It’s hard to believe it has already been 30 days since we introduced Clicker at TechCrunch50. Thanks to all of you who have said such good things about our new baby on your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Trust me, we don’t take any of it for granted!
While we’re off to a good start, the feedback we’ve received during the beta makes it clear there are several ways we can make Clicker better before we open it up to everyone. Tens of thousands of you have requested beta invites so far, and we’ve been learning tremendously from your usage, emails, tweets, and GetSatisfaction votes. Here’s the verdict, one month in:
What You’ve Liked Most:
* The breadth and depth of programming covered, especially in deep sub-categories where we have broadcast-quality shows not traditionally found on TV
* The UI/Design/Navigation of the site
* Discovery features like Recommendations, Highlights and Trends
* Playlist: you guys have really been using this a lot. Way more than we expected, in fact!
* Our name and “dude in the chair” icon. You want schwag, and you want it soon. Noted! You have also made suggestions for new takes on the icon, like “Spy in the chair”, “Dudette in the chair”, and my favorite, “Pope in the chair.” Also noted!
Where We Need To Improve:
* You want us to cover content that sits behind paid walls such as Netflix and Amazon VOD
* You want Clicker to be more social so you can discover shows through other people, share your thoughts with other fans, etc.
* You want the Playlist feature to be more clear, both in the nomenclature used to describe things, and the UI/layout
* You want to access Clicker in more places, like Boxee, PS3, Windows Media Center and iPhone
* You want us to get our rating system up and live!
* Many of you are missing the Edit button where you can add your own content to shows and episodes
* You’d like us to link out to more external sources of info, like IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes
* International users want us to more clearly state which shows are US-only
* Images have been loading too slowly for some of you
Needless to say, we’re all over all this stuff. Most of it is in the process of being upgraded for full launch, which shouldn’t be too far away now. Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed their input into making Clicker what we intend it to be: the complete programming guide for Internet television.
Since we now have full launch within sight, we’re ready to start ramping up the traffic hitting the site. For starters, we’re going to give each of our beta users 5 invites to give out to whomever they choose (actually, it’s one invite that can be used 5 times…but you get the point). Feel free to distribute them any way you see fit. Stay tuned — you’ll be getting an email with the details.
Finally, if you live in L.A. and want to celebrate our one month birthday with Team Clicker, drop by our local watering hole El Guapo tonight between 6-8pm (on Melrose near LaBrea in Hollywood). Pitchers of Dos Equis will be on us!
The Real El Guapo
