Show HN: VoiceForms 4000, my submission to the Wufoo API contest

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1650317

by Derferman • 16 years ago

27 9 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hey guys,

Just finished up hacking on my submission for the Wufoo API contest. VoiceForms 4000 takes any existing Wufoo form and turns it into a phone survey. The app is written in Python, runs on App Engine, and uses Twilio for all the phone magic.

https://voiceforms4000.appspot.com/

Go ahead and fill one of the sample forms and tell me what you think. Enjoy.

sourc3• 16 years ago

This is a great idea! I really think this has potential, but one thing I'd suggest is to pick a vertical and enhance the system further. Because if all you do is integration between two existing services, barrier of entry is pretty low.

I'd suggest either adding more integration points, or developing an add-on service on top of this.

Once you do that, I think you can sell this to many startups including mine in the near future :)

Derferman4• 16 years ago

I completely agree about developing more integration points. Right now, this project is more of a tech demo. Not sure if I am going to invest the time to monetize.

patio11• 16 years ago

I went through a zombie exam, got "H M M, this sucks, form submission failed. hangs up" Error recovery is a bit, ahem, challenging in a call flow, but you might try to make things a wee bit more graceful. Still, I understand it isn't meant to be immediately productized.

As a product, by the way, this has clear commercial potential. Can I mention again how much Twilio is going to disrupt whole industries?

Derferman4• 16 years ago

Sorry that your form didn't work out, I will poke around the logs to figure out what happened.

One of the most difficult tasks in call flows is properly handling errors, and it's obvious I have a few more edge cases to work out.

Thanks for the feedback.

masnick• 16 years ago

Clickable link: https://voiceforms4000.appspot.com/

mcdowall• 16 years ago

Great idea, in case you hadn't noticed...

"Instantly turn any Wufoo Form into a phone survery!" - typo on Survey.

Good luck

Derferman4• 16 years ago

Spelling, the bane of my existence. Thanks for pointing that out.

hartard• 16 years ago

Nice app. Definitely functional, though I echo sourc3's sentiments to raise the barrier of entry.

Not to be a stickler, but I would remove the TM from your sub-header. Or move it to your app's name.

That isn't a slogan you can trademark, so it's kind of out of place.

Derferman4• 16 years ago

Yeah, the trademark was mainly for comedic value, but I can see how it is out of place.

Show HN: VoiceForms 4000, my submission to the Wufoo API contest

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