A swiss online platform reinventing the concept of online surveys, polls and discussions is has recently gone live on Kickstarter. Here is what the founder Marc Heimoz told us about Vottelo and their mission.
Vottelo is a free to use, democratic tool for everyone to share their opinion on a variety of important aspects of our lives. While discussions on traditional platforms are often limited to commenting and can easily spiral out of control, Vottelo is the first platform to offer its users the possibility to answer questions in a straightforward manner with a simple Yes or No. Everyone can raise their voice on matters that they are passionate about and
The story
Vottelo is certainly not in its infant state – the web-based platform was developed in 2020, but the idea for it emerged a long time ago. The founder, Marc Heimoz, reveals the story: “I was regularly reading a newspaper, which was featuring a question about an article with two possible answers. I thought the questions were rarely intriguing and the answers badly formulated – they were often exaggerated or one sided, basically forcing you to choose one side of the coin no matter what. What bothered me more though was that the results of these questions reported in the next editions of the newspaper were directly putting pressure on decision makers and suggesting biased assumptions. This selective and non-transparent way of collecting opinions on important matters results in an one-sided power concentrated on the media. This was when I realized that we need a platform, which democratizes the ability to ask and discuss impactful topics freely and naturally.”
Designing a seamless user experience
Marc put a lot of time and effort in making Vottelo a reality: “I knew we had to make Vottelo fun and easy to use so that it gets to the point where it is almost addictive to browse and discuss topics that really matter. Simplicity was key here, and I think we managed to nail this one very well. Users can narrow down questions by selecting different filters and then answer in a simple Yes or No format. They can also engage in discussions as on traditional platforms like Reddit or Quora by commenting on the topic they are voting on with other members of the platform.What is more, we are the first to offer advanced, real-time poll results about every question on the platform. Metrics such as the distribution of answers, demographics and other useful data is transparent to everyone on Vottelo.
Vottelo offers advanced statistics and data about the answers to every question.
“To make the platform even more engaging, we implemented gamification rewards. Users can rise in a total of 100 ranks by posting, answering and discussing questions. For their progress they are rewarded with badges, trust ratings and other rewards that signify their past achievements.”
No more barrages of irrelevant ads
As most similar platforms, Vottelo is monetized by delivering ads to its users. According to Marc though, their approach in this regard is different: “Another thing that distinguishes Vottelo is the way we are approaching advertising on the platform. Most other similar poll and survey apps and websites try to maximize their earnings based on impressions. We are trying to stay away from this approach – we believe it’s not healthy for the user to be bombarded with multiple different ads that are rarely relevant, with the sake of earning our commissions. This doesn’t bring much value to them or the advertisers. Instead, we went for CPC (Cost per Click) attribution model that targets the users based on the category interests they expressed. For example, an advertiser for a shoe parallel will have his ads shown to people who have participated in questions or polls related to sports or similar, cross-related sectors. Premium users can also choose to browse Vottelo ad free.”
Looking ahead
The freedom of speech and e-democracy have never been more important than they are now. Vottelo has been pursuing this mission for a long time and is certainly set on the right direction towards achieving that goal. The project now needs your help to reach it – the Kickstarter campaign is already live and will last until the beginning of March.
Make sure to reserve your perks while you can: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293688035/vottelo-let-your-voice-be-heard-by-everyone?ref=discovery&term=vottelo
