作者：Shira Levine

我们需要通过转变思维改变互联网世界。不是所有构思都能够掳获1000万用户的芳心，如Foursquare，像Twitter那样覆盖2亿多用户，抑或是取得Facebook那般令人惊叹的8亿用户。

下个互联网产品开发主角似乎倾向诞生于大学念过相关专业的毕业生，如NYU Tisch School Interactive Telecommunications Program校友Crowley和Selvadurai，而斯坦福大学计算机科学毕业生则有望成为某初创公司的联合创始人。

我们日前与两位NYU ITP（游戏邦注：即Interactive Transactional Program）专业毕业生Alex Kauffmann和Jason Bill Aston进行交谈，主要涉及如何瓦解在线文化，创造下个轰动巨作。

angry birds from businessinsider.com

解决问题

探究为何你或其他人想要这款产品。这是否能够解决问题？

Kauffmann表示，“潜在企业家总是着迷于技术——他们不断给并不存在的问题创造惊人解决方案。”Google Wave就是多余技术的典型代表。在Kauffmann看来，Echoecho也是个很好说明。

“他们通过技术满足需求——通常是回答此问题：‘伙伴，你在哪里？’，而非给给技术做辩护。”

个性化构思

个性化是关键要素，是广告、应用和技术的不变趋势。它们的成功来自迎合用户需求。

Aston表示，“各公司总是争相通过各种渠道获得用户和潜在用户信息。Groupon的成功之处在于其向用户提供已购买或所需商品信息，认为用户会需要它们。Pandora根据用户听音乐安排内容。Foursquare给予用户荣誉，根据用户到某地的频率奖励用户。”

敢于承诺，创造杰出作品

Kauffmann表示，要选择牢靠而配合的优秀团队成员，因为这些优秀团队能够“拆分，单独出售”。

Kauffmann表示，“优化应用是优秀设计师、健全编码和稳固项目管理的象征。定义清晰的原始价值定位是创造性和可行构思的表现。逼真缩放方案将团队同多数企业家区分开来（游戏邦注：这些企业家觉得只要创造出内容，用户就会随之而来）”。

Aston表示，要真正考虑投资者，需清楚“投资者只在乎你的构思能吸引多少用户。覆盖范围越大，他们给予的承诺就越多，这些最终都将转化成资金。”

着眼自己希望和他人可能付费的内容

Foursquare的Dennis Crowley最初制作《疯狂躲避球》只是为了方便同伙伴碰面小酌。

Kauffmann表示，“所以不妨瞄准那些你感兴趣的、看似荒诞的有趣内容。优秀构思通常会不断扩展。”

不要完全忽视用户行为趋势

每个人都希望变得更好，获得更优质的精神享受，看起来有所进步，Nike+和Wii Fit等生产力、健康和生活简化应用就是这些欲望的很好说明。但仅由于很多人希望完善自己并不足以说明这是互联网产品创收的最佳市场。

Aston表示，“大家想要变得更好，但很多时候这些应用并不一定会变为成功之作。和新年决心一样，这些作品和应用的下滑非常迅速。我初次体验这些应用是因为它们有所作用，设计精美，倍受欢迎，但最后都会发现它们只是占用了我起居室或iPhone的空间。”

用户喜欢游戏

《愤怒的小鸟》是个巨大的成功。

Aston表示，“Roxio和Zynga创造这些非义务性的休闲活动，带我们脱离一天的辛苦工作。我们不论上火车，还是进站都在玩《愤怒的小鸟》。游戏设计很难熟练把握，但若用户能够做到，将获得丰厚奖励。”

着眼改变社区和世界

先瞄准局部，然后再放眼全局是符合实际的做法，这是互联网杰出人士的起步方式。

Aston表示，“纽约之类的大都市存在许多绝佳机会，让我们能够创造旨在提高生活质量的具有公民意识的应用。作品首先要瞄准正确方向，然后才能够遍布全球。”

突破社交网络

Aston表示，要关注移动平台（游戏邦注：这是跨媒介故事叙述和游戏平台的分支），“这涉及你如何促使用户通过其手机设备整合其最喜爱的电视节目，增强体验。沉浸媒介和游戏具有潜力，这至少有利于巩固令人愉快的体验。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

What Will It Take To Become The Internet’s Next Big Thing?

By Shira Levine

It will take some big and different thinking to change the Internet world again. Not everyone with an idea spins it into the 10 million user triumph that is Foursquare, the over-200 million that is Twitter and the staggering 800 million that use Facebook.

Emerging as the next Internet product hero certainly feels more attainable for those capable with university graduate programs like New York University’s Tisch School Interactive Telecommunications Program that schooled alum such as Crowley and Selvadurai, and the computer science majors at Stanford who are expected to graduate as the founding partner of a useful yet hip startup.

We spoke with two graduates of NYU’s ITP program, Alex Kauffmann and Jason Bill Aston, about how to disrupt the online culture, and create the next big thing.

Solve a problem

Figure out why you or anyone will want this product. Does it provide a solution to a problem?

“Would-be entrepreneurs are often enamored by technology—they’re constantly producing amazing solutions to problems that don’t exist,” says Kauffmann. An example of such unnecessary technology was the Google Wave. Another good example, according to Kauffmann is Echoecho.

“They use technology to address a need—in this case, answering the question, ‘Where are you, friend?’— rather than retrofitting a justification into a technology.”

Personalize your idea

Personalization is the critical component, the sustainable trend of everything from advertisements, and apps to technologies. Their success comes from catering to the needs of the user.

“Companies [are always scrambling] to obtain, through any means, information about users and potential customers,” says Aston. “Groupon is successful because it hits you with deals that relate to what you already buy and/or need, or, think you need. Pandora curates music according to what you listen to. Foursquare honors you and rewards you according to your frequency at locations you already go to.”

Make big promises and deliver a big product

Choose strong, collaborative team members who stand out individually as these power teams could be “disassembled and sold for parts,” says Kauffmann.

“A polished app is a sign of good designers, robust coding, and solid project management,” says Kauffmann. “A clearly defined and original value proposition can be proof of creativity and an executable vision. A realistic scaling plan sets the team apart from the large majority of entrepreneurs who believe that if they build it, users will come.”

To really think about investors simply, understand that “investors are really only on the lookout for how many users you can rope in with your idea,” says Aston. “The greater the reach, the greater the promise, and this translates into money.”

Focus on what you want vs. what you think others will pay for

Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley first created Dodgeball simply to make it easier to meet up for beers with his buddies.

“So work on something absurd and wonderful that you’re interested in,” says Kauffmann. “Good ideas tend to scale up.”

But don’t totally ignore the trends in human behavior

Everybody wants to do, feel, be and look better and the productivity, health and life simplification apps like Nike+ and Wii Fit are proof of these desires. But just because a ton of people want to improve themselves doesn’t mean this is the best market for an Internet product to make bank.

“People want to be better, [but often these apps don’t] necessarily translate to success,” says Aston. “Like New Year’s resolutions, the drop off is pretty steep for products and apps like these. I find myself using them for the first week because they are either effective, well designed or popular, only to have it take up space in my living room or iPhone.”

Users love Games

Angry Birds is a phenomenal success.

Additionally, “Roxio, Zynga produce these non-committal diversions that take us away from the toil of the day,” says Aston. “We are in Angry Birds as we step onto the train, and as we pull into our station. Game design is extremely difficult to master, but when it is, the results can prove quite profitable.”

Focus on changing the community vs. the world

Thinking locally before globally is more practical and how all the Internet greats got their start.

“There is a great opportunity, a worthy opportunity, that exists, and especially in big cities like New York, to create civic minded apps and technology that improves our way of life,” says Aston. “Try to get it right here, and it can then be ported all over the world.”

Envision beyond the social network

Keep a look out for mobile integration, as a subset of the transmedia storytelling and gaming platform, says Aston: “It’s how do you get people to use there phones that, somehow integrate with their favorite TV show and augment the experience. There’s potential in immersive media and gaming, at least in terms of helping cement a truly gratifying experience.”（Source：businessinsider）