Fastspot Creates "TheySay" Twitter App During XDay
07.06.2011
What can you do in eight hours? Fastspot decided to find out for themselves with XDay, held on June 29.
XDay was conceived as a time to take a break from the normal business day and spend time being creative and working collaboratively on a project of interest to the Fastspot team. It began with an early morning pitch session, where everyone was invited to present an idea or concept they were excited about. Pitches had to fulfill two criteria: They needed to involve the entire team and be achievable within the workday parameters. (Eight hours was the goal, since nobody wanted to be in a forced all-nighter!)
The winning idea: a Twitter app cleverly named “TheySay” that displays the most-tweeted-about links and photos from the people in a user’s follow list, not the entire Twitterverse.
With some quick decision-making and creative brainstorming, plus lots of coffee and pizza, the Fastspot crew successfully concepted out the user experience, named the app, designed and wireframed it, put it through user scenario testing, and programmed it. And then they went to an Orioles baseball game, because Fastspot XDay happened to coincide with FastspotFunEvent Day! (Yes, we have lots of awesome days at Fastspot.)
“XDay is an invaluable experience for a creative team,” said principal Tracey Halvorsen. “Working on a fast-track, internal idea allows us to be agile, focused, and collaborative. Sometimes the most amazing things come from a highly restrictive scenario. Learning to make smart choices, trust your team, and be decisive are three things everyone can benefit from. Getting to spend a day with a team of incredibly talented people doing anything we want? That is just a fantastic opportunity—and what XDay is all about.”
Check out TheySay at http://www.theysayapp.com. And keep your eyes on the Fastspot Website for information on what else XDay gives birth to in the future.