Nathan Barry is one of those unique, multi-talented individuals who transitioned from being a talented designer to becoming a decent programmer. What’s unique is that he is self-taught, and that he taught himself to code iOS apps while completing a project that is currently earning him real dollars on the app store – OneVoice.
See the Hacker News conversation here and the original video interview that Dan Hodgins conducted with Nathan here – part one , and part two.
Just a quick note to let you know we are taking a holiday break from publishing the newsletter.
We hope you have been enjoying the Spotta email briefings so far! We really enjoy scanning the globle for fresh new ideas, conducting the research, and puling it all together in the briefings! Hopefully you are getting some solid business and entertainment value from the emails and the video blog.
We would like to take a moment to wish you a happy holiday season. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, or just kicking back over the holidays, we hope you have a relaxing, enjoyable and refreshing week (or two).
Thank you for tuning in to Spotta – we really appreciate it!
Best of luck for a prosperous 2012 filled with laughter, joy, peace and fulfillment.
Warm regards,
Dan Hodgins
Founder, Spotta
Software as a service aka SaaS has one major issue – user retention.
User retention is a big problem that causes many startups and new businesses to leave gobs of money on the table. Seth Godin alludes to this and other Lifecyle Marketing issues in his book “Permission Marketing“. We highly recommend that you read that book and acquaint yourself with Seth’s Permission Marketing theories – they still stand true today.
Startups spend big bucks to acquire new users, but often don’t retain these users as well as they could.
Large companies such as Amazon.com are world class at user retention – it’s a mandatory core competency in the e-commerce game. However, according to user retention experts like Paul Stamatiou smaller, scrappier startups need help from technology to systematically send out custom tailored, hot-button mailers based on the current state of a customer’s account, as well as their past usage patterns. Being able to send the right message or offer to the right person at the right time for the right reasons is pretty much the holy grail of online marketing, and thought leaders in the web based software space see potential in the User Retention as a Service (RAAS) apps.
Paul Stamatiou, a successful graduate of the YCombinator startup incubator, argues that a startup opportunity is available right now for a less enterprisey solution to tie together CRM systems with programmable email servers and mailbox API services such as MailGun. Perhaps you could tie this all together with a CMS system such as Drupal or WordPress for additional impact and distribution. See Paul’s article here: http://paulstamatiou.com/startup-user-retention-lifecycle-email
We conservatively estimate that tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars are being left on the table by startup companies who have not developed a bulletproof user retention system. A startup that ackles this problem in a less entreprisey way could grab a slice of this highly lucrative, large and growing market
Perhaps this is the opportunity you have been waiting for – either as a startup for technically minded folks, or as a marketing tactic for marketing managers!
ONE TO TRY
MailGun: Hassle-Free, Programmable Email Servers and Mailbox API. Try MailGun Today, and Eliminate Your Email Programming Hassles Forever!
Video greeting to Craig Evans of www.autismhangout.com. They have created a video series called “Apps for Autism” that’s worth checking out
Edit: the Spotta video interview with Nathan Barry was featured on Hacker News here. For part two of this interview, go here.
Nathan Barry is an interaction designer turned programmer who built an iOS app (for Ipads and Iphons) called OneVoice to help give a voice to people who cannot speak. The app is classified as an AAC (augmented and assistive communication device), and is currently for sale on the Apple App Store.
The interactions made possible by mobile devices can be incredibly powerful, and sometimes even life changing. During our video interview today (available on http://www.getspotta.com/spotta-interview-with-nathan-barry-of-onevoice-part-1/) Nathan mentioned that there are still plenty of opportunities for iOS apps to be developed for people with disabilities. If you know someone who has expertise or insider knowledge in one of these areas then consider collaborating with them to brainstorm potential app ideas. Who knows – maybe the app you co-create with an expert will have a truly positive impact on the world!
ONE TO TRY
OneVoice: AAC App Gives a Voice to People Who Cannot Speak. Totally Intuitive and Easy to Use On the Go! Download Today.
For part two of this interview, go here.
The key with blog and forum commenting is to add value, entertainment, ideas and information. If you do this, the blog owners are more likely to allow you to include your Twitter handles (@getspotta, @danhodgins) and perhaps even a link to your web site – http://www.getpotta.com.
Building community, networking and the hustle surrounding this activity is the key to creating a successful web-based business. After all, EVERY business is in the people business.
Here is a screenshot from a comment I just posted:
How can you create multiplication and leverage from your online hustle – you blog and forum commenting activity? Get on it – large quantities of cheap traffic and eyeballs is THE only competitive advantage that matters folks!
People crave human connection more than anything. We are driven as a species to be social and connect with each other – perhaps for evolutionary reasons (connecting and collaborating was required to keep the tribe safe and well-fed).
A great way for both extroverted and introverted folks to create human connection in a scalable manner is live or recorded video. Simply record, edit and upload once and you will have the ability to be visible on an unlimited number of computer and mobile screens, 24/7/365 for as long as you wish!
You probably don’t need to be reminded that plenty of well-established technologies already exist for connecting with other people in a scalable ‘one-to-many’ manner using live or recorded video. YouTube and hundreds of other services enable you to upload recorded videos, and share them publically or privately. UStream and other live video services enable 24/7 live streaming of video content (enabling people around the world to ‘tune -in’ for any type of show or performance you feel like conducting). Skype video calls (one-to-one, or many-to-many) exist for a variety of platforms including mobile, and that FaceTime is a compelling way to communicate in a one-to one manner with only your smartphone and a set of headphones.
We think DAILY video messages, appearances and performances and video blog posts are THE best way to communicate, connect, and compel other people – and that video is very much an untapped opportunity right now.
Start creating video-based content today using either a web cam or Flipcam and posting it to the web. If you aren’t tech saavy enough to do this, find someone who is to help. Eventually, you will have a library of video content that acts as an entertainment and marketing machine, 24/7/365!
ONE TO TRY
FlipVideo Cam: Put the Power of Video in Your Pocket. Sleek, Shareable and Totally Designable. Get Yours Today!
So you have an idea or project that’s gonna take the world by storm. There’s just one thing that’s missing – cash!
You might consider trying a crowdfunding platform such as Kickstarter.com. The funds you raise from various contributors including: friends, relatives and even members of the community are not loans, and don’t need to be paid back, so you are free to allocate the capital as you wish.
One entrepreneur we’ll call Erica raised more than $10,000 from over 100 contributors in just 45 days—with average contributions of $15 to $50.
The crowdfunding model is ideally suited to the highly fragmented nature of modern markets and consumer trends. With a billion niches and ideas each needing small drops of capital to grease the gears, crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter enables entrepreneurs to bring high impact innovations to market without capital being a barrier to entry. After all, who would turn down a $50 request from a budding entrepreneur with a great idea?
Sign up for a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter today, and design a creative fundraising campaign to get your dream project off the ground!
ONE TO TRY
KickStarter: Funding Platform for Entrepreneurs, Musicians, Artists, Inventors and Designers. Fund Cool Projects or Get Funded Today!
Adobe Air is a mobile development platform that enables developers to push out their apps to all the major marketplaces. My friend and fellow video blogger MattLock is an Air evangelist who video blogs at LockOnAir.com, and he thinks Air is one of the best ways for small business owners to create innovative apps to engage consumers who are using smartphones or tablets such as the Iphone, Ipad, Playbook or Blackberry.
What types of fresh, innovative and exciting experiences can be created using apps in your industry?