What We.Be

Spreaker, Let The World Know Your on Air

iftttcreativity — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:28:00 -0500

It’s not often I stumble across something that I am genuinely curious about. Spreaker, a live radio tool for the web, is one of these services that made the cut. What do we have to thank for that?

Well, besides thanking their awesome product, I’m giving a lot of credit to their awesome demo.

I can say wholeheartedly I really enjoyed watching this demo. Heavy on the cute animation, Spreaker’s video was genuinely entertaining, and full of energy. They did an amazing job of pitching Spreaker the project, and what can be done with Spreaker in a very elegant way.

On top of that, the video is only a minute and two seconds long. A smidgen over a minute was all that was needed for me to fall head over heels for their product.

That’s how a demo should you win over.

So what exactly did Spreaker do right?

1. Good Speaker

The speaker was smooth, cool, and commanding. Kept you focused on the demo and what Spreaker can offer you.

2. Fun, Off-beat Animation

I love silly animations that take on a new approach to showing off a product. The little blobs that used Spreaker in the demo were perfect, and fun to watch.

Don’t doubt the power of animation.

3. What Can It Do For Me?

A lot of products show off features of a product, but don’t show you how the product benefits you. Spreaker barely talked about their features. Instead, they showed off what their product can do for you.

All in all, this video was a lot of fun, and did it’s job exceptionally well. I have no problem giving this demo our first ever 5/5. Keep up the great work Spreaker, and other demo makers, take note!

Today I will not critique but rather honor and pay homage like...

iftttcreativity — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:15:00 -0500

Today I will not critique but rather honor and pay homage like the rest of the world.

Social media sites have been going crazy with people remembering and sharing their most inspirational moment or quote from the late Steve Jobs. I must admit I did find myself listening to his 2005 commencement speech a few times. It was good back then, but now…well…

So today I’m posting the first demo of the Apple Macintosh from 1984.

All I’m going to say is “Macintosh Insanely Great!”

Find The Right Beat For Your News

iftttcreativity — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:21:00 -0500

If content is king, then your analytics program is queen. Newsbeat, an analytics program made just for publishers by the king of real-time Chartbeat, is a powerful way to get the most out of your visits.

Their demo, which is two minutes and twenty seconds long, is absolutely wonderful. While extremely over the time limit we favor, they used every second wisely. Each subject brought up in the demo was to either convince us to use Newsbeat or show us the differentiation from their main product Chartbeat.

The narration was clear to the point and the animation in the video was not graphic heavy, but rather word focused. If I was to criticize something it would be that I did wish (just a little) that there would be more excitement towards the end of the video. Perhaps a bit more imagery with a bit more *pop* in the transitions. Otherwise, the subtle animation was appreciated.

The last thing I want to note is the light background music. It was nice to hear background music that matched the tone of the demo and product. Light but powerful. Good background music can really set the vibe for a demo video, and is a great asset to keeping viewers interested.

All in all, this was a great product demo. I give it a 4.5/5 for its simplicity while being able to keep me interested for nearly the whole of two minutes. Newsbeat’s demo is a great demo to steal a few ideas from.

Did Newsbeat’s demo keep you interested?

Connections Can't Be Hazzy!

iftttcreativity — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:22:00 -0500

We’ve all heard the saying: “It’s all about who you know”. Finding the right connections can sometimes be a hassle especially when you potentially have hundreds of connections to filter through.

Hachi attempts to solve this problem by finding the right people for you. Their product is currently in private beta and their demo is an important aspect of making you sign up.

Their demo is front and center of the landing page and is the only thing that describes the product.

Hachi, while a great idea, doesn’t have the greatest voice quality in their demo and this is all I could concentrate on while watching this video. The animation is rock solid and the script is a flawlessly read but I have to say the lack of quality in the recording ruins the demo for me.

As one of my colleagues stated, the demo sounds like it came out of a B-rated 80’s film, something that shouldn’t be happening in this day and age unless it’s the intended styling of the demo.

Nonetheless, if their demo wasn’t the center piece of their marketing strategy to get private beta users then perhaps this issue wouldn’t bother me so much. But since the demo is my first and only impression of the product I can only hope this is something they are planning on resolving.

Sound quality is and should be just as important as the video quality, especially when your demo is the only call to action you have to get users.

For this demo I am giving two ratings:

1) Judging the demo as is I am giving it a 2.5/5. (This is solely based on how distracting the bad sound quality is).

2) Putting recording quality aside Hachi’s demo gets 4 out of 5. It really does a great job of conveying that Hachi can simplify making connections for you.

All that said I’m signing up for the beta!

What are your thoughts WhatWe.Be community? Do you agree or disagree that sound quality is just as important as video quality?

You’re popular on Facebook, right? Of course you...

iftttcreativity — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:48:00 -0500

You’re popular on Facebook, right? Of course you are.

TabVertiser wants to help you make use of that popularity by allowing you to buy and sell ad space on popular Facebook pages while making some extra cash and gather more customers in the process.

While the idea is unique and surely steps on toes of Facebook purists and company, TabVertiser’s demo does a lot to make us here at WhatWe.Be at least consider the idea.

Chances are if you have 10,000+likes you don’t need to be reminded of it, but rather want to know how you can benefit from it right off the bat. TabVertiser definitely takes their time getting to the point.

While we stayed interested out of pure curiosity of the potential benefits (which are great!) we did find ourselves wandering towards the end. At a minute and forty-three seconds long their video is a bit too long for our taste.

TabVertiser should have cut to the chase within the first twenty seconds of the video. It seemed that too much time was spent pitching how popular you were rather than how TabVertiser could leverage that popularity.

That said, this extra weight did not detract from the product in any way it just merely took a bit more time than we would’ve liked.

TabVertiser’s fun graphics, the speaker’s smooth voice and simply fun approach to a rather dull topic of buying and selling ads left us wanting to try out the product.

Today’s demo receives 4.5 out of 5. The time of the demo is the only aspect holding us back from that perfect score. Do you think we are too harsh? How long is too long for a product and/or a service demo? We are taking a poll. Click here and let us know your thoughts.

We strongly suggest that startups take note of this demo and really analyze why this demo was fun, unique, and got us hooked on TabVertiser’s idea before even trying it.

WhatWe.Be Is A Changin'

iftttcreativity — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:22:00 -0500

If you are a regular visitor of WhatWe.Be you’ll notice we ditched the mass showcase of demos on the front page over the weekend and came back strong with a more traditional simplistic style of blogging.

After much debate we decided that the showcase simply didn’t do justice to the demos or the startups we are trying to promote.

From now on only one demo will be featured daily. Each demo will be analyzed and rated by our team and readers for timeliness, creativity, and effectiveness of the demo’s message.

We hope and expect that this will lead to greater engagement from our audience but most importantly help startups refine their demos by hearing feedback from potential users.

We anticipate adding more features as time goes on. We will keep you posted on all such updates but in the meantime let talk demos!

Skillz for dollar Billz! Skilio.com is a social networking...

iftttcreativity — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:18:00 -0500

Skillz for dollar Billz!

Skilio.com is a social networking website that enables you to find the expertise you need and/or share the skills you have for a negotiable fee.

With different options to login (they have various social media accounts or you can login with your email) in just a few minutes you can create a profile, type what you’re looking for in the search bar, browse the results and contact the member you want with the skill request you need.

Simple Right?

This is the sentiment I had after watching their demo. Their video is a little over a minute and explains the main elements of Skilio very well. Simplistic in its animation it’s visually easy to watch and it even made me want to recommend the site to a few friends that I know are looking to make some extra cash.

On the negative side there wasn’t much “je ne sais quoi”. Although most of the time I like simple animation and find it quite effective I must admit that a few of the visual representations used didn’t quite resonate with me.

For example:

While talking about prices being negotiable between the user and the contact a stopwatch and the word “price” is used. I get it, but I think this could have been visualized with much stronger imagery.

Same goes with the next frame. They choose the image of a mirrored desk and chair to illustrate that any budget can be met. This stood out to me…and not in a good way.

With all that said, I do think their demo does its job. It is a fun approach to a demo, that simply needs some refining when it comes to the imagery used to describe the product. This though, does not take away from a demo’s main purpose, which is to describe the product while keeping us entertained.

Skilio manages to do that, with only a few hiccups along the way, leaving us to give Skilio’s demo a WhatWe.Be 3.5 out of 5!

Got Milk.ly? While the opening of this post may have been corny,...

iftttcreativity — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:05:02 -0500

Got Milk.ly?

While the opening of this post may have been corny, Milk.ly as a concept is nothing but that. They are a service dedicated to finding you your local needs in real-time through the convenience of your browser.

Since Milk.ly is in private beta, I can’t speak to how awesome their service actually is, but have no doubt, their demo leaves plenty to be discussed.

Milk.ly’s landing page is a beautiful landscape, with a demo of their product front and center. As always, the most important aspect of a demo is if it is a minute long or less. Milk.ly doesn’t accomplish this, and is 21 seconds over.

Now normally, a product with a lot features can get away with this if done so elegantly and with purpose. This is not the case with Milk.ly, and this is because Milk.ly does not add any flare to their demo.

While the premise of the demo is unique, and is quite reminiscent of Google’s popular Gmail commercial, nothing kept me watching. The demo simply kept asking questions, and telling us how they were being answered statically. I feel that since Milk.ly made this demo a huge part of their landing page, they should’ve pulled out all the stops in said demo to really ramp up the excitement.

Instead, I felt a bit let down not only about the demo, but by the service itself because of the lack of excitement in the demo. By making a demo such an exclusive part of your landing page experience, it’s critical the demo is stunning to get to people sign-up, and later use the service.

My suggestion to improve this demo? Show the people doing these exciting things because of your service. One approach is to open the demo showing two people going to a concert rocking out, and then doing a backtrack by two hours showing how they got those awesome concert tickets using Milk.ly.

Today’s demo rating is a 3/5. While the idea shows promise, the execution simply doesn’t measure up. This is further highlighted that the Milk.ly team is relying on this demo near exclusively to get a beta list of users. A risky bet no matter how great your demo is.

Of course readers, vote yourself and be sure to let us know what you think. Maybe it’s the next best thing to milk mustaches and I just don’t see it.

Time is money, there’s no doubt about that. That’s...

iftttcreativity — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:57:00 -0500

Time is money, there’s no doubt about that. That’s why a wealth of project management apps are fighting for your attention to manage your teams time.

TeamLab is a web office that allows you to manage your projects completely in the browser, and access projects from your mobile device. They also offer a number of other features that are great for business, completely for free.

But the grand question is, does their demo sell us over their competitors?

Sort of.

TeamLab’s demo is a little over a minute, and grabs your attention quickly by asking, “How to enhance your teamwork?” This blunt question makes me want to watch more, with hopes that I will find a solution to my problem.

After that though, the demo starts to move really fast. While I could keep up, it was hard to really pinpoint what really stood out about TeamLab over their competitors. It seemed like the team at TeamLab’s felt they had to show off every single feature in one minute. While showing off all that you can do is always preferable, if you can’t do it well then everything looks subpar.

My suggestion for improvement when it comes to their demo? Pick out three to five unique features, and make those the focus of the video. Showing off what you do exceptionally well is a great way to gain focus, and really display your strengths over the competitors. After all, if you claim to be a project management app, we assume your feature set is closely matched to your competition, making every feature display a bit monotonous.

That said, what matters the most is how TeamLab works, and we can assure you that you will be getting the most bang for your buck (which is absolutely free!).

We give this demo at WhatWe.Be a 3.5/5. A little more focus on unique features is needed, but the attention grabber is great, and kept me interested nonetheless.

Are you ready for your dirty little secrets to go public?Dirty...

iftttcreativity — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:59:55 -0500

Are you ready for your dirty little secrets to go public?

Dirty Bubble is a place for people to rate, share, and review their previous relationships and hook-ups. People add profiles of people they dated, review them, and share their experiences with others …and by others I mean anyone and everyone who joins!

I don’t know about you, but immediately after watching this demo I had flashbacks of people I’ve dated in the past! This could change how people date! Would you have the same behavior knowing you would be judged and reviewed publically on your dating and hook-up etiquette??? ummmm.

I give this demo 5 stars on pure concept originality!

Money, money…..MONEY! BankSimple is reinventing personal...

iftttcreativity — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:58:00 -0500

Money, money…..MONEY!

BankSimple is reinventing personal banking! BankSimple is a worry-free alternative to traditional personal banking.

Get your invite and check out their demo video!

Watch your back! Who can say they have great posture 100% of...

iftttcreativity — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:10:00 -0500

Watch your back!

Who can say they have great posture 100% of the time? Most of us who work at our desk all day are probably guilty of neglecting our posture and perhaps giving in to a hunched back!

NO MORE!

The LUMOback is a patch that communicates with a smartphone app and vibrates when you have poor posture. LUMOback is a DEMOgod award winner!

Check out their video!

Organize your tweets with Keepstream. Whether it’s...

iftttcreativity — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:14:41 -0500

Organize your tweets with Keepstream.

Whether it’s conference chatter, launch buzz or a fun conversation. Save those tweets. Organize them.

Ticketive helps you manage your customer emails easily &...

iftttcreativity — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:52:00 -0500

Ticketive helps you manage your customer emails easily & efficiently by plugging in to your favourite mail client, Gmail.

This is a sneak peak at just a few of their functions that can help you manage your emails and customer support.

Rate this video now!

Motivational messages by elite athletes daily for free! See how...

iftttcreativity — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:09:28 -0500

Motivational messages by elite athletes daily for free!

See how Poosh can help you have a healthy day and feel great about yourself in the evening!

VisualBee is a Microsoft PowerPoint plugin (add-in). VisualBee...

iftttcreativity — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:51:07 -0500

VisualBee is a Microsoft PowerPoint plugin (add-in). VisualBee takes a plain PowerPoint™ presentation and automatically enhances it, creating an exciting and powerful showcase. VisualBee masters your content and selects appropriate graphics to enrich your PowerPoint™ presentation from the extensive VisualBee design bank or your own library.

Rate this demo now!

Flight search is a feature that helps you explore air travel...

iftttcreativity — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:20:54 -0500

Flight search is a feature that helps you explore air travel options for a number of cities, and plan your trip with just a few clicks of the mouse.

JobON is a web-based service for finding, applying and...

iftttcreativity — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:01:00 -0500

JobON is a web-based service for finding, applying and interviewing for jobs by video.

Rate this demo now!

Facebook just became friendlier in HootSuite with complete...

iftttcreativity — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:13:47 -0500

Facebook just became friendlier in HootSuite with complete support for groups, events, photo uploading, geo-targeting for campaigns – plus improvements to Pages and Profiles.

Add streams for search and monitor, schedule posts, analyze results for your campaigns. It’s easy with a refreshed compose box and profile picker.

Offermatic, Inc. Changing the way you save - Automatically!...

iftttcreativity — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:36:57 -0500

Offermatic, Inc.

Changing the way you save - Automatically! Automatic, savings, rebates, and discounts on your credit/ debit card.