Interview with Joshua Gross, TapeFailure Founder

We had an exclusive private beta look at TapeFailure back in March. The invites we had to give away went in minutes. Everyone who gives TapeFailure a try seems to have positive feedback about the app. As we look to the future of CenterNetworks, I have used it to take a look at how you use the site. Is it a testing app? Is it an analytics app? To find out the answer and learn more about the founder and the app, I chatted with Joshua Gross who founded TapeFailure. Check out our discussion below.

Allen: Can you provide a brief background about yourself?

Joshua: I'm an 18 year old student just trying to get an early start on business. I've been programming for about 9 years, working with PHP for the past 4, and Javascript for the past 3. Independent freelance work has been my main focus for the past few years until recently when I developed the open-source web IM, ajax im, and now Tapefailure. I still do freelance work, but it is balanced amongst my other projects.

Allen: What is Tapefailure and where did the idea come from?

Joshua: The idea for Tapefailure started February of 2006, when I was experimenting with some Javascript – I realized it would be very easy to capture mouse movements and clicks, and then record them to a database. I developed this idea into a service that allowed people to create short "videos" of browsing and then eventually created an (what I called it at the time) "API" that allowed users to put this type of service on their site. It wasn't very successful or very well built, so I had let it fade away. I took another look at it early this year and decided to redevelop it into what it is today.

I realize the name is strange, and that sprouts from the fact that I actually registered the domain before the project, and the name is partially where the original idea came from.

Allen: How does the service work?

Joshua: The service uses Javascript to record mouse movements, clicks, scrolling activity, and keystrokes which are then passed to a script on the server which processes the data and puts it in the database. We then analyze each tape automatically, as well as allow the user to play their tapes back whenever they like.

Allen: Any interesting tape stories you can share?

Joshua: During pre-beta testing, I'd point my friend to pages with the code and let him know he was being recorded…I would go and take a look at the tape and the mouse would be drawing smiley faces or boxes using mouse clicks! Go figure.

But on a more serious note, I have to say that during testing, I found an issue on my own freelancing site. As people browsed my site, I noticed they would constantly "rehover" over my menu because the item they chose would become deselected — that was when I knew the service would be useful to others.

Allen: What's the team like at Tapefailure?

Joshua: Right now, it is pretty much me (handling programming and support) and a friend, Dave, who helps (and has helped significantly) with database and PHP optimization.

Allen: Who are your competitors?

Joshua: Mainly ClickTale and RobotReplay.

Allen: Do you have a monetization plan? If so, can you share some details?

Joshua: Right now we're just doing a simple subscription based on the number of tapes recorded, but we are definitely looking into what other options and possibilities are available. Of course, all of these ideas are still preliminary because we want to make the best choices possible.

Allen: What's coming in the next 3-6 months for Tapefailure?

Joshua: Over the next few months we will be working on adding a ton of new features from "element hover tracking" (like click tracking, but with the mouse hovering over elements) to "text selection recording" (record selected text). We are also looking into different methods of generalizing all the tapes into "sets" of information that detail a visitor's whole browsing process from start to finish, allowing the user to gain a faster and more accurate idea of what their visitors are doing.

Allen: Do you see Tapefailure as an analytics app or a testing app?

Joshua: I see it as an analytics app that can be applied to testing as well; it really depends on how you use it. It may be used to test out how visitors use a new feature or tool on your site, or just simply analyze how they navigate through your pages and design.

Allen: Do you find it harder to get the startup buzz in NY vs San Francisco/Silicon Valley?

Joshua: Definitely a bit more difficult. It is difficult to go to these Web 2.0 conferences to get your product out there more, especially as a student. I'm generally limited to web-based and some word-of-mouth advertising.

Allen: What's been your biggest lesson learned since you started Tapefailure?

Joshua: I think the biggest lesson I've learned is that you shouldn't let the competition scare you. Sure they may be bigger, or have more experience, but that doesn't mean much if you put your full effort into what you do.

Allen: What advice do you have for those thinking about starting a web application or web?

Joshua: Don't let yourself get frustrated or down. I know this is common knowledge for many, but if you feel that you have hit a wall with your project, or part of your project, put it down and come back to it later. Think about something else, go out with friends, or watch some TV; just don't let yourself get frustrated! That will put you in a downward spiral where you feel you just can't get anywhere, and it is necessary to be positive when working on things like these.

Allen: Which RSS feeds are you reading these days?

Joshua: Strangely enough, I tend to browse my news "old school" style and actually visit the sites, so I don't use feeds. Most often I read things from Digg, Slashdot, Google News for regular news, and more recently, this data visualization blog called Infosthetics which is great for inspiration when I'm looking for new ways to visualize Tapefailure data.