I like checking out new startups and their offerings. It’s fun. One in particular that looked interesting was LongJump. Their promise is that they let you build web apps without coding. Neat. I’m always on the lookout to see what company will bring the ease of FileMaker to the next level in the form of a modern hosted application platform for non-developers. I don’t know if LongJump is it (and it will take me some time to find out at this rate). I signed up for their beta only to get a form letter back from their Director of Business Development asking me to answer a few questions about who I am and what I intend to do wth their service. Hmm… I suppose that’s their prerogative but I really just wanted to play with it and I’m not eager to spend my limited attention span on “qualifying” for access to their beta. Maybe I’ll just wait.

Another site I wanted to check out was MyLifeBrand. As best I can tell they try to aggregate your social network presences. MetaMySpace, etc. Except for one problem. The first thing you see when you go to their site is this choice you need to make:

I think (but am not completely sure) that I have to slot myself into one of these buckets: Individual, Artist, Celebrity, Guru, or Sponsor. What if I’m more than one? And more importantly, what if none of their labels fit my self-image. Hey, suits at MyLifeBrand, don’t try to drop me into one of your convenient corporate buckets. ;) OK. I’m sort of kidding. But only sort of.

Basically, both of these experiences missed the mark from moment one. They may be great behind these little missteps but I bet many people won’t find out cause they dump out of the process at the first sign that the company doesn’t get them or is asking for wacky information.

It sounds trite to say that it’s imperative that you put yourself in your user’s mind, but I have no better words to describe what’s clearly so necessary in both of these situations.