I was originally put off by having to use my real name at first too (especially since it doesn't say how it's used). Turns out they use your first name and last initial although I'm not sure if this is shown to other members. I believe this is what Yahoo uses also.
I can see how this could be a turn off to some people but realistically if you're serious about online dating, your profile probably needs at least one good photo to yield any worthwhile results. And they're required for this service as well.
match.com uses usernames instead of real names but I don't need to see a person's first name to recognize her from the cube down the hall.
I agree with the other comments that customers will need some sort of immediate gratification, especially if you expect them to pay.
I think the mingling concept of the site is a great idea. Are the members put into MingleWeeks manually or is it by some sort of automated algorithm? I'm assuming the latter.
I couldn't find anywhere on the site that says how long it takes to put those groups together. I think you need to set some expectations as far as that goes.
So I created an profile and answered some questions about myself. Now I'm waiting for MingleWeek to begin. I didn't pay and I only spent a few minutes so it really doesn't matter if it takes a few hours or days or weeks for MingleWeek to start. If it never starts I'm only out my small time investment.
If I paid on the other hand, I feel like I'm in limbo with no idea of when I'll see results or if anything is even happening. Sure I can continually update my first impression but I'm not likely to spend any more time until I know whether it will "pay off" or not. Does that make sense?
#1 resonates most strongly with me right now. The feeling of accomplishment when you complete a project creates that sense of momentum and excitement going into the next one.
Like Jason, I've noticed that quality of work seemingly diminishes toward the end of a long project when people are motivated mostly to simply complete the project.
I think the other two responses to this comment are spot-on. Lots of corporate intranets and internal applications are IE-only by default. It's certainly not justifiable from a cost standpoint to rewrite those.
Aside from corporate users, individual consumers who aren't necessarily computer-savvy (like my parents) don't have the knowledge (or desire) to download additional software and install extensions, plug-ins, etc. They go with the default browser of their O/S.
Does anybody think that as successful startups reach the stages where they document and create the repeatable processes that make them attractive purchases, that they'll fall victim to the pitfalls Seth describes as competencies (resistance to change/improvement)?
At one point in the interview Dean says that's he's naive. That's a great thing since anybody else would write what he's accomplished off as impossible without even trying.
Not to take anything away from his work on the arm but I find his comments on the US's education system and our cultural values from the last two videos the most interesting.
Obviously some people who think Facebook is silly will always think it's silly. But for current Facebook users, I think it will only get more useful to them as they get older.
Up to a certain point in life, getting older usually means more responsibilities; jobs, kids, etc. That's less time to maintain and cultivate face to face social relationships.
I think you'll find Facebook's population is only getting older as people with limited time go online to create and maintain those relationships.
Good point. Regardless of when HTML5's specs are nailed down, it will still be quite a long time before they're implemented in browsers.
Instead of sensational posts, I'd like to see more developers working on useful tools we can use now, like BlueprintCSS.
I can see how this could be a turn off to some people but realistically if you're serious about online dating, your profile probably needs at least one good photo to yield any worthwhile results. And they're required for this service as well.
match.com uses usernames instead of real names but I don't need to see a person's first name to recognize her from the cube down the hall.