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twittering: @amyjokim totally. and i love that you used the phrase design-mind.
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Oct 09, 05goowy
A browser based Flash tool that includes a set of solutions optimized for broadband users, including web mail, contacts, calendar, games, widgets and more.
Link: goowy
Also see: eHub Interviews goowy
eHub Interviews goowy
Thanks to Alex Bard, CEO of goowy for this email interview posted October 11, 2005.
eHub: What is your web application/service about?
goowy: goowy (re) is a rich experience destination site that offers its members access to an advanced set of interactive applications including web mail, contacts, calendar, virtual desktop, games, widgets, and more. These applications are developed to leverage the latest developments in web technologies to provide goowy members a more powerful, dynamic experience.
eHub: Why did you start this project?
goowy: We started as goowy mail in mid 2004 to provide a better web mail experience. We felt there was a large experience gap between web mail and desktop email applications. In addition our goal was to make it more than just web mail - we wanted to create an environment that was fun and playful.
eHub: How much time do you devote to its growth? Do you have a day job?
goowy: 24/7. This is a day and night job :)
eHub: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?
goowy: There are 4 founders of goowy media plus several consultants and members that help us with development. We have extensive experience in developing large scale RIAs. Prior to founding goowy media we were on the founding teams of 2 enterprise application companies focusing on large scale community and customer support applications.
Over the years the team has developed and managed interactive web solutions for large companies including AOL, AT&T, DirecTV, Lycos, Sprint, and Yahoo. This extensive background in rich Internet application development has served as the foundation for the vision and technical architecture for goowy’s products and services.
Team members: Alex Bard, Gary Benitt, Jeremy Suriel, Sashi Bommakanty
eHub: What is your design philosophy?
goowy: “Continuous improvement versus delayed perfection”. Design around an experience, deploy, get feedback, redesign, etc.
eHub: What technologies are you currently using?
goowy: We are technology agnostic and believe in leveraging the best technologies for the desired outcome. On the front end we use Flash and DHTML and on the backend we use .NET. Our mail infrastructure leverages Linux and other open source technologies.
eHub: If your project is live, what are the most requested features from your users/community?
goowy: Our community has been very supportive in providing us their feedback and guidance. The most requested features are Instant Messaging and Personal Homepages (both in development).
eHub: Does your user base reside in a primary geographic location or is it distributed?
goowy: It is very distributed - we have members from all over the world.
eHub: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months? The next 2 years?
goowy: We will continue to develop the community side of goowy re. We started with core communication tools (web mail, calendar, contacts, games, etc) which we are now evolving to a platform to allow users to express themselves more freely through personal pages, blogs, IM, etc.
eHub: What is the greatest challenge to your success?
goowy: Time and visibility. The time to get everything, that is in our heads and imagination, out into the real world and the visibility to make a difference.
eHub: What is the one thing you need to get to the next phase of the project?
goowy: Time.
eHub: Do you have a business model? If so, what is it?
goowy: Our business model is advertising driven. We may roll out a premium services component at some point in the future.
eHub: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?
goowy: Our traffic is growing dramatically - we expect to be over 100k active members by the end of the year.
eHub: What is the one thing you’re most proud of about the project?
goowy: The amazing support and feedback from our members. It is what gets us up in the morning after a late night and keeps us going.
eHub: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?
goowy: The biggest shift is that the web is evolving from primarily a read only medium to a much more interactive, bi-directional platform where each individual has a powerful voice.
eHub: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?
goowy: goowy, Netvibes, Google, Yahoo, TechCrunch.
eHub: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
goowy: Enough to wake up fresh. Sleep is an underrated asset in building a successful company.
Thanks to Alex Bard, CEO of goowy for this email interview posted October 11, 2005.
Posted by Emily Chang in Emailing • Events and calendering • IM, messaging, chat • Organizing and cataloging
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Emily Chang is an award-winning strategic designer and co-founder and principal of Ideacodes.com, a web consultancy in San Francisco that focuses on the design and user experience of next generation websites, social applications and networked communities. Learn more...
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