Yesterday, Facebook announced the launch of “Facebook Viewpoints” a mobile research app that rewards users with points that can be exchanged for money. From the media coverage, it looks like Viewpoints will enable user surveys and tasks related to apps and devices Facebook is developing.
Facebook Viewpoints is a good idea. It’s such a good idea, methinks believes every business should have these capabilities for their own uses. In fact, methinks has spent four years in R&D, building a much more powerful and complete customer insights platform for businesses.
If you are new to methinks, here’s a bit about methinks products and solutions:
- methinks is a mobile-first, video-research platform, enabling businesses to video chat with customers in high-resolution, low-latency video chat sessions that are automatically stored in the cloud, transcribed and easily edited, using “quick stitching” of multiple interviews for corporate learning.
- With more than 400,000 methinks Thinkers, methinks customers can ask filtering questions and narrow-target their research audience, making recruiting and targeting a cinch. Further, methinks allows businesses to invite their own customers into methinks research projects using a simple methinks deep link. In this way, businesses can use methinks and keep their customer PII private.
- methinks enterprise solutions service dozens of global multinational corporations in regulated and privacy/security-focused industries, such as Auto, Consumer Banking, Games, Media, Software, Consumer Electronics and IOT. Full-service research administration and analysis are available, as well as White Label and API integrations into pre-existing customer apps and environments.
- With nearly 1,500 self-serve customers, the methinks iOS, web and Android apps are becoming default solutions for Startup proof-of-concept testing, usability/UX research, product-customer fit research and design validation exercises. Easy-to-use recruiting, scheduling and payment options (PayPal, Amazon, direct-payment) turns qualitative research from a costly, time-intensive experience into a “done-in-a-day” project priced at $89 per user interview.
- methinks is a venture-backed startup based in Mountain View, started by veterans of Games, Software, eCommerce, fintech and media. methinks.
It’s great to see Facebook emphasize the value of qualitative research; they’ve outsized influence in product development processes, so it’s good to see them seeking customer insights in such a public fashion. Moreover, they’re one of the few companies, like methinks, seeking to give research interviewees money for their thoughts.