Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Al K wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
Geez, cut the guy some slack, woodja? It's a school project,
fercrissakes. He's not an inventor, he hasn't built any of these
things, he and his classmates just got an idea and went to paddlers
(what a concept!) to see if the idea had legs. Now he knows it
doesn't. No need to beat him up.

Steve
Steve,
I agree. Give him feedback but don't belittle him.

Lighten up, will ya?. If anything, we're doing him a BIG favor. We may
be a tough crowd, but we're nothing compared to what he would face in
the actual marketplace. It's better that he takes few lumps and learns a
valuable lesson about market research while he's still in school. He may
well thank us one day.

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a freaking
business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea to survey
his target market.

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

I don't think I'm the one who need to lighten up.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.
Not US, of course, but, surprising as it may be, the paddling sun does
not rise and set on the 25 or so people who still post here.

Steve

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Al K wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
Geez, cut the guy some slack, woodja? It's a school project,
fercrissakes. He's not an inventor, he hasn't built any of these
things, he and his classmates just got an idea and went to paddlers
(what a concept!) to see if the idea had legs. Now he knows it
doesn't. No need to beat him up.

Steve
Steve,
I agree. Give him feedback but don't belittle him.

Lighten up, will ya?. If anything, we're doing him a BIG favor. We may
be a tough crowd, but we're nothing compared to what he would face in
the actual marketplace. It's better that he takes few lumps and learns a
valuable lesson about market research while he's still in school. He may
well thank us one day.

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a freaking
business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea to survey
his target market.

Hello??? I wrote "It's better that he takes few lumps and learns
a valuable lesson about market research while he's still in
school.", so obviously I know he's a student. Wake up, will ya?

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

Did I say anything about sponsons?

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.

That doesn't make them a good idea or a viable product.

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

On Apr 2, 8:10 am, Brian Nystrom wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a freaking
business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea to survey
his target market.

Hello??? I wrote "It's better that he takes few lumps and learns
a valuable lesson about market research while he's still in
school.", so obviously I know he's a student. Wake up, will ya?

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

Did I say anything about sponsons?

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.

That doesn't make them a good idea or a viable product.

You guys are so mean!
I assumed that he was doing a marketing thing and suggested offfline
that he interview kayakers and canoers on the Charles River and get
some "real customer" responses- more interesting from beginners.
I find it interesting that there are a lot of boat products being sold
which with a bit of proficiency become obsolete to the user; really
wide kayaks, canoes, rowing craft etc. But there are users who for a
variety of reasons never "graduate" - lack of coordination,
physically challenged including overweight or obese, etc. I do not
know your profiles, but I would imagine you represent the top 5% of
the paddling crowd. Think of how many people you represent who tried
out a boat of some kind for awhile and then just faded away... Now
THAT would be a really interesting research project...

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Steve, how do you know he's "a freaking business student"?

O, yeh: you read it on the Internet.

It's hard for me, today, to imagine how I would have behaved when I
was 40 years younger and less-experienced, but I'm troubled by the
fact that he hasn't come back and tried to engage any of us in our
criticisms. I'd think, if he were really a student at a high-end
university, and this were really a class project for credit, he would
not have relplied -- hurt and puzzled, perhaps -- trying to find out
what the h. we're going on about.

I think it's all a set-up. Maybe by our friend, or maybe by someone
else.

-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================== ====================
Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
.. rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
.. Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
.. rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
.. OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================== ====================


On Apr 1, 9:05 pm, Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a freaking
business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea to survey
his target market.

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

I don't think I'm the one who need to lighten up.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.
Not US, of course, but, surprising as it may be, the paddling sun does
not rise and set on the 25 or so people who still post here.

Steve



Brian Nystrom wrote:
Al K wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
Geez, cut the guy some slack, woodja? It's a school project,
fercrissakes. He's not an inventor, he hasn't built any of these
things, he and his classmates just got an idea and went to paddlers
(what a concept!) to see if the idea had legs. Now he knows it
doesn't. No need to beat him up.

Steve
Steve,
I agree. Give him feedback but don't belittle him.

Lighten up, will ya?. If anything, we're doing him a BIG favor. We may
be a tough crowd, but we're nothing compared to what he would face in
the actual marketplace. It's better that he takes few lumps and learns a
valuable lesson about market research while he's still in school. He may
well thank us one day.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Hey, Elliott

I don't know if you've been back here to r.b.p to see the discussion
engendered by your (so you thought) innocent request for information. If
you haven't been, I suggest you do, and you'll learn a lot about your
proposed product and even more about gathering information on Usenet.

If you do make it back, let us know your reaction to the responses
you've gotten here.

Steve

wrote:
Hi everyone!

My name is Elliott, and I am seeking the help of as many people as I
can get. I'm doing a school project at Boston University and we need
people to fill out a quick survey that will take about 3-4 minutes to
fill out regarding a new product for kayaks.

It is a special on-water training device. We are just trying to guage
the public's reaction to the product.

Thank you for any help you can give!

Survey link he

http://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/34805/kayaksurvey.htm

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a
freaking business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea
to survey his target market.

Hello??? I wrote "It's better that he takes few lumps and learns
a valuable lesson about market research while he's still in
school.", so obviously I know he's a student. Wake up, will ya?

And what, exactly is the lesson? Don't ask questions in a newsgroup that
has been sensitized by a wacko?

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

Did I say anything about sponsons?

Did you need to? You may be the only one who didn't use the word.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.

That doesn't make them a good idea or a viable product.

If you say so. You should be sure to get ahold of these guys
http://www.castlecraft.com/stabilizers.htm
http://www.sailboatstogo.com/v_page....noe_outriggers
http://www.huki.com/store/
and about a hundred outrigger canoe clubs and tell them they're wasting
their time.

Steve

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

You think this is a set-up by He-whose-name-must-not-be-spoken, Richard?
I think your tinfoil beanie is on a little too tight. ;)

Judging from the responses, I'm NOT surprised he hasn't come back. Why
would he want to spend time corresponding with a bunch of people who
immediately jump to the conclusion that he's a fraud? A reasonable
reaction would be "F*** you all and the canoes you paddled in on."

You'll note that i explicitly invited him back. Perhaps we'll learn
something if he responds. You may be right.

Steve

Oci-One Kanubi wrote:
Steve, how do you know he's "a freaking business student"?

O, yeh: you read it on the Internet.

It's hard for me, today, to imagine how I would have behaved when I
was 40 years younger and less-experienced, but I'm troubled by the
fact that he hasn't come back and tried to engage any of us in our
criticisms. I'd think, if he were really a student at a high-end
university, and this were really a class project for credit, he would
not have relplied -- hurt and puzzled, perhaps -- trying to find out
what the h. we're going on about.

I think it's all a set-up. Maybe by our friend, or maybe by someone
else.

-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================== ====================
Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
. rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
. Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
. rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
. OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================== ====================


On Apr 1, 9:05 pm, Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a freaking
business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea to survey
his target market.

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had the
Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically, which
indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed at Timmy.

I don't think I'm the one who need to lighten up.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.
Not US, of course, but, surprising as it may be, the paddling sun does
not rise and set on the 25 or so people who still post here.

Steve



Brian Nystrom wrote:
Al K wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
Geez, cut the guy some slack, woodja? It's a school project,
fercrissakes. He's not an inventor, he hasn't built any of these
things, he and his classmates just got an idea and went to paddlers
(what a concept!) to see if the idea had legs. Now he knows it
doesn't. No need to beat him up.
Steve
Steve,
I agree. Give him feedback but don't belittle him.
Lighten up, will ya?. If anything, we're doing him a BIG favor. We may
be a tough crowd, but we're nothing compared to what he would face in
the actual marketplace. It's better that he takes few lumps and learns a
valuable lesson about market research while he's still in school. He may
well thank us one day.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

On Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:09:00 -0400, Steve Cramer
wrote:

You think this is a set-up by He-whose-name-must-not-be-spoken, Richard?
I think your tinfoil beanie is on a little too tight. ;)

Judging from the responses, I'm NOT surprised he hasn't come back. Why
would he want to spend time corresponding with a bunch of people who
immediately jump to the conclusion that he's a fraud? A reasonable
reaction would be "F*** you all and the canoes you paddled in on."

You'll note that i explicitly invited him back. Perhaps we'll learn
something if he responds. You may be right.

Steve

I'm not surprized he's not come back, regardless of whether or not
there were any comments in the group and whether or not those comments
were good or bad (from his viewpoint). I get the impression, after
being on many newsgroups that get an occasional one of these sorts of
things that they really don't care about anything but turning in their
survey for a grade. Their, in my opinion, worthless survey. They
don't use anything like proper sampling methods and have some other
faults.
--

r.bc: vixen
Minnow goddess, Speaker to squirrels, willow watcher.
Almost entirely harmless. Really.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

Hey everyone! Can you PLEASE help?
 

Steve Cramer wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote:
Steve Cramer wrote:
How many times can I say this? He is not a manufacturer. He's a
freaking business student, who has just learned that it's a good idea
to survey his target market.

Hello??? I wrote "It's better that he takes few lumps and learns
a valuable lesson about market research while he's still in
school.", so obviously I know he's a student. Wake up, will ya?

And what, exactly is the lesson? Don't ask questions in a newsgroup that
has been sensitized by a wacko?

No, it's that you need to understand a product before you decide you can
"improve" or "accessorize" it. I'll bet this guy has little or no
experience in kayaks.

Gedanken experiment: how would you have answered if you hadn't had
the Sp**son experience? Several people mentioned it specifically,
which indicates that this guy caught a bunch of residual crap aimed
at Timmy.

Did I say anything about sponsons?

Did you need to? You may be the only one who didn't use the word.

So what's your point? You're making the assumption that everyone here
has simply reacted in a knee-jerk fashion due to Timmy's BS from years
ago. Perhaps some have, but that's not the case with me. Your assumption
is wrong.

And by the way, there are a number of brands of canoe and kayak
flotation enhancers on the market, and guess what, people do buy them.

That doesn't make them a good idea or a viable product.

If you say so. You should be sure to get ahold of these guys
http://www.castlecraft.com/stabilizers.htm
http://www.sailboatstogo.com/v_page....noe_outriggers
http://www.huki.com/store/
and about a hundred outrigger canoe clubs and tell them they're wasting
their time.

Give me a break. We're not talking about outrigger canoes or any other
kind of canoes, for that matter. The fact that there are already
companies selling products into what must be a tiny market just means
that there's even less room for a new one. It also indicates that the OP
didn't even do basic market research before starting his "project".
Otherwise, he would have asked about what we thought of his "improved"
kayak stabilizer. The more I think about it, the more he seems like a
lazy kid that wants someone else to do his homework for him.