Iamcool.ie

wendycat

Hi
Today I am working on a new web side (hopefully it will be the new facebook in Ireland). I need your opinion what do you think about it
Hopefully you like it, here is the link:
www.iamcool.ie

Thank you for any advice

Splinters

I had a look, it seems grand, clean design etc. In all honesty I wouldnt use it though. Theres nothing wrong with it but from what I seen theres no real appeal to it either. I guess its like any project like this, you have to ask ask yourself, why would somebody choose my product or service over any other existing alternative. Or another way to think of it, whats my unique selling point? At the risk of sounding overly critical I just couldnt see anything on your site that made me want to sign up. Then again Im probably not the target audience so what do I know.

iMax

Nice, clean & professional looking however as said above, why would someone use it. It's not the new facebook BTW, maybe has a chance at appealing to bebo users (or younger) if your marketing budget is large enough, but by the very domain name, it's trying way too hard.

My advice to give it some USP is to pitch toward the afore mentioned bebo brigade & possibly slightly younger. Get some content that's relevant to them.

Trying to monitize it though is going to be tough. They don't have any.

Noodleworm

the website looks nice enough but i'm a bit unclear on its purpose.
Don't try to create a Facebook when we already have Facebook.
create something the internet needs.

wendycat

Thank you for critical opinion I certenly agree with you, there need to be something to atract people. My brain is working and maybe the idea of some web as "I have a talent and therfore I am cool!". People that have something interesting to show can sign up.
I am glad you like the design coz I was a little bit worried.
I am getting to work, thank you for your opinion.
I hope you will have a reason to come there in the future

tricky D

Careful using stock photos without a rights licence. Stock agencies don't take kindly to images being used without permission or licence and can send big bills for unauthorised use.

Eg.
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9122449-the-dancer.php

wendycat

Don't wory all photos are from stock

Bears and Vodka

wendycat wrote: »

Don't wory all photos are from stock

But is it stock you are ALLOWED use ?

wendycat

subz3r0 wrote: »

But is it stock you are ALLOWED use ?

Of course, you are allow to use stock photos, or I should say you must use them. Don't try to cut the costs and take photos from google. That is not allowed you are robing somebody's work

GaryCanDance

Doesn't seem niche enough to really get a large enough base to take off...

P.S. You don't have a thumbnail icon yet

Deliverance

Hi Wendycat. First of all congrats on making a move into the social networking area. It is certainly the way to go and you are going the right way about it by asking people about your current prototype.

A question that I have for you is: What is your USP? How do you intend to implement it outside of the template design which is provided by plugins. Basically what is unique about your prototype?

peejay1986

My personal opinion is that the site looks dodgy from the off. Now that might not be your fault but it's how I feel. I've seen too many similar looking websites to think otherwise. Usually these similar looking sites are Asian based and often selling knock-off goods.

It's just what I associate with that style of site. It's generic, looks like a template. There is nothing unique about it.

wendycat

peejay1986 wrote: »

My personal opinion is that the site looks dodgy from the off. Now that might not be your fault but it's how I feel. I've seen too many similar looking websites to think otherwise. Usually these similar looking sites are Asian based and often selling knock-off goods.

It's just what I associate with that style of site. It's generic, looks like a template. There is nothing unique about it.

Well, that is your opinion. Maybe that side is looking as an Asian one. But realy, did you ever saw an Asian site? Well, let me anwser that for you: you didn't, on the bottom I inclose you the "Asian site" link. Before you ever write anything cheque are you right. 'Coz what you have said is a bull ****!

http://cyworld.ifensi.com/main/

peejay1986

wendycat wrote: »

Well, that is your opinion. Maybe that side is looking as an Asian one. But realy, did you ever saw an Asian site? Well, let me anwser that for you: you didn't, on the bottom I inclose you the "Asian site" link. Before you ever write anything cheque are you right. 'Coz what you have said is a bull ****!

http://cyworld.ifensi.com/main/

Oi, relax. If you don't want people's opinions then don't ask for them on a public forum. Even that link you showed (language aside) looks a very similar style to yours. Here's another example

http://www.tradetang.com/

I stand by my opinion. Never said it was correct but labelling it as bull**** says a lot about your opinion to feedback.

Mister Man

wendycat wrote: »

Well, that is your opinion. Maybe that side is looking as an Asian one. But realy, did you ever saw an Asian site? Well, let me anwser that for you: you didn't, on the bottom I inclose you the "Asian site" link. Before you ever write anything cheque are you right. 'Coz what you have said is a bull ****!

http://cyworld.ifensi.com/main/

Wasn't much need for that. He was giving you Feedback on the site, and you just snapped with him?
So if someone joined your site, they send you some feedback on what they think, what's to say you want label what they said as bull****?
You should be careful what you say on a forum. It's not like what he said was attacking you in anyway.
I would agree that the look of the site, it very generic. Don't get mad at people for saying that: Try fix it. Of course, you aren't going to make everyone happy, ever! But who's stopping you from trying.!

wendycat

peejay1986 wrote: »

Oi, relax. If you don't want people's opinions then don't ask for them on a public forum. Even that link you showed (language aside) looks a very similar style to yours. Here's another example

http://www.tradetang.com/

I stand by my opinion. Never said it was correct but labelling it as bull**** says a lot about your opinion to feedback.

Ok, sorry maybe I was too harsh on you. Sorry

whydoibother?

Is the name "Iamcool" fixed for definite? I feel that could limit the age profile of the people who it appeals to. I think the idea of I have talent could be good. Maybe some sort of twist on linkedin. You could organize it or group people by skills - rather than having them need to make the connections themselves, just have a pool of automotive people, banking people, construction people etc., (you may need to have further subdivisions), so that people who sign up automatically get to network. The problem with linkedin is you really need to already know the person before it's acceptable to ask for a connection making it slightly redundant in some ways.
Keeping it domestic and having a specific Ireland site could be advantageous. Your profile can get lost in the millions on these big sites. If you want to branch out later you can do other locations.
Sorry if I'm getting carried away and this is all a bit more careers orientated than you had intended, and it's supposed to just be fun.

wendycat

whydoibother? wrote: »

Is the name "Iamcool" fixed for definite? I feel that could limit the age profile of the people who it appeals to. I think the idea of I have talent could be good. Maybe some sort of twist on linkedin. You could organize it or group people by skills - rather than having them need to make the connections themselves, just have a pool of automotive people, banking people, construction people etc., (you may need to have further subdivisions), so that people who sign up automatically get to network. The problem with linkedin is you really need to already know the person before it's acceptable to ask for a connection making it slightly redundant in some ways.
Keeping it domestic and having a specific Ireland site could be advantageous. Your profile can get lost in the millions on these big sites. If you want to branch out later you can do other locations.
Sorry if I'm getting carried away and this is all a bit more careers orientated than you had intended, and it's supposed to just be fun.

Well, I thought that this side would be perfect for people that are somehow interesting. A web site that combine www.deviantart.com (but for wider range of people with a wider range of talents), www.facebook.com (as a sociel site) and a place where you can be find, ie. some model agency see that you are beautiful because you had your portfolio on the site. I thought that while advertising the site (starting next month), I could you use a slogan that coud show people that while there is recession, they still have the chance to find work in the areas they are good at. That means that you are not only socialising and showing yourself but in an easy way you can be seen. That why the age range is so big.

whydoibother?

wendycat wrote: »

Well, I thought that this side would be perfect for people that are somehow interesting. A web site that combine www.deviantart.com (but for wider range of people with a wider range of talents), www.facebook.com (as a sociel site) and a place where you can be find, ie. some model agency see that you are beautiful because you had your portfolio on the site. I thought that while advertising the site (starting next month), I could you use a slogan that coud show people that while there is recession, they still have the chance to find work in the areas they are good at. That means that you are not only socialising and showing yourself but in an easy way you can be seen. That why the age range is so big.

Oh right, fair enough. If your site has a particular art focus, it's probably a very good name.

Duckjob

.

Smyth

well done. you've installed some software and changed the logo.

Facebook and Google are ****ting in their pants.

Splinters

Must agree I think the name is going to be a limiting factor here. I can see from your previous post you have actually put some thought into it so I can only assume it just boils down to a difference in personal taste. Personally I think the name sounds either too childish, or like some horrible marketing idea gone wrong, like some large corporation trying to entice kids into the site (that probably sounds more sinister then I actually meant).

The only way to sum it up, as somebody who creates a wide range of art....and as an "adult", Id honestly be embarrassed to give somebody a link to my portfolio on a site called I Am Cool.

Deliverance

actually I just checked out the logo there on the site and it does look cool. Perfect work on the logo. It is sophisticated and it cuts through issues raised about it sounding childish. The logo just works plus the 'oo' does look like a button that could be a an app button.

Keep up the good work but learn to take constructive critisism. The best feedback that you get is the negative feedback.

Jesus Wept

The name is painfully uncool.

hazelhoff

Hi Wendycat,

I think your design is nice and clean and userfriendly but I think if your trying to be the next FB for Ireland you need to make it stand out and be different to what people see everyday and I do agree with the above comments because I was looking for a knock off juicy tracksuit a while ago and I got re-directed from Ebay to a site that looks very like yours.

I also think that you should really reconsider the way you react to critiscism first off because you asked a forum or peoples opinions and secondly because if you are trying to be the next Fb you need to learn people skills! your going to need to listen to alot of people if that is your goal as you will need a lot of help! even the fella that invented Fb needed it in the end! You shouldnt take offense to this as I am trying to help you with the experience I have also. Maybe try change the backgroung and add a tagline to get people interested to pull viewers in!

Scotty #

Not only are you using a free template but it's the default template with just a logo change. You need to completely customise it to have your site unique and appealing.

Random social sites like this are two a penny and 99.999% fail miserably. If you want yours to work then I suggest you specialise in something. Being 'cool' is too broad. A SN exclusively for motorsport fans, guitarists, farmers, angling, anything that people will find in common but not so broad that it covers too many interests. Friend of mine runs a quiet successful Wind Surfing SN in the UK.

I registered a couple of domains myself before with a view to building something like this but after a bit of research I found it to be more of a task than I was willing to take on.

I wish you good luck

IQDENIED

wendycat wrote: »

www.iamcool.ie

SNAP!!! :D:cool::pac:

a5y

wendycat wrote: »

Hi
Today I am working on a new web side (hopefully it will be the new facebook in Ireland). I need your opinion what do you think about it
Hopefully you like it, here is the link:
www.iamcool.ie

Thank you for any advice

"iamcool.ie" is a bit much.

I can, without embarassment say "sure" to someone asking me to add them on Facebook.

But if someone asked me to add them on iamcool I'd have to say... err... yeah. I'll get right on that.

Also, don't try to make it the Irish facebook. Ireland already has a Facebook, and it works well with the UK Facebook, the US Facebook, the French Facebook...

Pick a niche. A select subculture or group of people. Maybe if you want to do an Irish Facebook, something like GAA football or hurling. But it needs a USP, and it needs to be plain obvious who exactly its catering for - what they spend their time doing that most people aren't into.

a5y

wendycat wrote: »

Well, I thought that this side would be perfect for people that are somehow interesting. A web site that combine www.deviantart.com (but for wider range of people with a wider range of talents), www.facebook.com (as a sociel site) and a place where you can be find, ie. some model agency see that you are beautiful because you had your portfolio on the site. I thought that while advertising the site (starting next month), I could you use a slogan that coud show people that while there is recession, they still have the chance to find work in the areas they are good at. That means that you are not only socialising and showing yourself but in an easy way you can be seen. That why the age range is so big.

Don't do a broader deviantart, PLEASE don't. Its so broad its actually slow as all hell to browse through the categories to see the one you're looking for. Besides, you have to compete directly with dA (& Flickr too) as a start up.

To begin with, you'd have to build every feature they already have before you build whatever else you'd need to make it broader.

gothictwilight

Good looking site. Not too sure bout the name though, too much of a mouthful (think twitter).
I think to compete with a behemoth like facebook you'll really need a niche market.
Best of luck though:)

Deliverance

Im thinking of creating a social media site as well. I think I will call it 'Social Cat' because cats are cool. Also I am thinking about using free templates provided by a third party plug in to implement it quickly. Then I am thinking of posting it to as many forums as possible to get exposure.

Would that be a good strategy for me? If people don't like my strategy when I post it on forums then they can go F themselves, I think it is a great idea though because I am cool;)