Could you fund a video game with google forms? (assuming it has a PayPal widget, if needed)
There are three main problems i see with google forms.
First, i think it’ll be harder to get people on board, much harder to get many people on board, and much harder still to do it consistently.
Second, there’s probably a high value to a system that ensures (or at least makes it more probable) that someone who obligated to take an action actually took it. if you don’t have such a system, then whatever you did, you’re arguably almost in the starting same position. everyone might still be suspicious that no one else will take action, and so nobody will take it.
the third connects to the second, but may be different enough—A platform could gain trust. not only would i not fund a video game through google forms, i may not even want to fund it through certain kickstarter-like sites, cause i don’t trust them as i trust kickstarter.
That’s not getting into functionality that to me seems important.
Could you fund a video game with google forms? (assuming it has a PayPal widget, if needed)
I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do that. But for a MVP you might start with a project that’s even smaller.
The sign-up for our LessWrong Community Weekend works well through Google form and we are confident to get 150 people to attend.
Second, there’s probably a high value to a system that ensures (or at least makes it more probable) that someone who obligated to take an action actually took it.
I think it’s likely that it’s easier to solve the system of ensuring that as many people as possible who committed to do something actually do something for one particular campaign then to solve it in a fully general way.
the third connects to the second, but may be different enough—A platform could gain trust.
That’s a bad reaction to proposing to do a MVP. Whatever you do, a platform won’t have trust at the beginning.
At the starty, you likely have to get trust by getting influential people or organizations to endorse your campaign.
1. I’d love to see that. surely, it’s not probable that a funding campaign which uses google forms instead of KickStarter would be better off, right? i think we have concluded this line of thought—i’m skeptical, and you don’t see a reason why not.
Though, again, 150 people attending a LW meeting is far from the type of coordination this site will be for. i’m not blind to the fact we have better coordination tools than going door-to-door and talking to people—i say that the coordination tools we have today aren’t sufficient for more complicated coordination—where there are a lot of people involved, several types of actors, many incentives, etc...
2. maybe you’re right. still, it’s worth a try and a little effort :)
3. that wasn’t my reaction for doing an MVP, but reasoning for a platform being good, and saying that google forms isn’t a platform (more specifically, it isn’t a platform for coordinating action, but a more general platform, so it can’t be trusted as one)
surely, it’s not probable that a funding campaign which uses google forms instead of KickStarter would be better off, right? My point isn’t that Google Forms is more effective then having
That’s moving the goal post. Finished well-engineered products are usually more effective then generalized tools with you can use for an MVP.
That doesn’t mean that the way to proceed isn’t building a MVP before desgining the bigger platform.
Running the MVC gives you a much better idea of what the actual challenges happen to be.
Could you fund a video game with google forms? (assuming it has a PayPal widget, if needed)
There are three main problems i see with google forms.
First, i think it’ll be harder to get people on board, much harder to get many people on board, and much harder still to do it consistently.
Second, there’s probably a high value to a system that ensures (or at least makes it more probable) that someone who obligated to take an action actually took it. if you don’t have such a system, then whatever you did, you’re arguably almost in the starting same position. everyone might still be suspicious that no one else will take action, and so nobody will take it.
the third connects to the second, but may be different enough—A platform could gain trust. not only would i not fund a video game through google forms, i may not even want to fund it through certain kickstarter-like sites, cause i don’t trust them as i trust kickstarter.
That’s not getting into functionality that to me seems important.
I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do that. But for a MVP you might start with a project that’s even smaller.
The sign-up for our LessWrong Community Weekend works well through Google form and we are confident to get 150 people to attend.
I think it’s likely that it’s easier to solve the system of ensuring that as many people as possible who committed to do something actually do something for one particular campaign then to solve it in a fully general way.
That’s a bad reaction to proposing to do a MVP. Whatever you do, a platform won’t have trust at the beginning.
At the starty, you likely have to get trust by getting influential people or organizations to endorse your campaign.
1. I’d love to see that. surely, it’s not probable that a funding campaign which uses google forms instead of KickStarter would be better off, right? i think we have concluded this line of thought—i’m skeptical, and you don’t see a reason why not.
Though, again, 150 people attending a LW meeting is far from the type of coordination this site will be for. i’m not blind to the fact we have better coordination tools than going door-to-door and talking to people—i say that the coordination tools we have today aren’t sufficient for more complicated coordination—where there are a lot of people involved, several types of actors, many incentives, etc...
2. maybe you’re right. still, it’s worth a try and a little effort :)
3. that wasn’t my reaction for doing an MVP, but reasoning for a platform being good, and saying that google forms isn’t a platform (more specifically, it isn’t a platform for coordinating action, but a more general platform, so it can’t be trusted as one)
That’s moving the goal post. Finished well-engineered products are usually more effective then generalized tools with you can use for an MVP.
That doesn’t mean that the way to proceed isn’t building a MVP before desgining the bigger platform.
Running the MVC gives you a much better idea of what the actual challenges happen to be.
Sure, i agree with you. just not on the right scale/functionality for the MVP.