Why Yabmail?

“Let your mail do the talking.” This is what Yabmail is all about: voice recorded mail.

Questions about the why and how are obvious because there is already so much out there. You can e-mail, use your phone, get on Skype, use instant messaging and there is much much more. New developments are making their way to “market” at an incredible rate … it’s hard to keep up much less absorb all that’s new.

Many new applications are based on new insights, new ideas, improved or sometimes new technology that opens up possibilities. For all those new possibilities one simple law applies: it has to meet a demand.

I can still recall when mobile phones were first introduced. You had to have big hands and some serious muscles to handle the first models. It took some getting used to plus at first it was for the happy few. It was in this very same period that cars were somewhat less reliable, at least my car was. I remember an incident where my car gave up on me. I was programmed to start walking and get some help. So off I went. It took me a while before it dawned on me that I could actually use my new gadget, my “mobile” phone, to get help. We are now a couple of years further down the road and it is almost unthinkable that we leave home without our cell phone. Everyone has one. A somewhat similar story applies to the i-pod. At first the idea was thought of as ludicrous. “Who is going to buy and use an i-pod?” Look at us now. The i-pod is a must have gadget. You need one, it’s trendy, it’s great. It is, it really is! The stores can’t keep up with demand. What have the cell phone and the i-pod in common? For new products you have to look at demand with different eyes, it probably starts with a big “What if.”

For Yabmail the initial idea was the result of many hours on my lawnmower plus no less than 15 minutes of research. This seems gibberish but it is probably in roundabout way similar to how many new ideas take shape. It is by fine tuning your antenna, with an eye for improvements, ask yourself “Why not.” For me my lawnmower time allows me to think about all kinds of stuff, serious but also the off the wall ideas. I get my music (i-pod) and off we go. It is thinking about “What should work … what not, how difficult is it, suppose that … is this useful, is it fun, does it add something to what’s already out there?” … everything is possible. Apart from the logic and reasoning in the end it all comes down to the gut feeling. Does it feel right?

The 15 minutes of research are actually quite simple. During one of my visits to the school where our children are rehearsing for the real world I had an opportunity to watch what they are doing on the computer. Not a Eureka moment because I saw what one might expect: serious work, games, mail, surfing the Internet, chatting etc. Lots of children were great with a keyboard. But the younger children (obviously) not. I was already focused on “How to make things better, easier, more fun” so yes, there you have it, voice communication via the Internet, different from the direct contact (by phone), can do just that.

Right, but is Yabmail just for kids? I don’t think so. If we talk about communication different from face to face contact you will probably use your phone or e-mail. Voice mail is an option but somehow it lacks the personal touch. There is also a little hurdle to overcome in being asked to perform on command. “I am not in right now, leave your message after the beep.” This is sort of a one-shot-deal. Most people resort to “Hi, I couldn’t reach you, I will try again later or give me a call.” When it comes to e-mail people go into their e-mail Zen mode. In writing you have to think a little extra, “Do I make it neat business-like or perhaps more personal … I have to check my spelling (always do) plus it has to be clear that it’s me … I have to get that across, right?” It’s true that for many this is like pouring coffee, you often do it without thinking. But still, how personal can you get with the alphabet in writing? At the same time you get many e-mails that make you wonder: “Come on, couldn’t you make it a little more personal? Why this way? Use the phone or something!” All means of communications have there pro’s and cons. What they have in common is that it probably works best if it’s personal. The one on one is often not possible. Yabmail is voice recorded mail. It is a way to make it personal if you can’t reach someone over the phone or speak to them in person. If you believe in making communication personal, it will allow you to do so. If you are used to it, and that goes pretty fast, you will notice that it’s efficient plus, I think very important, it’s fun. This last part, the fun, is something you have to whisper, right? Fun is something for children. Adults don’t have fun. Wrong, a big wrong, I like to think that we all want to have our fun. It can’t all be fun but every once in a while, even in our mails, even in business, can’t hurt.

Apart from dreaming up Yabmail there is also the process of actually making it. What should it exactly do, how should it work, what is the style, where do the buttons go and what should it look like? This is not an exact science, it is trial and error, it is “I think this will work” or “that will look good.” If you have a small group of users to begin with, it is a lot of experimenting. It is not easy to make things easy but is a lot of fun to work on. Dreaming about something and then actually making it is one of the greatest things! It’s “What if, why not” and “Let’s do it”, all in one.

Forget my deliberations, the lawnmower time and research. What it boils down to is what the users think. The users are always right. If people like Yabmail and actually use it … great! That’s what it’s all about.

Pieter
Knooble guy