January 9th, 2009
Posted by Daniel Debow, Co-CEO
One of the best parts of my day is learning about the novel ways people put Rypple to work.
Rypple is mainly used for its core purpose: getting people specific and useful feedback about their performance at work.
But, we always suspected that our users would find new uses for Rypple beyond our original focus. I’m happy to say that we were right. Almost every day someone tells us about a new way that they use Rypple to make them successful.
For example, about a month ago a blogger told me that he’s been using Rypple to help him cure Bloggers Block. I though – “hmm, interesting. Not sure how.” But, given our hectic pace, I didn’t think much about it and moved on.
Last week, as I sat staring at the screen and wondering: “what is there to say?” I remembered that user. Rather than struggle, I sent a quick Rypple to get some specific and useful ideas. I asked a group of people I consider to be trusted advisors and included some “power” Rypple users, team-mates, mentors, friends and family.
Within an hour, I had some useful, specific answers on what to blog about. Wicked! In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing on all these topics. Here’s what my advisors wanted to hear.
Stories about all the interesting personal interactions you have with prospects and thought leaders.
For sure! Every day we get calls from companies and people who want a different way to give and get feedback. These discussion have been incredibly useful to us in our journey and I’ve got a whole bunch of observations to share. For now the most overwhelming one is: people really want something different than the traditional model that is out there.
Why you’re not less of a person just because you give better, honest feedback when your identity is not known to the person to whom you’re giving feedback
The social dynamics of feedback are incredibly interesting. How and why people help each other are definitely a topic we’ll explore on the Rypple blog.
How to make Rypple a “regular” behavior instead of something I do only when something else motivates me… (maybe you should add a feature that prompts me to request feedback automatically but easily)
Great idea. The reasons that we ask for feedback and signals that tell us when we should (or when it is “ok” to ask) are something that we think about a lot. And making Rypple a regular part of our users’ lives is of course something we are working hard to do. So, the feature advice is a bonus (good one – we’re on it!) and the blog suggestion is helpful. Thanks!
…milestones and timelines of the company?
Of course. We started working on our next project after Workbrain in September 2007. In February 2008 we had the basic idea for Rypple and started pulling the team, product, and financing together. We’re flattered that people are interested in the Rypple story so I’ll be sure to post some more background, and some of the lessons we have learned along the way.
How Rypple has been helpful in building Rypple.com (a look inward…)?
Well, this post aside, Rypple has been *incredible* as a tool. We use it a ton, in many different ways. We use it personally (”me” questions) and as a team (”we” questions), and with our users. Each of the uses deserves some discussion.
A post to build community around Karma and helping others, i.e. “Make 2009, the year for helping others.”
Totally! Helping other people with some quick, specific and honest advice is a great way to improve your Karma. And, in today’s tough economic environment the companies that pull together and get the best out of each person are going to have the best chances for survival and growth.
Blog about how people can use Rypple for personal use, or for professional use if they don’t work at a company or aren’t managers.
Great point. Although we been hearing from lots of companies interested in implementing Rypple, tons of our users are sole practitioners & independent professionals. They have got tons of unique needs for feedback – both personally and professionally – and often have a really tough time getting it. Check – I’ll cover it off.
More about community and how Rypple is useful… talk about new features. Blog often. Also use it to showcase what Rypple employees think and like.
Rypple is absolutely about building a personal network – and reaching beyond to the broader community. We have a whole bunch of simple features coming out soon that are going to help people realize this vision with Rypple. As for blogging more often – point taken. We’re all going to take a turn on the soapbox and make sure that we’re telling the world what’s up at Rypple – and what we “think and like”.
Fun hints at where Rypple might go in terms of ways companies might use it?
But of course! As I mentioned, we hear all the time about the use and impact of Rypple at companies all over the world. The stories are amazing and we’re going to do our best to share as many as we can. There is a ton to learn from “best practices” and we’re going to get them out there.
Think about guest bloggers and invite new members
Yup. We’re going to be including all of our friends in this space. We’re lucky to have great advisors, investors, and partners – and we’re going to bring some of their wisdom to you!
I’d also be curious about what you are interested in. Send me a note or comment with what you want to know about Rypple!
Tags: bloggers block, blogging, Ideas, Rypple, writers block
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