My prototype text editor for writers (featuring some Avacado I found online)
The feedback I got from writers is that they seem to like the idea of having a background image in their text editor. Some seemed particularly excited of having a looping video as a bg with some ambient noise (cafe, street, beach, etc.)
I don't have a video yet, but I used a Gif of an avacado since it was easy and could get some feedback. Most of you are probably think wth is this? but, I thought the avacado was cute enough to warrant a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYc61j1xZk0&feature=youtu.be
Feedback welcome, be as honest and brutal as you want.
Be careful...
..This might be case where you have a small user base and get hijacked by couple of vocal users. It is important to listen to your users, but it is also important to know when not to listen to them.
..In practice, having a text editor with video background seems insane. How can anybody write their ideas beyond a simple sentence if they are trying to write on top of a playing video?
..And having a static background image might be appealing to some, but then if it is appealing to many enough, your more full featured competitors will also add the background image and you lose your only unique selling point.
..You can add some features that users request, but you cannot build an entire product based on user feedback without having your own vision and focus for the product.
..So if i were you, i'd take a step back and think. Why did you choose this idea, what is your vision, what is the unique selling point?
..BTW Google Docs has "persistent" edit/version history..
Hope this helps & best of luck
Thanks for the input and fair point.
yes, I know about the Google Docs and features with MS Word that do that, so that's why I pivoted (can I consider this a pivot?)
Maybe I can further pivot and turn this into a meme generator where after you're done making the video with subtitles or comic bubbles, you click a button and it uploads to your Twitter, Facebook, youtube, Instagram if the APIs allow it, and also save it locally.
Hmmm. I have to see what's already available, but maybe a short video generator that has short poems and quotes in front of an animation. I mean people like memes, cheesy quotes, and of course Instagram right?
Don't know if what I described is a better path tho haha..
Best definition of pivot I've heard is from Michael Siebel, roughly: Pivot happens when you change the problem you are solving OR the customers you are solving it for, but not when you change the solution.
In your case you only changed the headline feature from persistent edit history to video background, so even your solution is roughly the same. Permission denied. You cannot consider that a pivot :)
What comes to the meme generator stuff, that starts to smell like you have some code that you don't want to throw away, and are desperately looking for problem you can solve with it. This is called "solution looking for a problem" syndrome.
Don't be afraid of throwing away an idea and some code if it is not working out.
When you get to the gates of startup heaven, you won't be judged by the number of your failures, only by the number and magnitude of successes.
Ps. After you get over your existential crisis, remember to give https://BugJail.com a try :)