February 23, 2010
Role: Concept / Design
YouQuote is an application concept in which users would vote on user-generated quotes. The ‘YouQuote’ with the most votes is awarded Quote of the Day, Quote of the Week, Quote of the Month, and lastly, Quote of the Year. I submitted this concept as part of MipTv’s Content 360 competition in the Engaging Audiences category. Below is an extract from my proposal which will help clarify:
Project Description
It is in our nature to quote others. It helps us gather a better understanding of what we’re trying to communicate. It is to no wonder that there are countless ‘quote of the day’ calendars and applications all over the internet. We archive them for a reason: we feel they mean something to us and that they genuinely teach us something.
We now live in the information age. Information is being spread faster and on more mediums than ever. Quite literally, it is in the palm of our hands. It’s worth thinking about who says what and what value it has, not 10 years ago, but today.
Think about the Retweet function on the Twitter platform. Users press a button to tell their friends about something they find important to them. But how important is it really? How many people in total will actually find it to be important? This question is being asked by today’s marketers and social media specialists. It’s time to find out.
YouQuote is a system where users can submit a ‘quote of the day’ to be voted on by other users. The highest voted YouQuote will be featured on the home page. Our goal is to get users engaged creatively, academically and culturally; to prompt them to share with others their thoughts, receive feedback on these thoughts, interact with other users, and promote a collective voice.
Uniqueness of the Application or Content Idea
YouQuote is unique in so much as it is transforms a familiar function and theory, the retweet, into a user voting system whereby it isn’t news feeds or URL’s we’re sharing, but rather, our own thoughts. It is heavily influenced by current trends. It would be based on a very similar 140 character update system as Twitter but as a platform, I would emphasize the connection of having a quote of the day – something said by you that’s important to us – something relevant and time sensitive. Whether or not the system will require a user account is still to be determined.
Potential for Wide Spread User Involvement
The project’s success will be held in user interaction. Simply put, if people use it, it has potential to go viral, but if people don’t use it, it is worthless. However, it is important to understand that 1) with the popularity of Twitter and emerging personal androids, the time is now and 2) momentum will be difficult to gauge – this kind of project can take off at any point in time.
Quality of the Idea Description
Twitter is in it’s prime and is only getting better. The popularity for a 140 character phrase is what users crave. The idea is there. People retweet news and phrases of interest to their followers – similarily, youQuote users vote on user sayings for others to see.
Thought Given as to What is Needed to Develop the Idea
The disadvantage of having a user login system is the requirement of more space and a more complex database but more importantly, it slows down the process. The advantages of having it are that it will help reduce spam and can hopefully encourage users to genuinely use the system and continue to use the system. In any case, the system will require an intense validation routine to weed out non sense.
The project will require at bare minimum one designer, two developers, and a project manager. It will also require testing groups and a marketing campaign focused on online and print advertising.
Added Value for a Media Company or a Consumer Brand
A database of users looking to have their words heard caters to specific industries that could benefit from advertising on the website.
Great idea!