Mighty Morphin' Power Users
Any good entrepreneur will tell you that regardless of his or her vision for what the product can become, it’s always a good idea to listen to users. A product, in alpha, beta, test phase, or whatever you want to call it is still a work in progress, akin to a child in her infancy. Infinit is still a baby – a blank slate if you will. Like a child, Infinit grows and adapts based on its environment – one created by the needs and opinions of its users.
It all starts with a small group of people – the power users. Power users are like parents that educate a child. The power of a small user base helps Infinit develop a strong value proposition and relevance. Like a child, a product is capable of learning a lot. Our power users are a group of individuals composed of researchers, engineers, designers and general aficionados of file sharing and data storage applications. With their help, the foundations of Infinit are being developed. When you think about it, there’s a lot to be learned. What feature do people value the most? What functionalities are used most often and how should they be accessed? How can each aspect be made simpler and clearer?
Power users are also different from typical users. They demand more from a product. They value features that enhance their experience more than what already exists. But what’s more is that these individuals help instill the values of the company behind the product. It’s easy for a company to be shortsighted as it’s a simple approach. For us, it’s important to think of the long-term implications of the decisions we make. No company, even those with well-known visionaries at the helm can look into the future. Nevertheless, critical thinking and working with a community of intelligible power users helps to democratize a product and build flexibility into its capabilities and how they manifest themselves. With Infinit, our power users are helping us think through not just the “now,” but also about the “if.” Their help will contribute to the construction of a reliable and flexible tool, a sustainable business and a transparent company.