How can GetHelp! Communicate Value

I think that the one most effective and onerous task that the get help team faced with is to communicate value.

The value of using the application – Why should the user even post something on the application? What can this application do that other means and platform cannot?

Value of helping others – Why should the users care about helping others? What should they be prompted by the application

Value of social capital (which incidentally is the reason which makes facebook ticks!) – How much response can the user generate if he/she shakes her “friend tree”

In essence, the design and the functionality should be answer this questions, which in turns communicates the value of this application.

Keeping this overall concept in mind, I would provide 2 few touch-points which I think would allow the application to communicate value.

Modelling – Form follows functionality. If so, what models out there can essentially allow an application to match-make users? Off the top of my head, I would recommend looking at

1)   Dating sites – as they try to match-make users through their profile and peferences. Difference over here is of course, it is presumably true that the party at both ends have the incentive to begin to want to engage in a date and have taken the proactive step to sign up, whereas GetHelp needs to offer more incentives to the “helpers”

2)   Kiva.com – I thought it was quite interesting that this micro financing site has reshaped the way financing is done. Perhaps, each task specific by the user is to huge and they can be broken down into smaller parts just like how Kiva reduces the entry barrier for mircofinancing by allow users to lend with a starting minimum of $50, for more people to come in and provide help. Again, for this side, the lenders have 2 obvious incentives which is 1) to support entrepreneurs doing good work and 2) to earn interest on loans.

3)   Odesk/freelance.com – Freelance website might offer the team some insights about how help can be categorized, quantified and outsourced.

User incentives – This is perhaps the hardest question to address. “Why should one be movitated to help others” is perhaps too large a question to be addressed by the application. A nice and realistic assumption would be there are friends and people out there who will offer their help – hence perhaps the real question is now "how to make GetHelp! personable such that both the parties have the incentive to use the platform in getting help"?

BioHack! meets Zynga

I am basically interested in how Zynga operates as an online game company – it is exciting and it grows really fast. As a business person, who wants to start a research design (BioHack!) company in a couple years, it is interesting for me to understand how Zynga has achieved this level of success and notoriety.

I would style this discussion as a case study, which presents some of my thoughts on Zynga and talk about how some of the ways Zynga these ideas can potentially work for my company.

Pirates –

Zynga is famous for copying games that are successful and doing it better than the original creators in blazing speed.

What does it mean to me –

Even a pirate can be pirated. Xp. Nah, I would give my baby – BioHack more brain juice and make sure that it operates from the same set of principles that I do:

·      Do good

·      Have fun

·      Be prepared to failed ( - consequently we can operate from a space of possibility where we have nothing to lose)

·      Innovate to create value

The biggest lesson for me over here is that it pays to learn from others who got it right and translate that lesson into strategies that I can implement. Despite the taint of unoriginality – I feel that taking what works and improving on it is the cheapest and most leveraged method. It is something few people try because of ego, I couldn’t care less because the real value is to do great work with research and invent new things by standing on the shoulders of giants. What I worry about more is giving people who invent the wheel their credit due and how can I continue to open source things. (=

There is simply, simply no point in reinventing the wheel.

Potential usefulness: 10 / 10

Micro-transactions –

Capitalizes on impulse spending and it allows the customers to self-select in terms of the amount that they are willing to pay. The premise for this is of course either there is worth to a rational customer in the purchase or that the user is irrational.

How Zynga capitalizes operates – It creates virtual value for virtual goods by making them premium and only accessible by purchase. The premium over the goods is likely to be much higher in the eyes of games addict because they can give a huge boost to game play or ego. It sucks to have one’s self image build upon and leadership boards.

What does it mean to me – The concept of micropayment itself interesting, because it allows my customers to purchase smaller units of goods or to try out premium services at a very low cost.

It caters to a larger portion of the market that in involved in the biotect/Life Science (which I have no idea if it exist or not. My guesses are that they could be amateur scientist or small biotech companies who are interested to use generic premium services). I am choosing between this and subscription, which itself commits the user to my service.

I definitely want to work on a long-term payment basis, and something which forces my company to continuously innovate and improve on our services and product rather than lump sum payment, because we cannot afford to get comfortable.

Potential usefulness: 4 / 10

Lead generation

How Zynga capitalizes operates – It offers in game rewards to its gamers who pass on their private information to other companies or fills in surveys.

What does it mean to me - I can offer my bio-informatics services online for free, then get users to submit their contact information such that I am able to collate a database of potential clients/partners to whom I can offer business opportunities or services. If the services are convenient and powerful services seems to leverage on Word- Of - Mouth to expand the company’s network along this lines. Furthermore, it would establish my company’s credibility (if the web services does well) and increase my customers proficiency in our software User Interface and our operational method as they have the incentive to familiarize themselves.

Potential usefulness: 7/ 10

What other interesting things Zynga has done –

Socially conscious goods – This is again an excellent twist to capitalize on the donations/charity market. I guess the slant is arguably good, but I remain skeptical about Zynga’s intention given their history and their lion’s share in the donation.

Heavy advertisement – Exciting. It could mean a few things:

·      Zynga growth strategy is super aggressive.

·      Sex sells, but be for it can sell, you need to let people know of the existence of it. Same applies for games I guess, vary the degree of morality.

·      It needs a damn to PR campaign to give its dirty image a good wash before it hits the real pot of gold at IPO.