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Web Apps Fat-Off: Day 3
Written by Allen Stern - October 3, 2006
Today I was super booked - on the phone nearly all day (thankfully I have the headset!). But I still made it to the gym. I still don't get how people don't wipe the machine down after they use it. At least the handlebars!
Anyway, today I spent some time with a first look into Traineo. And here are some of my initial thoughts in bullet form:
- Very well designed site - loads of Web 2.0 features but they are useful which is important
- The Web 2.0 features are VERY impressive so far - mouseover shipping and get a beautiful on-screen popup
- So far this is the only one of the tested sites that has a store - 3 items, tshirt, analog and digital scale - the t-shirts only come in sizes up to xxl, hey some of us are bigger than that when we begin! And maybe offer more options than just black? maybe a pink or green or white?
- Traineo seems very well rounded - forums, articles from experts, and then training information
- I like the motivators feature a lot - have other people you know (and those you don't yet know) to give you encouragement - this part is so critical when trying to lose weight
- Their did you know facts across the site are cute - here is one: 298 calories are burned, on average, per day, by a traineo member.
- Very big emphasis on community
That's all I have for tonight - more in-depth reviews will come as I use the tools more. Grab the RSS Feed to be instantly notified of new posts.
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The first few days are the toughest. Once you get into the hang of it you won't be able to go a day without it... you'll feel so lazy!
Staying motivated is the biggest challenge. It's so easy to write off your workout with the excuse of having a long day at work.
I'm definitely looking forward to a followup review of Traineo near the end of your month. They're providing a lot more than we are over at Skinnyr, and that's one gorgeous site design.
They're my favorite of the bunch.
Ok so I've been following your fat-off with interest as I'm a sportsman and a web developer, and I noticed something fishy about some of gimme20's copy.
gimme20
traineo
notice any similarities? Including the traineo name in gimme20's copy? here's the google cache for reference -
traineo
gimme20
*strokes chin*
I also noticed that gimme20 do that neat little change to blue thing on their text boxes - same code as traineo! same colors even! the colors are traineo's so its pretty clear who took what.
So i looked around a little more, and I also saw this bit
How much does Gimme20.com cost to join?
Absolutely nothing. Joining the Gimme20.com community is free.
How much does traineo cost to join?
Absolutely nothing. Joining the traineo community is free.
at first, i wasn't sure who was at fault, but that reference to traineo in gimme20's text set some big big alarm bells ringing!
So - gimme20 has got some good features, yeah, but they really shouldn't be taking stuff straight off another site, even less a competitor!!! they've lifted loads more than i've listed here - go take a look for yourselves.
Well -
There is no secret there. Where else do you look for inspiration but other sites? I think traineo says alot of things well and I think Michelle (my personal trainer who did our copy) did a fine job. In fact -- when asked what to write for the help section I actually said 'Traineo has a really nice help section -- Start there'. It was not my intention to get her to copy it. I'd love to place all the blame on her -- but I clearly sent her in that direction (I think I gave her a three hour deadline).
Anyways -- The copy of the site is the last thing on my mind right now. We are busy working on releasing our phase II of features.
However - in the interest of being karma minded I'll give her a four hour deadline for tonite ;) I'll even post up the link when she gets it done.
Thanks for the tip.
Jordan - Gimme20.com
Jordan - As a developer and entrepreneur myself I'm shocked by your flippant response. Do you know the meaning of plagiarism?
What you've done is highly illegal and what's more you're trying to vindicate your actions by blaming a colleague. I've been following this fat-off and think the traineo team's product is far superior and if I were them I'd be contacting a n attorney.
Jordan,
I'm rather disappointed. When I first came across your site, I thought it was well done and professional. I was a true fan.
However, after reading this and doing a little research, I'm rather shocked and have lost all respect. Your team, whether it is you or your trainer, Michelle, literally copied traineo word for word.
What gives?
I by no means intended to be flippant. I have made some phone calls and identified duplicate copy in: Privacy Policy, two sentences in the feature list, and some copy from their legal statement. All have been updated, and will be structurized by me personally tonite.
Kind Regards,
Jordan
Who *doesn't* plageurize their privacy policy? The truth of the matter is we're all afraid of being sued so we need to put that information up. We all can't afford a lawyer so we take snippets of other peoples privacy policies and modify them to suit our needs.
Granted, they should have mixed things up a bit, but seriously, I don't see this as some major offense.
If you do, then maybe you should google the following term, which appears in Traineo's privacy policy: Clicky
Jimmy....I'm not sure of your reasoning. 'Cutting and pasting' to the point of forgetting to remove a competitors URL in a block of text is direct theft and is totally different from recycling generic legal verbage / common tools. Not having the money to pay for a lawyer doesnt mean you're innocent of a blatant crime.
All good points. I didn't know this went beyond text/copy.
Sure, privacy statements are fairly universal, but what about all the other copy - the 'how much does it cost to join', the bits of javascript, the headings for every section in the help document, in fact, hell, the entire help document - i saw this when it was first posted here, they've changed it all now, but im sure someone's got screenies.