SupportSpace: Professional, Paid Community Support
Several months ago, I was contacted by an old friend from my days of supporting Check Point FireWall-1 about a new venture he was working on called SupportSpace. I eventually joined their Advisory Committee.
The basic idea behind SupportSpace is: hooking up people that need help with people that provide that help. It’s like putting your technical skills on eBay and selling them per-hour, per-incident, or however you want.
SupportSpace has developed a custom system for providing online support, tracking the progress of issues, getting people paid, and many of the other unpleasant tasks involved in both providing and receiving online support.
Experts, prior to providing their service, are certified to ensure you’re only going to get people that know their stuff. They are also trained in using their software so they understand what it’s like on both sides of the screen, so to speak.
The screenshot here shows you what experts are online, how they are rated, and what their areas of expertise are. You pick the expert you want, you set up a time that works for you, and get the help you need. SupportSpace, when the service goes live, will take a percentage.
The service, in a private beta, will be free to customers. Experts who sign up will be given an amount per-incident. When the service goes live, the expert will get to set the price they wish to charge.
Since I’m on their advisory committee, my opinion might be considered biased. However, you can check out this blog entry from Ragsdale’s Eye on Service.
