Apr 10
Last July we launched mobile Oust.me page - m.oust.me. After that we added a lot of new features, and a lot of things inside Oust.me changed. At the end of last year we shut down mobile page, cause we were planning a proper app for iOS and Android devices - and as you noticed, we still don't have it (yes, we know all :)).
To feel the gap, we have prepared a new, redesigned mobile page, with almost the same functions as on the website. If you open Oust.me from your mobile device, site should be mobile optimized.
In case you have any questions, or suggestions, you can drop us a line on GetSatisfaction
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Mar 25
As many of you have noticed, we had some issues lately with scalability of Oust.me platform, due to fast growth of the user base. There were some issues with territory algorithm, some check-ins missed, etc and while this was all technical, the community part lacked a proper tool to communicate when new features are releases or bugs finally tracked down and stamped on.
Big chunk of our technical issues were solved with a little help from our
hosting provider Siel (thanks guys!), but the communication issue still persisted. So, we looked for a tool where we can get all your ideas, suggestions and issues in one spot and address them as promptly as possible. We choose
Get Satisfaction, where "no one will be left behind" aka big melting pot of ideas and issues :-)
Let's get satisfaction together -
https://getsatisfaction.com/oustme/!
Feb 3
It's been awhile since we launched Ousterville. Well, not that long, but still, a long while in this fast moving ecosystem. And now (drum-roll), we're proud to announce that we've launched Areas. A fun way to compete with others in a team based gameplay, a mashup of suggestions, trends and risk ( Risk as a game of course :-) ).
So, what is Areas?
Areas, is a city based game, where you can compete in a team play for city domination. Simply put, join one of the teams and try to conquer as much city as possible. To make things more interesting we've added some secret goodies and implemented Twitter as a checkin service.
If you are asking yourself, and how the h@#! do I that with twitter. Well, simple. Sign up, join a team and tweet geo-tagged tweets with hashtag #oust and you'll be well on your way to own the city.
The game can be played in several handpicked cities London, Paris, Prague, Berlin and Zagreb for now… more of them are on their way. If you feel you want your city to be next, drop us an email.
Feb 1
Start-up Now - A Guide from the Seedcamp 2011 participants is a powerpoint presentation (ebook) from Seedcamp 2011 participants, published by cubesocial.
Startup Now: A Guide from the Seedcamp 2011 participants
Jan 12
If you read Oust.me blog posts, follow us on Twitter (@oust.me) or like us on Facebook , you`ve probably noticed that there are a lot of new features revealed every day. We are trying to make Oust.me more user friendly and are therefore paying a lot of attention to the user experience.
We've completely changed the look of the Dashboard, and our basic game is now named OusterVille. The rules – How to Play are still the same, but you`ll be able to find a number of new things:
New icons in Recent activity (if you ousted someone from his/her location, if you became the Ouster of a location and if you earned points on a location)
All your Territories are listed in OusterVille (with the size of territory and the number of locations in that territory)
OusterVille leaderboard – discover where you are ranked in regards to various criteria (area of your territories, number of territories, number of locations, overall points)
Jan 9
In the last two blog posts, we've mentioned a few new features. The most prominent change that you`ll be able to notice is, however, not a feature but an overhaul, a redesign of the Oust.me page. With simplicity and your feedback in mind, we rolled up our sleeves, took out the longest whips we could find and tamed the beast.
The new design reflects our vision for the future and the path we are taking to get there. Dashboard has now more informational value, easier navigation and a place for additional games. Venue and territory got their very own pages which will provide more insight into the venue you are visiting or the territory you own. We went so far as to incorporate Google's driving directions for all those of you who would like to get that last venue to build the uber territory but lack the navigation equipment to do so.. We`ve changed the recent activity feed for better experience, user value per feed gander :-) ( yes, that's a new UX word coined by our designer)... and much, much more.
There are still quite a lot of things to come. Stay tuned.
Jan 5
In the last couple of days we've rolled out a ton of new features and updates, while they are still coming out, we would like you to take a gander (yes that's a word :) ) at the cute colorful circles next to your profile.
Well, what do they mean?
Based on your checkin history, your frequency of visits, territory you won, how much tax you've collected,... the little abacus calculates your profile. What kind of player you are, what are you striving to achieve and what is your most prominant feature.
So, I'm level 47 Explorer, who likes long hikes in the nature and explores new distant places. And what do you endeveor to be?
Dec 25
Since we launched Oust.me, we didn't act large on a improvement of user experience and also we didn't make large changes on web site - however we were adding new features all the time. We didn't sleep within this time, but we were preparing changes, that are also visible now on Oust.me - you probably remember that month ago Foursquare introduced their new web site and several of our users noticed that is similar to Oust.me. So we went forward and we made some major changes!
First thing are Oust.me challenges - every challenge has own demand how to achieve it. Some are really easy to get, and others much heavier! Below are few examples of our badges - President, Ground Zero, Piggy, Kingpin.
Do you wonder how to achieve them? For President badge, you'll have to aquire 500 venues! For Ground zero you'll need to make territory from three locations (check out our How to play) - all other are explained in section of Oust.me challenges.
What do you think about Oust.me Challenges? Your opinion counts!
Nov 19
The Europas Awards, the annual European Tech Startup Awards, were held in London last week. Oust.me were competing amongst 15 other projects in category Best Gaming or Social Games Startup. 22 judges choose the winner in our category - Nordeus for Top 11.
Oust.me was choosen as Highly Commended.
You can check other winners on The Europas website.
Nov 8
Netko Awards are awards for best business and administrative sites in Slovenia. This year organizers included new category - Startup product and Oust.me team won that Netko Award!
