Jot Spot

October 6, 2005 in 4 out of 5 stars, Hosted software

What is it?

Jot Spot: A hosted wiki service. They are to wikis what TypePad is to blogging.

Who makes it?

JotSpot (headed by the brilliant Joe Kraus)

Why is it the killerest?

Note: I won't go be doing a comprehensive overview of the features of every wiki (which are super cool) instead I'll focus on what JotSpot specifically does well.

JotSpot is aimed directly at businesses. Think of it as Intranet 2.0. Each page in a wiki (hence JotSpot wiki) is editable by any reader, keeps track of versions, is searchable, etc. and JotSpot makes all of these things quite painless and fairly intuitive.

JotSpot also offers full WYSIWYG editing, allows users to set specific permissions on content, insert widgets like calendars and drop downs, insert RSS feeds to syndicate external content, send emails to and from any page and invite others to participate and collaborate.

They also have spiffy "starter kits" that allow you to get up and running quickly with common functionality.

What could be improved?

I'm going to be kind of hard on JotSpot here, but it's only out of love. I love what they've done, I think the application is extremely well done, and I think Joe Kraus sliced the first loaf of bread, but here's what I think they can improve:

I'm worried about their business model. Specifically that they are essentially targeting businesses-only. I'm worried because the adoption rate among businesses is very slow (resistant to change and new stuff, clueless, slow adopters, etc). Typically something technical like this takes off in the business-to-consumer area, and then those consumers are employees, so they set it up at work and get their companies to use the product. Jot has basically tossed this whole method of marketing. I think they ought to rethink that.

My other beef with JotSpot is that they are as ugly as a two year old Yugo. I know wikis are kinda ugly anyway, but if Jot were to pioneer making the wiki more accessible and less intimidating, more of an everyman tool, etc. they'd be able to break the wiki out of the "hard core users only" base that use it now. (And I think they desperately need that given the above stated marketing challenge.)

The best way to do that is to make the interface inviting, easy to use, attractive, familiar/friendly. Right now anyone that's not a Linux weenie is probably reluctant to give it a whirl.

Jot need a top notch designer to help them with everything, from branding, logo, and site design, to the application interface and default templates.

Take Odeo, they hired Dan Cederholm to do the design, and while still functional, it's also inviting, well done, unintimidating. Plus it doesn't look amateurish, which JotSpot really does. (Note: I think Odeo has some business model problems, just talking about their interface).

Blogger.com is another superb interface that makes something fairly complex, quite accessible. They hired Doug Bowman to put the lipstick on, and it is the best signup flow on the whole Internet.

I think JotSpot should spring for a designer and do more for marketing than any feature set ever could.

Note, with JotLive they appear to have a designer who is heavily influenced by popular web applications, borrowing design ideas. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing mind you, but I think they could (and should) lead instead of following.

Examples:
JotLive signup screen
Look familiar?

JotLive screenshots
Look familiar?

I may be stretching it a bit, and I'm not saying it's a horrible thing to draw obvious "inspiration" from other apps that work, but like I said, I think Jot should lead instead.

How much does it cost?

Starts at free for 5 users, and progresses to $49 for unlimited users.

Rating?

Reviewed by Carson McComas

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I think you went EASY on them.

The site is hopelessly ugly. How can they expect people to do daily work in an environment like that? How can I bring my boss in when the first site she sees looks like it's overly technical?