Slide 1 : E-Teachers Conference
27th of August 2009
busuu.com is a language community for learning languages based on individual and community learning : busuu.com is a language community for learning languages based on individual and community learning Community learning 2 Individual learning 1 Marcel native beginner medium teach native Susanne beginner teach Instant video-chat application for direct conversation between users
Correction of writing exercises by the community + 2 High quality content based on 150+ different topics (e.g. in the restaurant, applying for a job etc..)
Supported by photos and voices of professional voice artists
Language material available in English, Spanish, French & German
With more than 150,000 users, busuu.com is one of the leading language learning communities worldwide! : With more than 150,000 users, busuu.com is one of the leading language learning communities worldwide! 3 Growth of community [# of users] More than 150,000 Users May 08 Dec 08 June 09 Aug 08 Key facts: Users from more than 200 different countries
Age range: 16 – 80+ years
Gender: 52% male, 48% female
Languages learned:
English: 47%
Spanish: 35%
French: 28%
German: 16%
Community > Clients : Community > Clients 4 They want to participate in the production of their product (Prosumer)
They don´t necessarily pay but demand high quality and customer service
They not only interact with the company but as well with other users of the community Community -> Clients -> Ambassadors
How to manage a community? : How to manage a community? 5 Make community rules clear from the beginning Create an user interface which represent your unique community culture Ask for their feedback and reply to every single email Create efficient abuse moderation tools Involve them actively in the development of the community Let the community “enforce” the law
Crowd sourcing : Crowd sourcing 6 NOT ALWAYS… Is the collective Intelligence bigger than the Individual Intelligence?
The e-language-learning market has special characteristics : The e-language-learning market has special characteristics 7 Individual, un-trained user does not have the knowledge to teach other users
Individual learning motivation does in most cases not correspond to the required learning effort
Users are not prepared to pay for unprofessional learning material
Therefore, we from busuu.com have made our clear choice: : Therefore, we from busuu.com have made our clear choice: 8 High quality material developed completely in-house Community learning as a choice but not enforced within the learning process Community functions completely free of charge Free
BUT ;-) : BUT ;-) 9
We currently use crowd sourcing for development of new functionalities/languages: : We currently use crowd sourcing for development of new functionalities/languages: 10 Translation of learning material in different native languages based on high quality material
Use of peer voting system in order to ensure high quality
Will use crowd sourcing for new functionalities which are not yet out of the box ;-) Crowd sourcing: YES but at the right place and with strong control!
Slide 11 : Contact:
Busuu Online S.L.
Co-Founders: Adrian Hilti, Bernhard Niesner
Calle Núñez de Balboa 9, 4th floor - 28001 Madrid – Spain
www.busuu.com - bernhard@busuu.com 11 Many thanks for your attention!