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Dogster/Catster goes local… and why Dogster is so successful
Ted, Dogster CEO, just shot over a mail that Dogster and Catster have launched local search and rating services. It's kind of like a Yelp for animals. Actually, that would be a good question… why not integrate with Yelp? Pete has some additional discussion on the launch as well.
Ted notes, "Since we did an internal launch over 70,000 pet-friendly listings, have been added, 10,000 reviews written and 1,000 photos uploaded. Do a search on your zip code and see what results show up. Though a primarily a free informative service, which can be especially beneficial to people in a hurry looking for a new vet, kennel or dog park where no login is required, members with pet pages can "mark" the listings that they regularly visit and now packs of dogs and cats photos are associated with locales so people can meet the dog's they see at their dog park every day. These "markings" are then tied back on the pet's profile page.
If you love your vet and want the world to know, you can do it here. If you are looking for a vet vetted by dog people, you can do it here. Heck, we even support Microformat hCard support so any visitor can download the listing address right to their desktop address book."
So why is Dogster such a great example of what to do?
I wrote about Dogster yesterday in regards to their use of Microformats. Why do I think Dogster has worked so well? It's simple. Ted uses technology as an enabler. Ted does not force technology in front of you. It's there. You use the site and may never know what's behind it. And frankly, my guess is that for the Dogster audience, that's a good thing.
One of the classes I took during my MBA studies spent most of the term discussing the book, "Does IT matter?" by Nick Carr. I think most of us came away with the understanding that technology is an enabler. Wordpress is an enabler to let us get our thoughts out, etc. A great example I think is the badges and buttons people put on their site to let us know how "compliant" they are. Blah. Get them off. No one cares :)
Listen to your users, build what they want/need in a way they don't have to think about it and it's an extension of themselves and you win. Clearly it's working for Dogster, so much so that people actually make out that they are the dog or cat to create a diary for the pet.
Ted should start an entrepreneurial blog, I think it would be a huge hit. So much to learn from him. He was my first interviewee on CN and one of the best still.
Thanks Allen,
Those are some pretty amazing words. My partners John and Steven as wella s the whole Dogster team are really what you mean when you say ‘Ted.’ It’s really grown so much more than I could have ever managed.
I will say I’ve always been quick to say we are a technology-enabled company not a tech company, and I’m glad you see the difference. My coding is sloppy and inefficient, but the whole goal was to just make something people loved. When people tell me how many lines of code their applicaiton is I just glaze over. What difference does it make. How much joy do they get out of it is all that matters.
Thanks for getting it and taking the time to share those impressions. We never set out to impress anyone but our customers, but it feels nice.
Congrats on Center Networks, but the way. It’s really taken off!
I know you have many dogs and cats at the office making it all work and putting out the bowls of food. I am sure it is a great team.
Years ago, when I moved from technology into marketing, I learned quickly that the marketing teams don't care that you used a reverse-quazoid-html-microformat to gain loyal users. All they cared about was that it worked.
As soon as I learned that lesson, things (including my career) moved much quicker. And it's true with anyone outside a techie. I was called a translator because I could do that between the two groups. After I feel like I mastered this art, I tried to teach it to all of the other techies I knew. Make the client (or in your case customer) feel comfortable in their environment, and they will become loyal.
If you are building an app for only web geeks, fine, geek it out and talk about the geek factors. But if you want mainstream, let it be. Today, you actually have both. Places for developers (geeks) and regular people (lol). Just don't bring them together.
If you look at the majority of Internet apps that have been able to succeed in the mainstream, I can't think of many that talk tech before talking about the other things.
I am looking forward to fishster and iguanaster and perhaps a pigster for those with pets in the southeast! And international versions. I can't wait to read a dog's diary in German!
Lastly, thanks for the words about CN. I hope I can grow this ship into a full-time gig and really try to help startups make better decisions in business.
Great post. One thing to note about Dogster is that it isn’t all that huge – about 300,000 members in Sept last year (probably many more by now). For generic networks, even 1 million+ users isn’t enough to attract constant buzz (Tagworld, Multiply). But its total dominance in that sector makes it *extremely* valuable for marketing: would you rather target your dog-related movie to millions of MySpacers, some of whom may be interested, or the dog-crazy users on Dogster, where 100% will be interested?
Great point Pete. That's a good reason why everyone says "target a niche" – it seems to work!
It took me a long time to realize that I can't be all things to all people. I don' think it's an easy pill to swallow for anyone – but once you do, the profitability and accomplishments can grow brighter and quicker.