Kickapps

29Jun07

Kickapps has really improved leaps and bounds since it first launched. Much like Ning, you can create a social network with blogs, photo-sharing and videos in a matter of clicks.

I  remember trying the service out a year ago and I couldn’t even register! The application form didn’t accept my country. I wrote to them and the reply was just very unhelpful. Recently, I went back to it again and I could sign up for the service pretty easily. Most importantly, it delivers on it’s promise – you can set up a social network within minutes.

Playing around with KickApps and Ning always reminds me of the good old days of affiliate marketing. The idea – fill up a form and you immediately get a web store of your own. You don’t have to worry about delivery, logistics and inventory. Just market your affiliate site to friends, family, over the internet, etc.

Affiliate marketing gained some traction and it’s still lurking around today. However, many have realised it’s not a cash cow that’s going to milk a million dollars. Plus, affiliates have to spend quite a lot of time and effort marketing the site. It’s a bit like network marketing. After some initial success, it takes a whole lot more effort to keep it going.

KickApps gives you the same instant results. You can get a site up quickly enough and slap on your logo. You can also use your own domain so it looks like you are the genius behind your own site. I tried it, but I was disappointed that you eventually get back to KickApps URL. Room for improvement there!

What’s neat about Kick Apps:

  • sets up in minutes
  • allows you to turn on/off moderation
  • easy to use back-end interface
  • good tutorials available
  • you can use your own domain
  • export user data in excel/csv

Filed under: Social Networking, Web 2.0, Web Applications   |  2 Comments

2 Responses to “Kickapps”  

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  1. 1 Chris Keane on June 30, 2007 said:

    Thanks for the great review. I’m glad we’re meeting your expectations, and I think you’ll enjoy seeing the new features and improvements that we roll out with future releases.

    A quick question for you: I was surprised to see you write that “you eventually get back to KickApps URL,” because our DNS masking should hide the KickApps URL throughout the user experience. Can you give me an example of where you’re seeing it? I’ve included my email address in the reply form – please feel free to contact me directly.

    For some good examples of masked URLs, check out:
    * The DIY Network’s My Projects site
    * The VIBE Rap Battle site

    Thanks!
    Chris

    Reply
  2. 2 webified on July 4, 2007 said:

    Hi Chris

    Thanks for the reply. Always great to hear from the creators. Yes, I’ve been tracking the progress of KickApps and all the effort you are making with the backend will win more and more people over. No matter what – ease of use – that’s still king for web applications.

    Chris, I used CNAME. And when i type the domain into my web browser, it immediately redirects to http://affiliate.kickapps.com/blah blah blah

    Cheers

    Reply

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