Jason, Dave and I are doing a ton of testing now. The way we do it is comb the site and app for any bugs or problems and enter them on a to-do in our Basecamp area. As Jason and Dave sort them out, they just check off their to-dos.
Just head over to heyamigo.net. We’re looking for some quality testers to get involved starting next week. It’s a great chance to get a sneak peak at the app and help us make sure it’s bullet proof.
A really important part of building a web app is determing how billing/invoicing will work, and how that integrates with your accounting software. We use QuickBooks so we have to integrate DropSend and Amigo with it.
The above photo is Nick (our accountant), Mo (our bookkeeper) and me talking about how Amigo invoices and payments will be imported into QuickBooks. Here’s how we’re going to do it:
Lots of people have been e-mailing us and asking us the big question:”What is Amigo?”. Some of the more wiley amongst you have sniffed out the information by yourselves. But it’s a fair cop, Guv, so here we are to reveal all.
Amigo is an application that helps site owners find advertisers for their e-mail newsletters. It’s also an application that helps advertisers find new, unexploited advertising opportunities in e-mail newsletters. And that’s about it. Nice and simple.
Really, the app works like a matching service. If you are an advertiser you can register with Amigo and find hundreds of newsletters in which to advertise your product. If you are a newsletter owner, your small (but targeted) newsletter could be the perfect ad vehicle for one advertiser who is willing to pay a relatively high price per click to reach your subscribers. It’s a match made in heaven!
We’ll be inviting beta testers very soon so stay tuned!
I interviewed Tim O’Reilly on Friday for Vitamin, and at the end of the conversation we had a chat about Amigo.
He swore to secrecy :) and I told him what the idea was. He said “Wow, now that’s a great idea. I can’t believe that hasn’t been done yet. How are you planning on marketing it?” I told him about our marketing strategy and how we wanted to get certain vertical markets for the closed Beta. He gave me some amazing ideas and tips. He also said it was important that we get enough people in on the Beta, so the potential opposition would be discouraged from trying to launch a direct competitor.
It’s not every day that I get free advice from one of the industry’s sharpest thinkers. Thanks Tim!
I’m doing a 1-day workshop called A-Z: How to Build a Web App. Here’s a list of some of the topics I’ll be hitting:
If you’re planning or building a web app, you’ll find this day extremely valuable. Seats are selling pretty quick, so if you’re planning on coming, best to grab your seat now.
We’re all moved into our new office (with shiny new desks and everything) and Amigo is back on the conveyor belt. Here’s a quick tour of our office and Ryan to give you an update on the latest issue with PayPal.
RSS readers, view the video here.
I’ve been getting some emails with questions about my process for logos and layouts, so I thought I would post some of them here with my answers:
How long do you sketch before moving to the computer?
Well, the short answer is: as long as it takes. I have strong opinions about hopping on to the computer too soon, but, that is because I am very observant of my work habits and understand what works for me. It’s different for everyone, but I find that when I start moving stuff around on screen without having a solid idea, I end up losing sight of the concept. What it comes down to for me is: the computer is a precise tool and my sketchbook is an imprecise tool. By using an imprecise tool first, it allows me to get my brain working on the idea rather than my hands working on the execution. It’s a cart-before-the-horse situation.
In the case of Amigo, I did something I rarely do: I showed the Carsons (the “client”) my sketches. This doesn’t work for everyone, and you really have to get that sorta gut feeling about a client. Some clients get really freaked out by seeing just sketches, and no amount of explaining that they are roughs will quell them. I knew I could show the Carsons my initial ideas and have them understand that I wasn’t showing them final ideas. They realized that they were actually getting the better end of the deal: more ideas to choose from up front.
What’s your next step after sketches/what programs do you use?
After I am done sketching, I jump into Adobe Illustrator. I know a lot of people who have a terrible fear of Illustrator, which is a shame, because it’s a very powerful and useful program. “Why not Photoshop?,” you might ask. Well, Photoshop is a damn fine program too, but I don’t like it for logo work (unless there is something concerning the logo that Photoshop inherently does better, eg. anything dealing with photography manipulation). I learned Illustrator before Photoshop, so that may have something to do with it, but Illustrator feels very fast for fleshing out my ideas, especially for heavy shape editing or color and font play. What’s more, I think it’s extremely important to create a vector version of your logo so that you aren’t tied to specific resolutions or dimensions; you can quickly edit and be on your merry way.
What kind of sketchbook do you use?
Well, yes, it’s trendy, but I use a Moleskine Sketchbook. The binding is durable, I really like the paper quality, and it’s just the right size. Say what you will, but when you find a sketchbook you like, you stick with it.
Well, those were the most common ones I got, if you have any others, feel free to fire away in the comments.
I’m currently in Kenya, just outside Nairobi in the beautiful Rift Valley. (I was lucky enough to be invited to do some consulting on web strategy for an African wildlife conservation web site.)
It’s amazing how all I need is a web connection (in this case a satellite connection), and I can still to manage the building of Amigo. Let the work continue! Jason has just cranked out some more comps for the website. Here’s a sneak peak at the Buzz page (I’ve changed the strapline, obviously).
This is our environment right now. Yes we are moving offices. I know, I know, great timing huh? We have no telephones or Wi Fi yet so we’re effectively still working from home right now.
But despite our increased levels of disorganisation, Amigo is still ticking along. We received a letter of confirmation from the Patent Office, acknowledging our application for the trademark, and accepting our cheque for £250. So finger’s crossed!
While on the development front - Dave has assured us that we can expect a full Beta in around two weeks and Jason is busy in Philadelphia working on the web designs.
So at the moment Dave and Jason are doing all the work, while we spend our time putting Ikea desks together and getting ‘Allen-key’ wrist! Building web apps certainly is glam…