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We need more of those. 

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Before Whitetruffle, we launched Oleboo, an iPhone app that let sports fans cheer for their team while watching a game live. The idea was to extend the stadium to wherever you are, so you can share your emotions with anyone who's watching. 

The app got more than 20,000 downloads in a few weeks after launch, mainly driven by the fact that Apple was showing us on the homepage of the app store under the what's new and what's hot. We even got in the top 20 of the sports apps. 

Yet, we decided to stop. Let me explain why we stopped, and what we learnt. 

We stopped because "appointment products" are really hard to drive traffic to. The ESPN, Yahoo! or Fox of the world can do it, but when you're a young boostrapped startup, it's really, really hard, and I didn't see us being able to make it. It's already difficult to get users to come to a site that's available 24hrs a day, it's 100 times harder to get people to come at a specific time of that day. 

That was really the main reason. I couldn't find a solution that didn't involve spending lot of $ to be able to acquire users, but more importantly, engage them in the long term. 

Today, there are lot of second screen experience products. Some more successful than others, but it's still very early, and it's definitely a space that will evolve tremendously over time. In my opinion, to be successful, they're going to have to pay attention to the following:

- They shouldn't substitute themselves to the game. The main action is the game. Don't ask your users to spend all their attention on the second screen. Interaction with the second screen should be super fast to make sure you still enjoy the game. 

- Don't try to create a new social network. People already talk about what's going on. Twitter, Facebook etc... Aggregate content from those platforms, allow for crossharing. 

- Extend the program hours. This is the only way you can fight the "appointment" issue. Give your users something they can do before and after the program. Predictions, comments, bets whatever. But your app has to be open 24hrs a day. 

- Give away stuff. It's silly, but it works. Tee shirts, tickets, jerseys etc... 

- Enhance the experience with mobile devices. For real. Don't just pretend. Citizen sports is doing this very well with the "claim your bar" feature (geo location). Fans can own a real bar in the city!!!!

- Fight the "empty experience". Make sure you don't offer too many programs with nobody following them. It's a true community product, therefore you need make sure you have enough people who would watch a specific program before offering them. 

- The phone (or whatever device you're using) should automatically detect what you're watching. Intake does it very well (well, expect for sports because it's super hard). 

It's a fun space, and we're going to see lot of innovation in the coming years. 

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The win against the Saints was incredible. The defeat again the Giants is really bitter. 

At the moment of the final kick, all I could think of was Kyle Williams. I went through many different emotional states before being able to actually look at things with some perspective. But when I did, my view was very different. 

Of course Williams makes 2 huge mistakes. But that's sports. Mistakes are going to happen. What's really sad is that one of them is during overtime. But thinking about it, this young guy, who was not even playing at his usual position on the field, shouldn't have been put in that situation in the first place. There shouldn't have been an overtime. We had the ball to win it, and we didn't. 

For me, that's what's frustrating. We had it. Even with the first fumble, we still had it. How many chances do you want to win a game? We had the ball numerous times in the last 4 minutes to win it. We had the ball in overtime. And we weren't able to close it.

You can't ask your defense or special teams to do wonders all the time. There is a point when things break, especially when you play against a very talented Giants team.  

When reading this article, I was very proud of the team. Maybe the fans don't realize it, but you can't blame a player for trying to make a play. His intentions were good and you never, ever punish someone who has the best intentions. He didn't lose the game. The team did. 

That team showed on the field and off the field that they're a great team. Great teams always end up winning. But on the way, there are always defeats. You take it, stand up, and come back. You keep doing it. Until you win. 

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Twitter announced today that they've partnered with the X Factor to allow viewers to cast their cost through their product. 

While I think it's a great move, I also find it falls a bit short. 

I think Twitter is extremely powerful. I actually think Twitter is changing the way we're watching what's happening. More specifically, I believe it has huge potential with everything that creates emotions. Human beings always want to share their emotions. When you watch a sports game, a movie, a show, the evening news... All those programs trigger emotions that the viewers want to share.

There is nothing better than Twitter to do this. Due to its nature, and its ease of use, it's the ideal tool to let people communicate and yet don't be distracted from the main screen. It's the real definition of the perfect second screen experience. 

Twitter has the power to connect all the viewers, and also extend the stadium, the movie theatres, your living room to create a global place where everybody can cheer, scream, cry, smile, boo, or do whatever they feel. 

Voting for X Factor is a great step forward, but why not create a customized experience for all people watching the show. Let them cheer for their favorite singers, boo the ones they don't like. People are already doing it, but the hashtags are too complicated to make sense of it. 

I can't wait to see Twitter Sports so I'm not alone when I watch a game, but at the same time, I'm not distracted by a second screen. When France lost the final of the rugby World Cup, it would have been so nice to be among all the folks who were watching the game. 

The product already exists, it's just a matter of creating a fantastic user experience around it, which Twitter has the talent to build. It's probably just a matter of time, but I really can't wait. 

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Alex

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UPDATE: since that post, the folks at Home Depot took care of the situation and in a few minutes, everything was sorted. They've been very understanding and helpful (thanks Nicki and everyone who called me). Thank you very much to those who jumped in to help. 

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I'm usually very patient when something goes wrong with a purchase I make in a store. I know what it is to serve customers, and how challenging things can be. I also have the most respect for all the folks handling relationships with customers. It's a very difficult job, and the majority of them are doing a wonderful job. 

Now, sometimes things seem just wrong. So I wanted to share here my story with the Home Depot at Daly City. 

On 08/19, I go to Home Depot in Daly City to purchase a grill. I mentioned to the person who's helping me that I have a natural gas pipe on my deck that I want to hook up the grill to. We agreed on a Weber grill. It's a propane grill, but he explained to me that if I put a "converter kit", things will be fine, even if I may lose a bit of power. So i bought the grill and the converter, and went back home. 

I put the grill together, but couldn't make it work with the converter. I figured I was doing something wrong, and I'll figure it out by calling weber. Since it was evening, I decided to call the day after, and instead try the grill with a propane bottle that I had for a heater. It was working fine and and we grilled a steak. 

The day after, I call Weber who explained to me that you can not convert Weber grill anymore. So basically, I had to buy a natural gas grill. 

I then call Home Depot saying I want to an exchange. The person I talked to over the phone said that he was going to ask around and get back to me. Nobody called back, so I give them another call. Another person tells me to stay home the day after and that someone was going to come and pick it up. I spent the next day at home and nobody ever showed up. I called them again and talked to Brian Feagins, a very polite and nice person who basically told me that the best he can do is a $75 refund (out of a $650 purchase) and that I should always write down the names of the people I talk to. 

I then told him I want to talk to the store manager, Julia Valledor. He said she's not available right now but that would give me a call back. A few days later, still nothing. One morning, Vince called me saying that he's coming the day after to pick up the BBQ at 10am. At 10:10am he's at my place taking the BBQ with him. Vince was very nice and polite and he explained to me that Fotu validated the pick-up. This was on 09/07.

I had to go out of the country for 10 days. When I came back, I checked my credit card and still didn't see a refund (which at that point was still planning on spending at Home Depot to buy a natural gas grill). I called them again, and they told me to come to the store to get my refund.

I went there (it's a 30 minutes ride from my place) and dealt with Roy. I explained my story and Roy said that there is nothing he can do because I don't have a service agreement, and therefore I should speak with Brian (who's not here). I told Roy my story and that I've talked to many people before, and that I found it quite amazing that they're ok to keep my money. My wife, who was with me starts losing it, and I walked her out of the service area. I go back to Roy to make sure I write down his name (per Brian's advice) and as I walked out he screams at me that I should add his name to the list.

On 09/25 (the day after), I gave a call to Brian who told me that he needs to check with Vince to make sure they are in possession of the BBQ. He said then he would call me back in one or two days. Three days later, Brian leaves me a voicemail. I called back but he was not available. I leave a message.

The day after, I called back. Brian is not available. He's off. I'm told to call back later. Today, I called them again, and it seems that Brian is now off until Tuesday. I asked the person on the phone if they can do anything for me and she said my account has no trace of my purchase and that only Brian can do something.

So it's been two months. I don't have my BBQ. Home Depot has it. And I don't have my money. Home Depot has it. I'm going to send this post to Joe MacFarland, who is the president of the Western Division and to Marvin Ellison, the EVP of the US stores, who was saying:

" you're going to see us do a lot less talking about service and more executing service. It's a fundamental of our business." 

Honeslty, I don't understand what their problem is and why they don't want to give my money back. But what I know for sure is that this is not the way they're going to gain customers. I also know, in the new age of customer service, someone will disrupt this industry with a customer oriented service. That day, Home Depot will be left behind if they don't change. 

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I'm very impressed by how Gerard Depardieu manages that situation. Not necessarily the classiest, but it does the work. 

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