Suggestion for Chinesepod
user18844
July 02, 2007, 06:23 AM posted in General DiscussionLet me preface this by saying that what I'm saying here doesn't really affect me directly, but it seems to be occurring a lot recently, so I thought i should say something.
When Chinesepod comes out with a new feature it should make it clear who the feature is for (in terms of subscription levels) and stick to their guns. Recently there have been so many features added and dropped that I can't imagine how frustrated I'd be if I subscribed in the past couple weeks. For example, the Fix was made available to Basic subscribers for the first week or so, then yanked away. Previously, MP3s containing just the dialogs were available for Basic Subscribers to download , this changed recently. There was a time I (a Basic subscriber) couldn't access the "Qing Wen" section because I didn't have a Premium subscription. Now of course it works fine. I have a full understanding that when you work with computer there are bound to be problems that need to be corrected, but it seems that right now CPOD is flying by the seat of their pants. They're so eager to come up with new and exciting ideas that they're not giving them much forethought. I think it's important to remember that people are probably subscribing to your service every day. If you offer something the day a person subscribes, then take it away from them the next day, it doesn't reflect well on the business.
italiana
July 08, 2007, 08:09 PMI agree with xiahu. Besides, thats why you subcribe to the free trial; so you can see all of ChinesePod's feature and if you like them you can upgrade.
AuntySue
July 09, 2007, 11:09 AMIn the types of cases mentioned here, I don't see it as indecision or lack of planning, but rather, I see it as being responsive to feedback and usage, and willing to make changes. The only problem I have with it is the lack of effective communication of changes. Often it's a one liner in the middle of a conversation somewhere, which is only seen by the twenty people who read every single post every day. I don't know how to fix that. I'm sure there's things I have access to and never use them because I don't know. There's nothing I dread more than clicking on a link, waiting for it to load, and being told to get a higher subscription. It makes me feel ashamed for trying. Why not tell me before I click and lose my train of thought? So I only click on things I'm damn sure I've got access to, missing some treats I suppose.
fudawei
July 09, 2007, 11:21 AMWould be handy to have a one-stop "Recent Changes" tab on the front page.
AuntySue
July 09, 2007, 11:47 AMAbsolutely, good suggestion FDW! Just terse notes would do, like one of those CHANGES documents you get with some software. With access to its history, of course. More details could appear on the blog as required, but a simple "Extra traditional-character PDFs coming real soon" would have saved those people who believed back then that their support had been removed. Then "PDFs and dialogues are now delivered to you. Add them to your feed (basic/premium)" and then "Some flashcard fixes and improvements completed, more to come" and "Recent net outages due to Taiwan earthquake, keep trying until you get through" and "Free pizzas on Fridays. (premium)"
xiaohu
July 08, 2007, 07:05 PMMaybe they are just giving people the taste of what it would be like at a higher subscription level, they can see how good it is, then when it's, "yanked away" they will be more likely to uprade to the higher level. To me, $6.00 per month for the most part is pretty good for what they get at that level.