Resimplify

Now Then

Permalink

37signals is down to three products.

What was once a lineup that included: Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, and Campfire is now without Backpack. The metaphor centered around the sections of camping and the bigger world is now more confined. Confined being that Basecamp is becoming THE product and Highrise being the other product. 

Jason Fried of 37signals announced the all new Basecamp back in March of this year:

In many ways, this is our second chance to make a first impression. For many of our customers, Basecamp was the first time they’d ever used a project management and collaboration tool. Most used email. Or the phone. Or lots of in-person meetings. Basecamp was a whole new idea, something brand new, an opportunity to get organized and keep everything together.

This new Basecamp is a return to our roots. It’s focused on the basics. It’s even simpler and clearer than before. It’s super fast. And it’s useful for a whole new group of projects – short projects. Most project are small and short. The original Basecamp was overkill for most kinds of projects. The new Basecamp is perfect for projects of every size.

Prior to the new Basecamp the product wasn’t great. Great in the sense that satisfaction wasn’t entirely met, which is probably why the three other products existed. 37signals’ work is eerily similar to that of Apple. Apple builds out a line of products for reach, testing, and then subtracts into a concise selection with many times that selection being only one.

37signals must’ve reached a point where Backpack acted like a feature rather than a stand-alone product. Overtime I foresee Campfire and Highrise being seen as features that aren’t needed to be stand-alone products. What was once a suite will be a product possibly still called Basecamp.

When those days come their words:

Making collaboration productive and enjoyable for people every day.

Will be edited and rethought of to reflect what’s current and next for 37signals. This might be just a little move with Backpack disappearing. This could also be a big step in the company’s progress and development. We’re all watching.

By Derek Jensen

Permalink

A smart milk jug is being developed by Quirky with help from GE.  It’s being called Milkmaid and for all the intelligence the overall appearance is stunning.

They’ve achieved this by putting all the technology in the base. It’s solid glass, it measures pH levels (no more smelling and taste testing), and it pings you when the amount is low through SMS. 

Parents and anyone that has milk play a vital necessity in their life will want a Milkmaid. It not only will make the inside of your fridge look great but it solves some problems.

Forgetting to get milk on your way back from work or ensuring that you don’t pour yourself a bowl of cereal only to know the milk has gone bad are the key problems the Milkmaid solves. 

What would be neat is if dairy companies went back to glass that would fit on the Milkmaid. The Europeans were right in milk delivery.

Building An Effective ‘Coming Soon’ Page For Your Product

Permalink

The teaser is just one piece of the puzzle. Other important parts of a successful pre-launch campaign are a Twitter account, Facebook page, blog, and others. Unlike on a teaser page, which is usually a one-way medium, people can reply to your tweets and leave comments on your blog. These channels are valuable because they help you get feedback on new ideas and maybe even correct course to better target your market.