10 Really Interesting Things To Ask At FOWA
It’s less than 10 hours to the start of the Future of Web Apps conference in London, and I started to think about some interesting things to ask all the startups at the expo. I decided that, instead of asking the obvious things like “what does your app do?” it might be more interesting to focus on some of the bad issues we have with web applications these days. Here are the 10 probably really interesting questions (in no particular order) we will be asking at FOWA tomorrow:
- Why would we really need this application?
- Do I need to login to Facebook before I can use your application?
- Do I need a Twitter account before I can use your application?
- What other company does your corporate logo feel close to?
- Do I need to register before I can even look at your application?
- Do I need to re-add all my friends when I join your site?
- If I join, will you start spamming my friends with invites?
- If you get bought, will you screw over your users?
- If you get bought, will you screw over your users?
- Does your mom understand how to use your app?
Got more questions we should ask, then add them to the comments before tomorrow.
eelke http://
October 3rd, 2007How long will your users stay interested in your app?
Kars http://leapfrog.nl
October 3rd, 2007Alper, in all honesty, I cringed at your last question. “Will my mom understand it?” Basically sums up the average marketing exec’s understanding of usability. Good interaction design is aimed at intermediates. That might be your mom, but it could very well be your kid brother. The aim is to get any beginner at the intermediate stage ASAP. Have fun and good luck at the expo!
alper http://www.alper.nl
October 3rd, 2007@Kars, This is Cris talking above, but I came up with the question for him because this is one of the standard questions that Cristiano always asks startups to get them on edge.
alper http://www.alper.nl
October 3rd, 2007Still I think the ‘Mom’ questions has a usability question but to get somebody at that stage the question strikes at a more basic strategic level. The mom question focuses on the tangible real world relevance that a webapp has. A lot of stuff online is immediately relevant for us because we are deeply immersed in the buzz, translating this into terms and benefits that real people can understand can be difficult for some webapps.
Reinier http://zwitserloot.com
October 3rd, 2007The ‘mom’ question is good, if only to get a resounding “No, she won’t” on the table. I think it’s important to realize you got a webapp that fundamentally can’t engage the average Joe Q. Random. It doesn’t have to be a problem (the early adopter tech crowd is itself quite large) but it’s a good thing to keep in mind, especially because it means you should put a big fat brake on exponential growth predictions.
I don’t think it was targetted at the usability aspect of the site. More about the whole idea of what you’re peddling.
Cristiano Betta http://cristianobetta.com/
October 3rd, 2007Yeah, I think the better question would be: “Does your mom understand the essence of your app?”.
Kars http://leapfrog.nl
October 6th, 2007I’m sorry guys but I don’t buy it. What often happens is that your so-called ‘mom question’ is a shortcut that prevents you from actually trying to understand your audience. Besides that, it often leads to reductionist design. Both – IMHO – not good.
Cristiano Betta http://cristianobetta.com/
October 6th, 2007Ok, so we had 9 decent questions?