goes to?