Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
First things first: today I started a new category on eWritings, called “startup review.” The purpose? To fight Web boredom. Seriously. I am thinking that by monitoring some of these startups I’ll get a better insight of the trends and ideas that ultimately lead to the birth of a great Web service. I am also hoping that my professional skills will serve the reviewed entities in finding a direction for their endeavor.
I noticed that many of these startups are clueless as to what it takes to make a mark on the modern Web spectrum. I’m guessing that their creators are mostly kids in a garage. They probably have no funding but they have ideas that, with the right guidance, could grow. Ultimately, I hope that my reviews will help these startups get noticed by the users, potential investors and journalists who could promote them better. Without any further delay, let me introduce PageTiki.
What Is PageTiki? – Pick Your Definition
Without even plunging into a deep description of the service, I give you the opportunity to pick your definition of PageTiki, just for fun.
Is it:
- A purposeless service designed to waste your time and patience?
- A good idea gone wrong?
- A good idea with a meaning we’ll miss because we simply cannot understand the obvious?
- A combination of all of the above?
How can you possibly choose if you don’t know the service? To be honest, you can’t, but I thought I might as well spare you the trouble of actually visiting the site, creating an account and spending 30 minutes in wonder and astonishment, repeating to yourself, over and over again, WTF as I did.
If PageTiki’s statements are true, then the service can track “visual content” on a web page and their algorithms are smart enough to ignore insignificant changes like timestamps, counters, etc. This leaves room for important visual changes only.
Question: why would you want to monitor the changes in the design of a page? I can see how this could be interesting for web designers and web trends analysts; I can see how the editors of Web Pages that Suck could use the service; and I can even see a Jakob Nielsen monitoring a few hundreds of sites at once to gather material for his usability reports, but I seriously cannot see the average user spending time at PageTiki.
For people in my line of work, monitoring web trends is one of those vital elements that make our business sell. Trends show you how the markets evolve, and they also show what the users expect and react to. Changes in competitor sites are usually not random acts, but the result of user feedback, surveying, and expert analysis. I can see how a site that monitors these types of changes in real time can be useful for web development and marketing analysis. But this is a niche market, with a limited number of users and these users are typically the ones who could actually pay for such a service.
But It’s Not Designed for Professionals
So how does PageTiki, which is also a free service, expect to grow and to monetize? I am guessing that the service will eventually cease to be free or become “paid” for those who want to monitor many pages.
There is a funny “tiki bucks” system I couldn’t yet figure out. Apparently when you “run out” of tiki bucks you can email the tiki to get more… A thread on the Tiki Google Group sheds some light on the “how to monetize” matter:
Starting today, you must have a balance greater than 10 TikiBucks in order for your pages to be checked.
PageTiki is running on a small server and can only accommodate users who monitor 10 pages or less. This isn’t a hard limit, but the flow of TikiBucks to your account will be gradually metered to a quantity that only affords that number of sites. Of course, this really depends on how often you configure page checks, since each check “costs” 33 TikiBucks. Do the math. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Eventually, the ability to buy more bucks may be added. This will help pay for the cost of a larger server. Until then, enjoy your fair share!
In other words: when and if PageTiki becomes popular… “buh-bye free rides.” And as far as “small servers” are concerned, we can only assume that PageTiki resides on a laptop in someone’s garage in Palo Alto.
The service looks amateurish so far, the company blog is hosted by WordPress – which makes me wonder about their server and database capabilities again. The entries on the blog point to at best immature thinking in corporate strategy – the developers are either very young or not interested in “quatsching” too much about their creation. The threads on the blog are some of the shortest I’ve ever read. Suggest: move the blog to twitter.
It’s pretty unclear who is behind the service, and if you were wondering about the FAQ the questions and answers remind me of MyBlogLog’s FAQ section back when the service was launched. These Q/A were made for fun and not for potential users.
Another aspect that strikes me is the language used on the site. The style makes me believe that the site is addressed to an audience under 14, especially the “be good and have fun” part you can find on the TOS page. This sounds like the 1950’s TV show “Howdy Doody”
A Good Idea, But the Developers Are Missing the Point
The idea is good. I cannot be the judge of the algorithms and the back end, since I have no access to these. But as I said above, a service that monitors in real time web site changes (design) could become a useful tool for professionals in many web development fields. Online marketing and advertising, as well as online PR could also use the service. As for ordinary users… I simply cannot see the point.
Advice to the developers:
- Make PageTiki private beta, refine the back end and UI, work on the algorithms and add some professional monitoring and reporting features.
- Then ask a beta reviewer to test your service and publish a review on one major Web 2.0 outlet.
- When you think you are ready for the spot lights, create a “free” type of account for “testing the service” and monetize based on how many sites users want to monitor each month.
- Be prepared for high traffic, especially if you manage to create a service that is powerful enough to satisfy Omniture – look at their OTTO digital content design consulting to see a possible application for what you created.
- Make a better About PageTiki page and explain who needs such a service and application areas. I think I already gave you a few ideas.
This ends this week’s startup review and also the free advice I am willing to offer.
Post from: eWritings - Online Public Relations
The Weekly Startup Review: PageTiki