I’m linking to Casey’s post about Approver.com not just because it’s the first blog post to name-check the site (woo HOO), but because he nails what Approver is about by referring to it as “social workflow”. I plan to steal that phrase and use it in the Approver.com elevator pitch; maybe I will use it to replace the phrase “sucks less” in version 0.5 of the pitch.
I demoed the site from my mobile phone for Om Malik prior to WordCamp on Friday; his first question was “Is there a social networking aspect to this?” The answer to this is, of course, yes (this is what we call “My Contacts”). This made me extremely happy/lucky that I’d thought to work on the social aspects of Approver a few weeks back. (I’m also happy that I resisted the temptation to add so much Ajax crap to the site that it stopped working on mobile phones.)
Also: For the four readers of this blog who don’t also read my personal blog, I formally announced that I left my day job and am going to work on Approver and consulting full-time. It sorta feels like stepping off the ledge, but in a good way (more like a blind date than a step into a dark flaming chasm).
I have two new features that I want to add to Approver before we start promoting the site more aggressively — a revamp of the My Documents page and a PayPal payment flow (both of which are half-done). I’m going to do my best to get this stuff done by the middle of this month — I can’t guarantee August 15, but it should be around there.
Until then, we need more testers. If you’re reading this, feel free to invite whoever you like to Approver.com. I’ve found that the best way to get someone in the groove is to send them a document — make it part of your normal workflow and (one hopes) they’ll figure it out naturally.
