SharedLunch: Beta Users Alerted
Good news!
The SharedLunch system is “finished” and the beta users have been alerted. Anyone wishing to give the system a try is welcome to, but be warned that you will probably find bugs.
So far, so good. The user interface bits went quickly and I’m really pleased with how it looks (simple, elegant). I’ll try to get a few screenshots (and maybe a screencast) up on the site pretty shortly.
Once the beta users have had a few weeks to play with it, I’ll launch for real and start trying to drive some traffic to the site. That is actually one of the things I’m looking forward to. I’ve never had an application before with such potential to go completely viral. Since users simply add their friend’s email addresses to invite them to meals, it stands to reason that if this is found to be useful to people, the number of users could grow very quickly.
I’m wondering if there is a social networking component of this application that I’m missing. The initial release is supposed to be bare-bones, but I’m now wondering if hooks to LinkedIn or other sites might be beneficial in the future. One thing that nearly everyone has asked about is, “Can I pay with Paypal?” The answer is, “not yet”, but I think that’s going to be one of the first new features that will go in after the beta users have had a little time to play.
So far, the responses have been positive. I’d love to hear what everyone thinks…