nagU

Hi Steve. Interesting idea - clearly many students have a need for something like this, but I'm wondering if nagging is the answer. My usual response to nagging is to eventually not hear it, and given the name of your venture, my fear is that many students after trying it out would tire of it. I get though that your monetary needs are not large, and you want to be approachable with a name, etc. to get people to give their money. Have you thought of how this could generate some profit? If so, you might have more joy approaching a few investors with a way to share in that. Best of luck with this.

Hey Steve. The research you presented shows that some people may benefit from NagU and interestingly, the antidote you suggest is to use the source of the problem of not being focused and procrastination as the solution: social media. I like that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em type of solution. However, I am skeptical as to whether NagU would have the same appeal as mainstream social media to actually get students using it. It doesn’t exactly have that upload a selfie quality to it like Instagram. In addition, if I have a challenge with procrastination and meeting deadlines, why would I want to take on the additional stress of also being responsible for someone else’s work? Would there be a “Nagl” to remind me to nag…? Maybe if you add some type of gamification elements to it, it might motivate people and work better…Regardless of the concept, your elevator pitch and your campaign on Kickstarter are well done. Good luck.

Hi Steve, is there a rewards system for users who remind their group members on time? If students struggle to keep their own deadlines, how will they keep other people's deadlines? Does the app ping the users to remind them to remind their group members an impending deadline?

Hello Ian, Lots of great questions! Users will form their own groups of three based on what they deem important filters: age, location, major etc. If a user finds their group is not working for them, they can easily change into or form other groups. In a sense, it is both a mixed and not mixed user base. For school institutions who license nagU, they would have their own secure access portal for their students. nagU is meant for adults and not kids, but in the etiquette guide it will explain that users should maintain anonymity and report users attempting to find identities. I hadn't considered the images vs text issue. I think at this point that their will be no avatars. After establishing a user base, I will see if there is an interest in having an avatar gallery to choose from. There will be an emoticon image gallery to choose from for messages. The current vision of nagU is to create social returns, aka no profit. That is why I am currently on a crowdfunding platform. In the future, nagU might have targeted advertisements to sustain operations when it reaches an operational threshold. I will keep working on nagU at nagu.ca and we will see what happens ;-)

Hello Steve, I enjoyed your kickstarter idea! I agree wholeheartedly that accountability is a powerful ally in staying on task in a world of distractions that we have today. I do have a few questions of clarification in regards to NagU: Would there be separate Nagu communities or is it all mixed? You suggested that NagU could work for a school institution, and if there are other strangers that can form groups with students, I feel a little wary in regards to the policing of who and what is shared. As well, will you be blocking images and only allowing text? Just as a thought. As a potential investor, how would you generate a return? Would you potentially be posting advertisements as a means? Overall, your idea is well intended and has potential. If you are able to separate the distinction between NagU and any other distracting social media platform, that would be ideal. Keep it up!

Hey Steve, a question for clarification, are the support squads the 3 students themselves? Or is there another anonymous set of people that positively interact with this group of 3 to keep them on task?