Ask HN: Please provide feedback on Sponty | be hangoutable.(thesponty.com)
thesponty.com
Ask HN: Please provide feedback on Sponty | be hangoutable.
http://www.thesponty.com/hn
15 comments
A few little things:
- don't capitalize by username in my URL (i.e. http://www.thesponty.com/Tlrobinson_94). Also, do you really need the "_94", can't it just be the username?
- clear the placeholder text from textfield when it's clicked
- don't capitalize by username in my URL (i.e. http://www.thesponty.com/Tlrobinson_94). Also, do you really need the "_94", can't it just be the username?
- clear the placeholder text from textfield when it's clicked
1. The URL is actually an invitation link. When someone clicks it and signs up, Sponty sends you a friend request; which you can choose to ignore. Hence, this is a mild obfuscation to make invite links less guessable.
2. Thank you for catching this bug. Will do.
2. Thank you for catching this bug. Will do.
Sponty has been in closed beta since the fall. We were at the MIT TechFair last week. Here are some of the pitches we used at the Sponty table (we also had chocolates!):
"Hi, we're Sponty and we want you to be hangoutable. You should see your friends more".
"Unlike other social networks that want you to sit in front of the computer to look at photos and comment on rants, we're trying to use the internets to get you off the internets so that you can see your friends more. You know, the old fashioned way where you sit with them and gossip over dinner. That way you'll actually be in those photos"
"We're different. Social networks want you to sit in front of the computer all day. We think that's wrong. You should be spending face time with friends."
"We sure are all busy. But we all have to eat at some point. It is more fun to eat dinner with friends".
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
"Hi, we're Sponty and we want you to be hangoutable. You should see your friends more".
"Unlike other social networks that want you to sit in front of the computer to look at photos and comment on rants, we're trying to use the internets to get you off the internets so that you can see your friends more. You know, the old fashioned way where you sit with them and gossip over dinner. That way you'll actually be in those photos"
"We're different. Social networks want you to sit in front of the computer all day. We think that's wrong. You should be spending face time with friends."
"We sure are all busy. But we all have to eat at some point. It is more fun to eat dinner with friends".
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
How I'd refine those pitches: Look to identify the problem to the consumer, and answer how do it better. Compare the following - "Hi, we're New York Pizza, and we want you to be satiated. You should eat good food." to... "Man, you ever get hungry and you're not sure exactly what would hit the spot? We're New York Pizza - we make good pizza, at a good price, 24 hours, that always hits the spot."
I'd kill the word "social network" from your pitch - people roll their eyes when they hear "another social network" - there's got to be ten million would-be social networks online now. Pitch yourself as the first, and only "..." that's completely unavailable on the market. Don't try to carve into someone's "social network space" - I'm at my friend's house right now. He has Facebook and Myspace and checks both of them. He has a dead Friendster account. He won't use another social network... but he DOES use Evite, because that scratches a different itch.
Something like - "It's easy to get lost online, and miss out what really matters - like eating good meals with good people. I founded Sponty because I remember back when it was simple and easy to get pizza with your friends, and you'd get together with people you cared about to watch a favorite TV show now and then. We're drowning in info with Myspace, Facebook, Friendster, and a million other tech things that keep us apart from our friends and zombies in front of the screen. Sponty makes it easy to meet up and hang out with your friends, and do what really matters in life. Join as at Sponty and get back to the days of great times, with great people, with no hassle. It's easy to join - all you need is a Google account - and you'll be using Sponty like a pro within 10 minutes. Just don't feel too bad that you'll be away from Facebook doing cool things!"
I'd kill the word "social network" from your pitch - people roll their eyes when they hear "another social network" - there's got to be ten million would-be social networks online now. Pitch yourself as the first, and only "..." that's completely unavailable on the market. Don't try to carve into someone's "social network space" - I'm at my friend's house right now. He has Facebook and Myspace and checks both of them. He has a dead Friendster account. He won't use another social network... but he DOES use Evite, because that scratches a different itch.
Something like - "It's easy to get lost online, and miss out what really matters - like eating good meals with good people. I founded Sponty because I remember back when it was simple and easy to get pizza with your friends, and you'd get together with people you cared about to watch a favorite TV show now and then. We're drowning in info with Myspace, Facebook, Friendster, and a million other tech things that keep us apart from our friends and zombies in front of the screen. Sponty makes it easy to meet up and hang out with your friends, and do what really matters in life. Join as at Sponty and get back to the days of great times, with great people, with no hassle. It's easy to join - all you need is a Google account - and you'll be using Sponty like a pro within 10 minutes. Just don't feel too bad that you'll be away from Facebook doing cool things!"
Toss a small (TM) on either Sponty, "be hangoutable", or both. TM means trademark - but anyone can use it whenever they're using new descriptive language that doesn't infringe on someone else's mark. You don't need to register anything - the (R) in a circle means Registered Trademark, and you need to register that.
Kellogg's has a registered trademark, they paid the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), and had a search done to make sure it didn't infringe on anyone. They have a very strong legal standing if anyone comes after them:
http://www2.kelloggs.com/
But look at Google - they just use (TM)!
https://mail.google.com
TM adds a bit of credibility. Split test it if you're not convinced, but it shouldn't hurt, and makes you feel like a real company. I'd definitely throw the TM onto "be hangoutable", because that's a cool phrase, and I'd want to own that after coining it.
Kellogg's has a registered trademark, they paid the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), and had a search done to make sure it didn't infringe on anyone. They have a very strong legal standing if anyone comes after them:
http://www2.kelloggs.com/
But look at Google - they just use (TM)!
https://mail.google.com
TM adds a bit of credibility. Split test it if you're not convinced, but it shouldn't hurt, and makes you feel like a real company. I'd definitely throw the TM onto "be hangoutable", because that's a cool phrase, and I'd want to own that after coining it.
Thank you for the heads up. We've actually submitted the application. I will update the graphic.
You actually don't need a sign. It is yours by use (when you first publicly display it), the sign is optional.
It is true that you don't need it (and the poster never said you need it, btw), but the sign does help add additional evidence in the event you need to show a court that you were taking steps to protect your mark.
Very similar to http://www.mixin.com/.
Yours is cleaner and that mixin thing made me dizzy just looking at it and after going to Sponty first, I was taken aback by how mixin looked so complicated, had so much text and wanted to inundate me with words and junk. Doesn't matter if it's true, that was my impression.
I think you've got a good core, you'll need some other "hook" to draw a critical mass of folks, I think...but the basics are there in my mind. Easy to use, simple and cool.
Thanks for sharing.
I think you've got a good core, you'll need some other "hook" to draw a critical mass of folks, I think...but the basics are there in my mind. Easy to use, simple and cool.
Thanks for sharing.
You're right - mixin has been around a little longer, I think, but Sponty definitely has the simplicity thing nailed.
On the design: I love the clean aesthetic and color scheme. I would try to to make the page vertically a bit more compact, so the entire "Login using Google" is above the fold. I have a relatively large monitor, and yet only the top of "Login using Google" shows on my screen.
Then I'd test some descriptive instruction above "Login using Google" to explain why they should - the value to them. "Take a test drive and see how your social life improves - all you need is a Google account to get closer to your friends" - something like that, just make it shorter. Test different variations that answer the question, "why should I go to the next step?" It might seem obvious to you, but you're intimately familiar with your site. Me, why should I log in? The site looks nice, but what's the value here? What's the learning curve? Will this be a pain in the ass to get running? Mention how easy and fast they can do something cool, and then deliver on that promise once people log in.
Cheers mate, and best wishes.
Then I'd test some descriptive instruction above "Login using Google" to explain why they should - the value to them. "Take a test drive and see how your social life improves - all you need is a Google account to get closer to your friends" - something like that, just make it shorter. Test different variations that answer the question, "why should I go to the next step?" It might seem obvious to you, but you're intimately familiar with your site. Me, why should I log in? The site looks nice, but what's the value here? What's the learning curve? Will this be a pain in the ass to get running? Mention how easy and fast they can do something cool, and then deliver on that promise once people log in.
Cheers mate, and best wishes.
Difficult to say if this will catch on, all I can offer is my own reasons why I would not use this. I wouldn't play Mob Wars either, but that hasn't stopped it from being a success.
- I'm not in USA.
- My friends are really reluctant to start using new services. It took ages for them to start using Facebook.
- My friends probably do not have Google accounts. In fact they would probably be more likely to use this if this was a Facebook app.
- As you say everyone needs to eat, so it is safe to assume that each of my friends will have dinner anyway. So if I want to have dinner with a particular friend, can't I just SMS them? I think they would find this more natural than me trying to talk them into signing up for something.
- I'm not in USA.
- My friends are really reluctant to start using new services. It took ages for them to start using Facebook.
- My friends probably do not have Google accounts. In fact they would probably be more likely to use this if this was a Facebook app.
- As you say everyone needs to eat, so it is safe to assume that each of my friends will have dinner anyway. So if I want to have dinner with a particular friend, can't I just SMS them? I think they would find this more natural than me trying to talk them into signing up for something.
Hi bemmu,
Thanks for the feedback!
1. We plan on offering Sponty in many different languages. 2. It also works great on the iPhone (and similar phones) and it doesn't require a time commitment like social networks do. We really want you to be in and out in three seconds. 3. Soon we'll add more authentication options. 4. Sure, SMS works great for one-to-one. However, it really does'nt scale if you'd SMS all your friends to see if any of them are up for grabbing a bite.
1. We plan on offering Sponty in many different languages. 2. It also works great on the iPhone (and similar phones) and it doesn't require a time commitment like social networks do. We really want you to be in and out in three seconds. 3. Soon we'll add more authentication options. 4. Sure, SMS works great for one-to-one. However, it really does'nt scale if you'd SMS all your friends to see if any of them are up for grabbing a bite.
However, it really does'nt scale if you'd SMS all your friends to see if any of them are up for grabbing a bite.
Not trying to sound mean but I often read arguments like that for the next big social web thingy and I find them very contrived. Coordinating group events is certainly an interesting application but I think you should find a better use-case than "grabbing a bite".
Remember people are just animals and strongly conditioned on taking the path of least resistance - especially when hungry...
Not trying to sound mean but I often read arguments like that for the next big social web thingy and I find them very contrived. Coordinating group events is certainly an interesting application but I think you should find a better use-case than "grabbing a bite".
Remember people are just animals and strongly conditioned on taking the path of least resistance - especially when hungry...
I second the Facebook app idea.
And I really like the calendar that shows all my friends and what they are doing today. That would be really nice in Facebook and at this point I don't know if that's enough to not just sign up for another service, but also check it and get friends using it.
I can see someone who just wants to login, see what's going on and if there's something s/he can join and then log off and go. And I don't think being part of FB hinders that. It probably helps.
And I really like the calendar that shows all my friends and what they are doing today. That would be really nice in Facebook and at this point I don't know if that's enough to not just sign up for another service, but also check it and get friends using it.
I can see someone who just wants to login, see what's going on and if there's something s/he can join and then log off and go. And I don't think being part of FB hinders that. It probably helps.
1) The front page has screenshots of HTML components. They look like you can interact with them, but you can't. This is almost always a bad design choice.
2) I don't want to use my Google account. I always use a site-specific email address when registering for a new site. I'll never give one of my actual gmail addresses.
2) I don't want to use my Google account. I always use a site-specific email address when registering for a new site. I'll never give one of my actual gmail addresses.
As a non-english speaker, I actually Googled for "hangoutable" because I didn't know what it means and mentions of Sponty came on top :p
On the site itself:
- I have no idea how you're eco-friendly (sorry, the leaf conjures this emotion)
- Underlined blue words are links: I thought I could click on the main page "Katie" and "Dave"
- The logo on http://www.thesponty.com/about is different than on the main page (the beta word)
- About page "Got it." on the question list. Got what? None asks "Got it. So how..."
- "Speak your mind" is a poor choice of words indicating where I can send you feedback for a service that lets me type anything. It looked like I could click there and some page would come up that would let me do something.
But anyway, let's login!
- Can't you put your logo on the Google Account login page? (I honestly don't know). Like, "<logo> Sponty uses Google..."
- Can't you redirect to the main page instead of the /hn doorway? I logged in and had to go somewhere else to use the site. One extra step is bad :(
- I had to delete "Your name here...". onclick delete the input contents. (Firefox 3.0.6)
- My timezone is -3 gmt! Nowhere before it said the site is for USA people :( But let's fake and say I am Eastern;
- Network, same as above.
- Clicked Save, reloaded profile edit. I guess I have to click again to go to the home page?...
- Make your friends hangoutable: http://www.thesponty.com/Inerte_82 But I am not Inerte_82.
- Cliked on Post, form came up: You should put something like a datepicker on "When". It's 02:15 AM here, and 12:00 AM appeared on default. Clicking too much arrows...
- When I submitted the form, a spinning circle appeared on "12 - 3 am" box, but my entry appeared on "3 - 6 am". Spin the cirle on the time I've selected.
- The calendar opacity is too high, showing elements behind
Overall I liked the concept! But I am grumpy tonight I guess :p
On the site itself:
- I have no idea how you're eco-friendly (sorry, the leaf conjures this emotion)
- Underlined blue words are links: I thought I could click on the main page "Katie" and "Dave"
- The logo on http://www.thesponty.com/about is different than on the main page (the beta word)
- About page "Got it." on the question list. Got what? None asks "Got it. So how..."
- "Speak your mind" is a poor choice of words indicating where I can send you feedback for a service that lets me type anything. It looked like I could click there and some page would come up that would let me do something.
But anyway, let's login!
- Can't you put your logo on the Google Account login page? (I honestly don't know). Like, "<logo> Sponty uses Google..."
- Can't you redirect to the main page instead of the /hn doorway? I logged in and had to go somewhere else to use the site. One extra step is bad :(
- I had to delete "Your name here...". onclick delete the input contents. (Firefox 3.0.6)
- My timezone is -3 gmt! Nowhere before it said the site is for USA people :( But let's fake and say I am Eastern;
- Network, same as above.
- Clicked Save, reloaded profile edit. I guess I have to click again to go to the home page?...
- Make your friends hangoutable: http://www.thesponty.com/Inerte_82 But I am not Inerte_82.
- Cliked on Post, form came up: You should put something like a datepicker on "When". It's 02:15 AM here, and 12:00 AM appeared on default. Clicking too much arrows...
- When I submitted the form, a spinning circle appeared on "12 - 3 am" box, but my entry appeared on "3 - 6 am". Spin the cirle on the time I've selected.
- The calendar opacity is too high, showing elements behind
Overall I liked the concept! But I am grumpy tonight I guess :p
[deleted]
Very useful. Thank you sir.
When you click to add an item on the calendar, the set of icons appear without any indication to what they stand for until you click on one and see the description in the "what" field. I know some of them are obvious, but you should think about clearing the ambiguity by having the "what" field populated appropriately as you hover over the icons.
Very confusing. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.
This is cool. Sorry don't have time to do a detailed test drive now, but I see others have done that, and I just wanted to add that YES this is a great concept and something I have been wishing for. Dodgeball was close, Twitter is OK for this but too noisy and not always followed closely enough, but this gets right down to a core use case that is near and dear. One nice thing is that since the use case is narrow, getting updated via SMS would work, at least for people with good SMS quota plans.
Also both the name and the subtitle are great, and I won't be surprised to see them inspire other -able and -onty names shortly.
A money maker? I don't understand how, but you have thought about it way more than me, so maybe you have a way.
Also both the name and the subtitle are great, and I won't be surprised to see them inspire other -able and -onty names shortly.
A money maker? I don't understand how, but you have thought about it way more than me, so maybe you have a way.
This may sound paranoid, but I don't want to enter my Google passwort on a site that I have been forwarded to from another site.
I tried logging in to Google and then to login via your site, too, but Google still asked for my password.
I tried logging in to Google and then to login via your site, too, but Google still asked for my password.
Interesting idea, but you're gambling on a huge network effect there. I'd need to get a whole group of my friends using this for it to be worth it, and I can't be bothered to do that. Even if I could, each one of them would need to remember to update it before they went anywhere... what a hassle.
An idea: why not exploit an existing framework that people use for frequent updates? Add a facebook app (150m users), add twitter integration (another 800k users or so), and you're off to the races. I'd be much more easily convinced if instead of having to update your service I could just update my twitter with "eating at joe's diner tonight 6pm, hangoutable".
Also, do you have Google Calendar integration yet? If not, what are you doing? That's where I keep my calendar. I even have it set up to send me reminders and everything.
I like your hangoutable branding - there's not currently a good word for an ad-hoc social event, and you've picked a descriptive one that's also pretty catchy. Sponty is halfway between silly and awkward. Maybe you should consider rebranding?
Lastly, while I commend your Google account integration, I'd make it an "...or log in with your Google account" and get your own logins. Much as it pains me, the world's not ready to have all their services nestled in Google's ever-expanding bosom just yet.
Anyway, best of luck.
An idea: why not exploit an existing framework that people use for frequent updates? Add a facebook app (150m users), add twitter integration (another 800k users or so), and you're off to the races. I'd be much more easily convinced if instead of having to update your service I could just update my twitter with "eating at joe's diner tonight 6pm, hangoutable".
Also, do you have Google Calendar integration yet? If not, what are you doing? That's where I keep my calendar. I even have it set up to send me reminders and everything.
I like your hangoutable branding - there's not currently a good word for an ad-hoc social event, and you've picked a descriptive one that's also pretty catchy. Sponty is halfway between silly and awkward. Maybe you should consider rebranding?
Lastly, while I commend your Google account integration, I'd make it an "...or log in with your Google account" and get your own logins. Much as it pains me, the world's not ready to have all their services nestled in Google's ever-expanding bosom just yet.
Anyway, best of luck.
Very cool. As someone who is about to move into a new city (Montreal) I really like things like this because it makes it easier to get to know people.
I really have nothing to add that hasn't been said (damn!) but I figure a bit more kudos isn't going to hurt.
I really have nothing to add that hasn't been said (damn!) but I figure a bit more kudos isn't going to hurt.
well most my friends and i already use google calendar for this type of thing. If we really want to schedule a day out or something. But I can see how this might be popular with like college kids. Try making it a facebook app instead, might be much more useful
We have been in closed beta since last fall. We were at the MIT TechFair on 2/2/2009. Here are some of the pitches we used at the table:
"Hi, we're Sponty and we want you to be hangoutable. You should see your friends more".
"Unlike other social networks that want you to sit in front of the computer to look at photos and comment on rants, we're trying to use the internets to get you off the internets so that you'd see your friends more. You know, the old fashioned way where you sit with them and gossip over dinner. That way you'll actually be in their photos."
"We're different. Social networks want you to sit in front of the computer all day. We think that's wrong. You should be spending face time with friends."
"We sure are all busy. But we all have to eat at some point. It is more fun to eat dinner with friends".
We're still in closed beta, so here is an invitation link: http://www.thesponty.com/hn
Please let us know your thoughts!