Greetings from the great Beyond! No not the grave, the Celebrity Beyond!!
Using CruiseHuddle almost exclusively on my iPhone this week has given me a lot of work to do when I get back. While I usually test on mobile, my day-to-day use is on a desktop or laptop. Relying solely on mobile this week highlighted a few things that need to change—though you may have already noticed the recent updates to the messaging inbox and header! 🙂
Beyond that, I’ve been thinking about a couple of frequent messages I receive almost daily:
1. Free Trials vs. Inline Missions
I often get suggestions to offer a free trial. While that sounds good on the surface, it actually hurts the community by flooding the platform with users who have no intention of engaging long-term. For context, we have over 130,000 registered members, but only about 4,000 active ones.
Instead of a trial, we use Missions to encourage genuine engagement. To make them even better, what if you could complete a mission inline? Instead of stopping what you're doing and waiting around an hour for a reward, inline missions would let non-paid members complete a task right away and receive their reward instantly so they can keep moving.
2. Encouraging Member Responses
I also get a lot of feedback from members frustrated that others aren't replying to their messages. While I can't force someone to respond, we can certainly encourage it.
I am considering adding a Responder Badge (open to better name ideas!) that displays a member’s response habit—such as Always Responds, Sometimes Responds, or Doesn't Respond. This would be a dynamic badge that continuously evaluates usage to update the designation.
Would this badge help you figure out who to message?
Would it encourage you to respond more often?
Anyway, I hope everyone is having as great of a week as Matthew and me! Please let us know your thoughts on these ideas below!
Perhaps a timing signal of how quickly they respond would also be beneficial. If someone responds to every message but it takes them a week, that's different than someone who replies the same day or next day.
Messaging Mogul
Really any mission we think of could be inline mission and validation could occur afterwards as the system can clawback rewards that obtained erroneously and can bar the user from participating if it was intentional.
Inline mission ideas: maybe a point system. A certain amount of points for posted pics, confirmed sailings, posts made, etc. the posts/replies have to be so many characters long, and the system can see if they are legit posts or just nonsense. Then the ability to redeem points for rewards, 1 day, 3 day, etc…
There is a point system already working in the background but right now points are good towards merchandise but perhaps we will extend it to access. Also FYI; for paid members missions are designed to pay points instead of access since they already have it. BUT... it does not take replies/posts into consideration and it should. Thank you all very miuch for the great feedback and food for thought!!
> For context, we have over 130,000 registered members, but only about 4,000 active ones.
Just curious: How much of this difference is because not everyone who is interested in this site is cruising (and paying for a membership here) _all_ the time?
I like the badge idea. I have texted several people with no replies but I am just guessing that they aren't looking for someone like me. But a badge would kind of tell others that this person does or doesn't respond.
A badge would be good. A gauge of some sort better. But, if the gauge/badge would show how often they reply. Not send a message. Anyone could blast spam all day long and have a gold star. But someone that actually responds to ALL their messages. Like an involvement meter. Maybe how involved they are with the chat, private messages, discussions, or even greeting new comers.
Not a tech savvy writing code and websites duo, so not sure how impossible it is.
Love the idea of showing who actually participates since we have fallen into the “message and no response” category over and over again.
Or……. A way to “push” or “encourage” people to participate in the community they joined.
I've had the same experience. Hopefully, we're all adults here. I believe in writing a polite greeting showing common interests and goals on this website of wayward travelers, is my best form of " breaking the ice " but some people keep going back to the ice machine.
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