Network Help

Context

Broadband has a foothold in the homes of leading consumers. It has been held back by technological constraints – no cable or unreliable ADSL – but will become increasingly popular. Consumers have an insatiable appetite for bandwidth when they can get it. Soon we will all be getting sound and movie clips from the web.

Problem

Broadband encourages the use of home networks and LANs, the configuration of which is outside the expertise of the average consumer. There are going to be huge numbers of users wanting either preliminary advice or how to get connected and how to set up their systems. Often users will not know that they have a problem until they have tried to install a system themselves.
In the majority of cases the configurations for these systems will be fairly standard. The problem for the user is that they have no basic knowledge of networking.

Solution

The solution is to do what plumbers and electricians have been doing for years: rip off consumers with no practical knowledge by doing a standard simple job effectively. A roving team of “network doctors” could provide the service. Currently this is being done on an ad hoc basis by numerous contractors but these services are poorly advertised and uncoordinated.

Inspiration

The solution to this problem was a result of looking down the barrel myself. Firstly, I didn’t do the research well enough when signing up for broadband. The sites were there providing the info but I didn’t dig deep enough. Secondly, I was give erroneous advice on how to configure my network. Thirdly, I had no idea where to get the hardware. I finally managed to get up and running but it was painful and I’m no IT mug. I would gladly have paid money when faced with the problems. I may have paid money up front if I knew that the service was reputable.

Implementation

A team of roving contractors shouldn’t be too difficult to find: current contractors, part time students. Need a domain expert to ensure quality, provide training and troubleshoot difficult issues.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Growing market is the main strength. Disorganised competition is another. The main problems will be ensuring quality “doctors” and ensuring that they are “available”.

Business Model

Sign up the “doctors” and pay them a reasonable amount but nothing too great. Charge the clients the most they can bare for a simple and effective service. It is a business which could possibly be sold after a couple of years.

Outcome

This is an idea which really can be acted on. It is the one idea which doesn’t rely on the internet as its major channel. It needs people on the ground and strong central coordination.

Tags
idea
home network

Psychological Testing

Context

The web is largely about everyone being a publisher. Users have to pull content from a site by going to a resource. Generally the only way a user can enter their “context” is through a search engine or by possibly selecting a country or language preference. Once the user finds the resource they are after it is generally static. I.e. it cannot change to suit the users knowledge or requirements. Why can’t this “context” specification be extended from a keyword to include a number of questions? More questions equals more answers. More answers equals more data from which to make inferences about the user. It also provides an opportunity to correct or influence the opinion of the user. In short, questions are a great way to focus the information flow to the advantage of both parties.

The web is increasingly about providing customised services to users. Systems that will allow the transfer of knowledge from an expert to the user will be valued highly. Systems that transfer this knowledge efficiently (low cost) will succeed in the long run.

Problem

Static documents are not the best mechanism for knowledge transfer, as they have no idea what context the information will be consumed in. How do we provide more targeted information? How do we analyse the content to provide that information?

Discovering the context can be expensive via traditional means. How do we get the context easily? What can we do with the context once we have discovered it?

There is an emphasis on quality in many workplaces. How do we ensure that employees are the right ones for the job?

Solution

The solution is to build a Question and Answer system, the results of which can be used to provide immediate feedback (right/wrong) and subsequent analysis (trends). This system could be used in a number of different scenarios:

• Education: Multiple-choice questions have a correct answer which can be explained.
• Therapy: The same or similar tests can be conducted over time to see how a patient reacts to circumstances.
• HR: Tests can measure a (prospective) employee’s aptitude in different area.
• Entertainment: Quizzes can be entertaining for some people.
• Smart documents: Measuring context (language, level) can be used to serve different documents. This is a red herring in the context of this idea.

Inspiration

I was attracted to the idea of quizzes purely from an analytical point of view. I had seen the very popular “political quizzes” which had two dimensions: left/right, libertarian/authoritarian and liked the idea of the analysis existing on different levels. I had also seen the Myers-Briggs tests which operated on even more dimensions. This was cool. What was required was a generic mechanism to transform the results on a number of dimensions into a coherent analysis. My thinking in these cases had moved from the specific to the generic.

Implementation

A lot of effort spent building the engine. It must be user friendly for administrators, editors, users and paying clients (therapists, HR departments, webmasters).

Strengths and Weaknesses

The main strength of this system is that it is in keeping with the way the web is moving – customised services. The HR and psychological areas also appear to be expanding. Companies are becoming more sophisticated in their recruitment practices and are willing to outsource these non-core aspects of their business.
The main weakness is that the system would be starting from a long way behind both in terms of technology and content. The resources of a domain expert (existing company or psychology department) would be required to get the project off the ground. All psychological tests are copyrighted and must either be licensed or written from scratch.
The psychtests.com site kicks ass and is definitive. Fortunately is has a US basis and there is perhaps room for an Australian or European sites. There is room for more than one player in this market.

Business Model

Originally I was quite taken with the idea of gaining revenue from:

• Amazon book references (15% per book sale) and
• Payment for premium analysis ($10-$50).

However, it soon became apparent that the system could be used by other entities (HR departments, therapists, as content on other sites) and that this is where the real value lies.

Outcome

Initial research into the area showed that a good deal of work had already been done by other players in the market place. This really shouldn’t have been surprising but it is always deflating to discover that it has been done before.

Firstly, and not so impressively, there was a particularly strong “Quiz” site which hosted a number of quizzes. It seems to be the current leader.

http://www.coolquiz.com/

Secondly, there was a particularly good psychological test site which managed to combine a lot of domain expertise (psychology) with a very good engine. This site was the business.

http://www.psychtests.com/
http://www.queendom.com/

I think that this project could be one to pursue in the long term. The market is only going to grow and a lot could be gained for smart documents and for analysis in general.

Tags
idea
psychology
test