Return to Quirky.com »

Posts Tagged ‘news’

  • Fri, Dec 9 2011

    Community Liaison Report #11

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    (1) GENERAL
    (a) Product Updates    : Now Upcoming: Assist, Footnote; Into Production: Mercado, Stem
    (b) Production Statuses    : Please go to this thread for a summary of production status updates, and to share any updates that either you have (ideators) or find in the forums (community members). The curious and the influential want to know.
    (c) Community Liaison Updates    : Get digest summaries of the most important and current Quirky related news, like this one, delivered to your email inbox. Visit the new Qmunity Blog to check it out and subscribe to the email updates.
    (d) Poll: Do you think that the Forum sections are imbalanced? Vote and discuss here.

    (2) NEWS
    (a) Time to Under Consideration slowing down    : Starting Monday (12/12), it will be impossible for ideas that have been up for less than 48 hours to be placed under consideration.
    (b) Ka-ching    : On 12/5, Quirky paid out approximately $30k to influencers in our community!
    (c) Outdated Website Content    : Some of the inaccurate details in the FAQs and Learn Section is in the process of being updated.  Yes, Quirky evolves so quickly it is sometimes hard for it to keep up with itself.
    (d) Teams    : Quirky is hard at work researching and discussing the rules and implications around teaming up, having an individual account, etc.

    (3) REMINDERS
    (a) Pricing Game    : Earn influence by checking in to the Upcoming Products Page weekly and answering all 4 questions (or “not my thing”) for each of the two listed products.
    (b) Free Shipping    : on all domestic orders over $20, until December 12th.
    (c) Social Selling: Free shipping also makes it more attractive for others to buy Quirky products, so get folks to buy via your social sales link and make 10%.  This is one of the best weeks of the year to do this.

    (4) COMMUNITY LIAISON PLAN
    (a) Blog    : Go through the blog to find and list all the relevant posts, including information about the product development process.
    (b) Forum threads    : Add information wikithreads on Community Ambassadors, Product Development Stages, Community Liaison, Get Satisfaction, Blog Highlights.

    If you have any comments or questions not better suited for the corresponding forum thread, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com (but please don’t use the Quirky messenger). Thanks.

    • 1 Comment
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Nov 25 2011

    Community Liaison Report #9

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    Product Updates: Shipping/On Sale: Verseur, Converge; Now in Production: Steeper Keeper, Hydroduo; Now for Presale: Pod Power, Toob, Catch

    Community Liaison Updates (Beta): Because information moves fast at Quirky, and via many channels, you can now subscribe to email updates (sent every couple of days).  You will get a digest of the highlights from the Forums, Twitter, Get Satisfaction, etc.  (Note: there will still be a weekly Community Liaison Report posted in the Forum and on the Blog).  Start signing up here.

    Community Service: Four new reps hired, the search for Head of Community Kicking off, and Shirley is no longer with Quirky.  Read more and discuss in this forum thread.

    Oldest Sort: Folks have been recently requesting this feature again.  To vote for Quirky adding that tab, go to this GS Thread: Add an Oldest Sort.  Meanwhile, click here to actually see the oldest sort.

    Comp Shop: read the Blog Post and join the discussion in this forum thread.  Quirky continues to monitor this thread for ideas, but they state that the comp shop seems to be good enough for now, as is.

    Voting Influence: Remember, you can get influence for a winning idea even if you didn’t vote for it. How? By voting for any idea that makes it into UC (Under Consideration) during that round.  And be quick: an idea can go into UC at any time after it is submitted, even minutes (Quirky only needs the community to bubble up ideas if they don’t catch them first).  Once in UC, an idea can no longer be voted for.  Like the “Most Active” formula, the way the amount of voting influence is determined remains a secret.

    The Top 11 Influencers: This blog post has been updated (for accuracy), and demonstrates how much money can be made by community members simply by influencing Quirky products (without inventing any). However, be aware that #1 Paul Lee got the majority of his money by purchasing Cloaks in Presale (prior to the 25 unit maximum restriction).

    Black Friday Contest: read about it in the blog post, and discuss it in the forum thread. This is likely partly the brainchild of the new marketing person, Bret.

    Wikithreads:
    Production Statuses: is in draft form, and will be posted shortly.
    What to do before you submit an idea
    What happens after you submit an idea
    How to promote your submission
    Invention Ambassadors
    Not getting the credit/influence we think we deserve, and stolen ideas

    To discuss this report further, please do so in the corresponding Forum Thread.

    If you have any comments or questions not better suited for the thread above, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com (but please don’t use the Quirky messenger).


    • 3 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Nov 11 2011

    Community Liaison Report #8

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    (1) Consolidated Communication Channel: Right now, Quirky communicates with the community via multiple channels (primarily the blog, Get Satisfaction, Forum, Twitter, Facebook). Would you Quirks be interested in subscribing to updates via email (where every day or two, there will be a digest of all recent relevant info and links, gathered from the various channels)?  Think of it as a Community Liaison Report, but one that comes to you, with more overall detail/news, and more frequently than weekly. Vote here: Would you subscribe to Liaison email updates (one digest every couple of days?).

    (2) Community Comp Shop: This was rolled out this week, where community members can provide links to comparable items out on the market. Read more about it in the blog post, and discuss it in this forum thread.

    (3) Community Ambassadors: The CAs will promptly answer you via questions@quirky.com and Get Satisfaction, but they will hang with you in the forums mostly in the designated threads like Book Club and Song of the Day.

    (4) Invention Ambassadors: (a) Greg is no longer working at Quirky.  Please direct emails to andrew@quirkinc.com; (b) If your submission makes it into Under Consideration, please read and respond to your community comments, as the IAs may eventually discuss them with you; (c) IAs will continue to post weekly product updates on the blog (like this post).  In consideration: a centralized wikithread to gather as many product updates as possible (including those directly from the inventors themselves).

    (5) Bandits: Most preorderers should have gotten the proper account credit. If they didn’t, it was probably due to credits being based on the number of units in the original commitment. So if you think you haven’t gotten full credit, please post so in this GS thread.

    (6) Premature influence $: For Solo, Verseur, Tether, and Kosoku, you may have noticed earnings on these products despite not yet being sku selected (they were pushed out early by mistake). Those earnings will be temporarily removed from user accounts until we have sent sku select emails, allowed 2 weeks for people to earn their presale influence, and then locked down influence. Then, you will be getting your earnings back (and likely more if you earned presale influence) after those steps have been completed. Read and discuss more in the GS thread.

    (7) Product Milestones: Renew and Loop launched; Metal Cordies for sale; Digidudes have been discontinued/retired.

    (8) Wikithreads added: (a) What to do before you submit an idea. (b) Invention Ambassadors.

    To discuss this report further, please do so in the corresponding Forum Thread.

    If you have any comments or questions not better suited for the thread above, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 3 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Nov 4 2011

    Community Liaison Report #7

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    (1) Department Update Blog Posts are now planned to be posted on the blog every Wednesday.  Here is the latest example, a production update.

    (2) Product milestones: Hatch and Airee now in presales.

    (3) Community Ambassadors are engaging with the community more in threads like this one.  But remember to discuss more serious matters with them via Get Satisfaction for issues that may apply to many users, and questions@quirky.com for issues that apply only to you (your account, orders, submission, etc).

    (4) Invention Ambassador Report: (a) IAs are actively making note of the ideas shared in the brainstorm blog post, and will share them during the live brainstorm every Wednesday.  You won’t get influence, but you can help the design process. (b) Remember, if any inventor has a retailer or PR contact, please be in touch with the IAs first.

    (5) Giving Props: Though we Quirks may not always get the influence we always want or feel we deserve, we still can get and give props (see profile pages).  The idea of having a community Props Leaderboard is under consideration.

    (6) Next: Don’t forget to vote on site ideas at Quirky.com/next to help them decide what they should prioritize next.  However, keep in mind that they are currently very busy working on the new presale system, a separate Quirky store website, and the collaboration tools, among other things.

    (7) Private submissions as an option: because community curation is integral to the Quirky process, having even the option of private submissions is not currently being considered.

    (8) Bandits: accounts should be credited by the end of today.

    (9) Wikithreads started:

    To discuss this report further, please do so in the corresponding Forum Thread.

    If you have any comments or questions not better suited for the thread above, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 8 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Oct 28 2011

    Community Liaison Report #6

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    (1) Community Liaison Reports: Will be all text, no videos for now. Text is easier to edit after the fact, and view count went from about 400 to 150 when I started including more text below the video.

    (2) Quirky Community Activity (10/27): About 1,700 active users yesterday, and about 6,500 active users this week.  About 80 new idea submissions added daily.

    (3) Product Updates: Shower Station now shipping!  Flair made it out of Presale (See more in Thundernumber’s PreSales Report).

    (3) Meeting with Shirley: We discussed how to reach members outside of the Forums to make more contact and get valuable feedback.  We are considering adding something (including polls) to the Weekly email blast.

    (4) The Qmunity Hub: Because of the many channels for Quirky and Qmunity communication (blog, website info, questions@quirky,com, Get Satisfaction, Forum, Weekly Newsletter, phone contact, Twitter, Facebook), it seems like a centralized hub could be valuable.  For now, it will be this one Forum Thread (with its own URL, if possible). This dynamic Hub will be a work in progress, and will link to important areas of information around Quirky.com, including various…

    (5) Wikithreads:  A lot of valuable information is shared within Forum threads.  However, it can be hard to find the nuggets if the thread gets very long.  Wikithreads are Forum threads where the thread itself is summarized in the first several comments, which are updated frequently with the relevant info being added to the thread, and from around Quirky.com (here is a recent example).

    (6) What Happens after you Submit an Idea? This wikithread presents clarification about the steps a submission goes through before becoming a winner, and what is communicated along the way (an updated version of Copper’s own similar thread).

    (7) Forum Happenings: (a) Should Quirky also include private submissions? (b) Thundernumber’s Brain-Blitzing, based on his successful experiment.

    (8) Tech Report: (a) Quirky is not planning on adding an Oldest Sort to the evaluation process.  But it is the default sort on the  iPhone app, and you can sort by oldest yourself (Wunderlicht shows you how here). (b) Quirky is not planning to delay how quickly a submission can enter UC, but they’re “working on implementing a solution that will give you more time, and make the whole consideration process a lot more predictable.”

    (9) Bandits: For all who committed during presale, you will get a $10 credit for each unit you ordered, which will be added to your account once the 2 week commitment period ends.  Remember, though, that for any preorders, price, qty and features subject to change during production process. Your credit card will not be charged when a commitment is placed.

    (10) Newbie Links: (a) Learn about Quirky, (b) The Do’s and Don’t, (c) Getting Started, (d) Introduce Yourself, (e) JohnG’s Q-Tips.

    Feel free to comment here, but to discuss this report further, please do so in the corresponding Forum Thread.

    Thanks.  If you have any comments or questions not better suited for the thread above, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 4 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Oct 21 2011

    Community Liaison Report #5

    By matt at 3:30 pm

    (1) New Eval System: (a) Hide button has been added to each submission, (b) Next Page added and Infinite Scrolling now optional, (c) Note Save as a handy tool.

    (2) Brainstorm opportunities: (a) In the comment stream of a submission, especially if it is in Under Consideration, (b) in Monday’s “In preparation of Wednesday’s Brainstorm” blog post (like this one), (c) Chatting during the live Ustream Brainstorm (every Wed at around noon; the audio is better, with one lapel mike and two passed mikes).

    (3) Check out the Rachel Ray YouTube Clip, thanks to Quirk Howard Eglowstein. (a) Discuss it in the RR Forum Thread, (b) No concept phase because more finalized prototypes were needed for the show.

    (4) IA (Invention Ambassador) report:

    • (a) UC ideas may take more than a week (even 2-3) before being evaluated in DMV, which occurs around the middle of each week (not necessarily on Wed).
    • (b) Inventors are encouraged to update and engage the community around their product.
    • (c) Keep commenting on ideas in UC, as it could help the idea evolve and even get chosen to win. The IAs pick several comments per idea to present during DMV.
    • (d) IAs hope to have a blog post for each winning idea and ideator (like this one) posted every Monday.
    • (e) Meet IAs Greg and Courtney in their blog post.

    (5) Community Experiments: (a) Creativity with Eric the Circle, (b) Speculation challenge with the Hollywood Stock Exchange, (c) Tell us where you live on the Qmunity Map.

    (6) Newbie Links: (a) Learn about Quirky, (b) The Do’s and Don’t, (c) Getting Started, (d) Introduce Yourself, (e) JohnG’s Q-Tips.

    Feel free to contact me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 8 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Oct 14 2011

    Community Liaison Report #4

    By matt at 2:00 pm

    (1) I only work part-time (10 hours a week), so please forgive delays in email and msg replies.

    (2) Since this new eval system is in Beta, discuss your suggestions in this Coordinated New Eval Feedback forum thread (check out the first comment, which summarizes and links to most of the current suggestions at Get Satisfaction) and/or Mike Cavada’s Get Satisfaction post.

    (3) Collaboration tools are on their way.

    (4) New Eval Process Summary: Idea goes live once submitted; may catch Quirky staff’s eye due to positive community traction; may get placed into Under Consideration; may move on to Staff Eval; may be one of two chosen that week.  Ideas not moving from UC into staff eval will result in private feedback written into the submission, and a notification email and free submission code sent. Those ideas in staff eval not picked to win will get the usual phone call feedback  (from the IAs/Invention Ambassadors).

    (5) Archives not yet up and running, but should be in a couple of weeks.

    (6) IA Report: Courtney Theese just hired on as the third IA.  She, Andrew, and Greg will soon have touched base with all Quirky winning inventors.

    (7) I made contact with Shirley and Ben to mostly stress the experience of dealing with the sheer volume of ideas from a community standpoint.

    (8) Newbie Links:  (a) Learn about Quirky, (b) The Do’s and Don’t, (c) Getting Started, (d) Introduce Yourself, and…

    …for all Quirks: (e) JohnG’s Q-Tips.

    NOT ON VIDEO:

    (9) Posted post video: More details about how the eval process works in Copper’s great forum thread.

    Feel free to contact me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    (10 ) Determined post video: (as written above) Ideas not moving from UC into staff eval will result in private feedback written into the submission, and a notification email and free submission code sent.

    (11) Forgot: Live Ustream Brainstorming now has better audio (lapel mike on leader, 2 hand mikes passed around).

    • 2 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Oct 7 2011

    Community Liaison Report #3

    By matt at 2:00 pm

    Notes and relevant links below:

    (1) The new eval system is arriving very soon, and the entire community will be Beta testing it when it does.

    (2) The Code of Conduct was just published (Official Blog Post and Forum Thread Discussion), and tools to follow.

    (3) Quirky is actively looking for two more Community Ambassadors, and a Head of Community (community may be actively involved in this hire).  FYI: Current Community Ambassadors include Shirley, Rob, Andy, Bobby, and Chris.

    (4) Invention Ambassador Report:
    …(a) Inventors are now being contacted immediately prior to product launch.
    …(b) Inventors should only contact the Invention Ambassadors (IAs andrew@quirkyinc.com and greg: gvanhorn@quirkyinc.com) and no one else. All other Quirks can contact questions@quirky.com.
    …(c) Check out the “Questions the IAs will ask you” forum thread.
    …(d) Let’s brainstorm more in the comments section of posts like this one.
    …(e)Rachel Ray Finalists.

    (5) Discuss and vote for the Quirky Conference.

    Please discuss this report, and give feedback, in this forum thread.

    Feel free to contact me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 8 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Fri, Sep 30 2011

    Community Liaison Update #2

    By matt at 2:54 pm


    Here’s a list of all the links mentioned in the video update.

    Town Meeting Minutes Forum Thread

    Town Meeting Ustream Tape and Slideshare

    Blog post and video: Meet Andrew and learn about the Invention Ambassadors

    Help us compile a Code of Conduct

    Help Quirky:
    (1) Contact Sundance Channel
    (2) Vote on BusinessWeek
    (3) Participate in the Rachel Ray Brief
    (4) Rock the Social Sales: Go to the Learn page, click on “Best Practices” then click on “Social Sales”

    For Newbies:
    (1) Learn about Quirky
    (2) Read Getting Started
    (3) Introduce yourself and ask a question in the community forums

    For specific question that relate to you, your account, your submission, etc, email questions@quirky.com.
    For general questions, ideas, and comments about Quirky, check out Get Satisfaction.
    To contact me, please email me at matt@quirkyinc.com.

    • 12 Comments
    • Permalink
  • Mon, Jan 25 2010

    A Quirky Fox Business Appearance

    By nikki at 6:36 pm

    • 8 Comments
    • Permalink

Latest Tweets

Connect With Us

  • Follow Quirky Inc on Twitter
    Keep up with us on Twitter!

Tags

Archive

© Copyright 2009 – 2010 Quirky Incorporated