App idea

[Mayor Tom]

Hello everybody,

I would like to start a news and discussion app. The goal of the app is to have the crowd find solutions for political or societal problems. This from housing crisis’s to increases in criminality in the local neighborhood.

The idea is to start the app with discussions around one subject category only: ex. air pollution.

When users login they will see a feed of news-articles which they can select for discussion. Once the discussion has started people will be able to come to a conclusion about the core problem

described in the article. That conclusion could be a recap of the comments that have received the most votes. The more you participate the more credits you will get. These credits can than be used for branded goodies.

In the long run I want to get a ROI in the same way Facebook does with ads requested and paid for by the users.

The reason for my post here is that I would like to get some feedback about the idea. To be honest I’m not sure if the concept is attractive enough for people to join. Not knowing this also makes that I’m still looking for a proper low budget marketing plan.

So as such I have the following questions:
1. What do you think about the concept?
2. Is the concept worth spending money towards?
3. If it is, what could be a good low budget marketing plan to bring this app out in the open?

Thanks!

 

[Alan]

1. no clear enough about the proposition to see if it has a USP
2. as above
3. low entry marketing budget to get an app going that will be funded by user adverts - low end probably £1-2million

 

[Funding for Communities]

A lot of the information is available via Zoopla and Rightmove already.

Mike

 

[Mayor Tom]

Thanks both for your replies.
@Alan: It is a forum where people come together to discuss problems in the city. At the end of the discussion they will be able to come to a conclusion. The technology I want to create manages that process.

@Funding for Communities: And can they come to a conclusion about the topic as well? Ex. a conclusion about how they think the problem should be solved.

 

[fisicx]

There are already forums, blogs, facebook pages and a whole plethora of other places where people can do what you propose. An app adds nothing to the mix as everything can already be accessed on a phone/tablet/pc.

 

[Bradley Holmes]

Its possible for an App to come and work better or be more popular than established websites. For example look at tinder, There was heaps of dating websites out there but then an app came along and because of a fun and simple user experience became really popular.

You just need to find the hook, that simple something that makes the user experience on your app so much better than the competing websites.

 

[Mayor Tom]

@fisicx: first there was the blog, than there was the forum, later came Facebook. If your argument would be right the forum would be the last social technology but wasn't because people come up with better and that's exactly where my ambition lies. Nevertheless I do appreciate your comment as it is an interesting argument
@Bradley Holmes: Cool. UX he. I will keep that in mind.

 

[fisicx]

Not saying the app won't work - it's just that it going to take a lot of work and money to drag people away from existing platforms.

 

[Mayor Tom]

You are absolutely right but there is some will and passion here so I hope that plays in my advantage . If anybody has some practical insights to give that would help me with that than I would appreciate that enormously.

 

[Alan]

Really as @fisicx says, anything can be done if you have enough marketing budget to pull away from the competition. My figures are an insight. £250k of marketing budget you are unlikley to scratch the surface, but with a £1million plus you can make inroads.

Its tricky to say exactly what you'll need, but for instance when On The Market decided to take on Rightmove and Zoopla they had a marketing budget of £6.4 million. But do a search for 'buy a house in xyz' and you'll still get Zoopla / Rightmove / Prime Location on page one. And On The Market no where to be seen. Have they succeeded - not yet.