Derek Johnson's dashboard

Derek Johnson started following the problem "Flash Widget" in Tatango.

Derek Johnson replied on June 18, 2009 21:01 to the problem "Like Tatango... BUT..." in Tatango:

Thanks for your comment!

A comment on the idea "Keep Tatango Customers" in Tatango:

Christa,

Thanks for posting your comment. Unfortunately we can't implement Nathan's idea as there is still the issue of where does the money come from to pay for the messages a group is sending. Hopefully you find the service valuable enough to pay, if not, I'm really sorry to see you go.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on June 16, 2009 03:38

A comment on the problem ""visit web" for messages a bad idea" in Tatango:

Wiggio uses a different method for sending their messages than Tatango. Wiggio sends messages through SMTP, which is a free gateway, while Tatango uses SMPP, which is heavily taxed and regulated by the mobile phone carriers. Besides the fact that most companies can't continue to use the SMPP gateway once they reach a certain size (this happened to us within the first couple of months) there are some major differences which are highlighted in this blog post we did. http://tatango.com/blog/2008/07/all-t...

I'm sorry to hear that you think the prices are too high, but we have seen a good percentage of our current groups agree with us that the value they place on each message is aligned with our current pricing model. Again, thank you for your support, we greatly appreciate it and hope to see you stick around.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on June 10, 2009 05:03

Derek Johnson replied on June 08, 2009 16:59 to the praise "coolness" in Tatango:

Thanks for your comments, greatly appreciated!

- Derek

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Ryan,

By sending someone to a group profile, we are able to make another ad-impression. For example, you send one text message, we place an ad in that text message and in addition, we also place an ad on your group profile. That is two ad-impressions per group member, where before it was only one. This generates extra revenue per message as we try and cover the text messaging costs.

I like the idea about setting up different levels of accounts, but who will pay for the messaging costs? Should Tatango have to subsidize the costs of messaging for groups that don't want to pay? – Derek Johnson, on June 05, 2009 16:46

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Philip,

I understand how you may think that, but I can assure you this was not our plan. As a business we have to adapt, it's only natural.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on June 05, 2009 16:39

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Philip,

Not sure if you know about the history of our company, but two years ago we sent out messages without ads through SMTP, because we didn't have any messaging costs to cover. When the carriers switched us to SMPP and started charging us for messages, we started inserting ads to cover the costs of the messages, which worked for over a year. Over the last six months, text message advertising has seen a sharp decline, forcing us now to find another way to cover the cost of messaging. Not sure how you think we are pulling a "bait and switch", more like adapting with the current market and making decisions that will keep the service online for groups that find value in what we are offering. – Derek Johnson, on June 04, 2009 22:55

A comment on the praise "Tatango is easy to use" in Tatango:

Philip,

That is one of the methods to send a message, you can also upgrade your account and send messages directly to the phone. For more information check out our subscription plans here http://www.tatango.com/subscription/

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on June 04, 2009 22:21

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Philip,

We were one of the first group text messaging companies to place ads within text messages, which obviously means we were venturing into a market that had never been tested before. We gave it a run, and unfortunately it didn't work out because of many different variables.

You are welcome to check out Wiggio, but they are using SMTP (free version of SMS) not SMPP like Tatango. You can only grow so big before the carriers will force you to switch to SMPP and start billing you for the messages you are sending. This happened a few months after the launch of Tatango and will happen to Wiggio once they grow to a certain size. Wiggio, just like Tatango will than be forced to figure out a way to cover the high costs of the messages.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on June 04, 2009 22:18

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Ryan,

Thanks for your comment. Here is the problem... the mobile phone carriers charge Tatango $X to send each individual message and with the economic downtown, advertisers are barely willing to pay a small fraction of $X to place their ads within your text messages. So where does the remaining revenue come from to cover the cost we incur to send the messages? Tough question huh? If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

- Derek (CEO Tatango) – Derek Johnson, on June 04, 2009 21:48

A comment on the problem ""visit web" for messages a bad idea" in Tatango:

Philip,

What parts of the paid service don't you like? – Derek Johnson, on June 02, 2009 16:56

A comment on the problem ""visit web" for messages a bad idea" in Tatango:

Michael,

Have you seen the video explaining why we had to do this? http://www.vimeo.com/4378978 – Derek Johnson, on May 26, 2009 17:00

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Joe, thanks for the comment. The intent from day one was to allow the service to be ad-supported and free for everyone, not to pull a bait and switch on our users. Obviously we are a business and have to make certain decisions when things like the economy, advertising spending etc. don't go as planned.

- Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango) – Derek Johnson, on May 20, 2009 18:25

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Rishi, thanks for your feedback. Unfortunately with the costs charged by the carriers for every message, one additional text message ad per month wouldn't really put a dent in the monthly messaging costs a group incurs. – Derek Johnson, on May 19, 2009 02:02

A comment on the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Thanks, we know our customers are what keep us in business, so we take what you guys say very seriously. Lets wait a couple of days and see if any other users like your idea. Thanks again and if you have any other ideas, be sure to let me know. – Derek Johnson, on May 15, 2009 04:17

Derek Johnson replied on May 15, 2009 03:58 to the idea "Ad per free text message" in Tatango:

Philip, thank you so much for the constructive feedback. We discussed something like this while we were looking at all of our options and we thought this wouldn't be very appealing to our current user base. Maybe I'm wrong, since you brought it up. Does anyone else like the above idea?

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

I wanted to clarify a few things you said in your comment above. I'm glad you think our office is VERY nice, but it seems like you have the opinion we spend too much money on it. To be completely transparent, we pay only $1,500 for the space, includes triple net (if you do your research, you will realize that we got a steal in the area we are in), in addition, we sublease out extra space in the office to help cover costs.

In regards to your Tatango.TV comment, you may want to read my blog post about the minimal costs incurred to launch that product. http://thederekjohnson.com/2009/03/05...

If you know of lower costing ad-free services, please let us know because as far as I'm aware we are the lowest.

- Derek Johnson (CEO) – Derek Johnson, on May 14, 2009 00:21

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

If they won't paste it in to a browser, I would suggest looking at our paid subscription models which send the message directly to the phone http://www.tatango.com/subscription/ – Derek Johnson, on May 12, 2009 17:16

Derek Johnson replied on May 12, 2009 17:15 to the problem "New changes = People leaving my groups" in Tatango:

Have you checked out our paid subscription model, which allows you to send messages directly to the mobile phone? http://www.tatango.com/subscription/