Olim Dives – The Investment Social Network

12 thoughts on “Olim Dives – The Investment Social Network”

1. 1) I wasn’t able to identify any bugs while navigating around the website after making an account.
    
   2) I found the website very easy to navigate despite my lack of knowledge of investing. The dive dashboard is organized in such a way as to make navigating the website a simple process.
    
   3) The site seems to cover all the bases of what I could need, and I don’t have any recommendations for any additional for the site to offer.
    
   4) If I were able to connect to a large group of members I could see myself logging into the website several times a day.
    
   5) I really like the simple design of the user interface in the dashboard. It’s very easy to navigate, and offers all the pertinent information of your account in one place. I also like the overall design of the website. It’s crisp and clean, not too cluttered with nonimportant, obstructive materials, and simple to use.

2.       I liked the homepage. It was simple and catchy. It had a lot of information without being crowded. Instead of a sign up here button, the sign up form was on the side, making it really easy to sign up. After signing up, filling out the profile information was easy. Some people like extreme privacy, and I don’t think it’s such a good idea to require a city, although State isn’t an issue. I like that there is a recommended divers column. I can click on a person and see their information (again, I don’t know if city should be required), including their investment preference and experience. This makes it easy for me to find people who have similar investment preferences as me. The find members tab is great. I was easily able to find people who swing trade like I do (although in the beta stage, there are none). In the search box, I typed in John. I found a member named John. This makes it easy to find friends if you had some who were also members. I also noticed a tab with articles on it. I got some stock information. I liked that. I next went to the published blog tab. I found some good information. I like the idea of having a blog/article section in a social network. I checked out the dive feed, which looked good. No issues there. The Dive Dashboard is interesting. I saw a list of trades made by different members. I looked around a little more, and played with the my profile section. I made a post introducing myself. It doesn’t look like it’s very easy to find friends. Facebook, for example, has a list of your friends on the side. It took me a while to find the couple friends I now have. I quite enjoy the layout of this site. It’s easy to get around and find the things I needed to. I didn’t find any bugs while playing around for an hour or so. 
         I’m a Facebook user, so I’m used to that layout. It didn’t take me too long, however, to get the hang of things. This networking site offers the ability for people to connect with each other to discuss investing ideas, blogs for members to share techniques and tips, and even stock information. I don’t think there’s anything more I need from a website. I could easily see myself on this network at least once a week, however, once a day would probably be more likely. As with Facebook, I might even be on here a couple times a day. 
         Overall, I really like this website. I think it’s a great idea to have a Facebook/Twitter style social network for investors. So far, I haven’t encountered anything I didn’t like about it. 

3. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
   I did not identify any bugs. Everything seemed to work semlessly. 
   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knoweldge of investing?
    Yes, it was very easy to navigate, and loaded instantly on every page. All the information is presented on the page in a neat and accurate manner that it makes it easy to understand what it is you are reading and what you are looking for.
   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
   i liked that it was linked to facebook, but maybe a chat feature or a forum that could aloow a way to informally network with other  people. 
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
   I would visit this site daily if i had a large network that was also apart of it. Although self edxplanatory the website is like an investment facebook. It allows a focused apporach at investment networking without all the pointless chatter. The organization of the site allows it to be quickly and easily navigated ithout hesitation. 
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. The front page seems a little bland. I know its in beta phase but it doesnt really show anything that makes you want to join. No real pictures or words that grab your attention. 

4. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
   This is the message I wrote using the “Having Issues? Contact Us” Link:
   I am testing your site for StartUpLift. I registered as Beta Tester. When I attempted to log in, it didn’t recognize my password.

   I used the “Forget You Password” and was sent back to a page for registering or logging in. I was not
   sent an email or given the option of changing my password.

   Also, not reported: On the “Members Search” page, the “Top Rated Contributors” seems to have an error.
   * * *
   Since I was not able to log in, my access to the site was limited, so was unable to connect with any investors. I was able to view the blogs and search people & groups. I question whether I would want people to be able to see that information about me. If these pages are protected, it would seem they would be available to search engines. It could also mean that members would be vulnerable to identity thieves.

   I did not see a way for me to connect with anyone.
   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knoweldge of investing?
   With ability to navigate limited, I was able to view the blogs, as well as the find members and groups. If I had not clicked on “Find Members” link on the navigation bar, I would not have known that there were any groups. It would be helpful to have a “Find Groups” link on the navigation bar.
   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
   That is a little difficult to say, since I did not have full access. However, looking at the dashboard on the home page, it looks as though there is a great deal of information that will be available to investors.
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
   If I were an investor, especially a novice, I should think I would visit quite often providing the groups were active. It would be a place to learn more. Share ideas and interests.
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   There are many kinds of investing, such as real estate, futures, private ventures, collectibles (coins, stamps, comic books). Your site only covers a few of them. Therefore, it would be helpful to note somewhere on the home page, what type of investing your focus is.

5. 1. Sign-up was straightforward. While testing the features, I created a profile, chose a stock to watch, added a stock to my portfolio, made a transaction, checked my Dive feed to make sure it was working (it was), searched investment groups (I wasn’t able to find one I was interested in), and searched members (I also wasn’t able to find what I was looking for until I made my search parameters very, very liberal).
    
   I’m not sure if I found any bugs. The one problem that stood out to me was that my ability to conduct a transaction seemed very limited. When I tried to buy stock, I wasn’t asked how many shares I wanted or told how much money was in my account, and there weren’t any options to set up various strategies. Also, I noticed that after I made a purchase, it didn’t show up under “My Portfolio.” Instead, I saw only a stock I had chosen to watch earlier. In terms of other frustrations, I didn’t always get the search results I was looking for, but I think that had more to do with the size of the site so far. Also, I don’t suppose this qualifies as a bug, but I noticed there’s no way to search for investment groups without first going to “My investment groups” on the “My Profile” page. Maybe it needs its own tab at the top along with “Published Blogs” and “Find Members.”
    
   2. Yes, I did. I have light online investment experience, so maybe it helped.
    
   3. I’ll confess that when I first landed on Olim Dives, I thought I was going to be able to make actual trades. That is, I thought you were an online trading site with a social networking aspect. I didn’t realize the “trading” would be just virtual. So what would I like to do on Olim Dives that I can’t? Ideally, make actual trades! Seeing as I probably won’t be able to do that, I’d at least like the virtual trading to be more fun. I’d like to have the ability to trade options and futures and try out different strategies. If this is all in good fun, users might as well be able to play around with some advanced stuff. Also, to make it more realistic, I think you should assign every new member a standard amount of virtual cash to start with. I didn’t notice any kind of “bank account.” It doesn’t make it very exciting when I’m not gaining or losing money.
    
   4. I’m not sure. Trading is a pretty solitary activity. I don’t know if forming friendships with other traders would be that much of a boon for me, especially considering that Olim Dives is just a game, not a real trading site. Personally, I’m not that into online games, but I know there are many people who are, and they can get hooked on them easily. 
    
   5. I’ll take a few minutes to go over the various pages on the site:
    
   Before Signing In
    
   Home Page – To me, this doesn’t do enough to pull in new members. While visitors can search for blogs and members (which I find kind of odd since member profiles are kept private on most sites, accessible to other members only), they still don’t get a sense of what it’s like to participate in Olim Dives. The screenshot slideshow is too small to really see anything. I suggest that you eliminate this slideshow, take the content you currently have on the member’s “Dive Dashboard” page, and display that on the home page below a brief intro paragraph and maybe a few selling points. I’ll go into more detail about this below.
    
   After Signing In
    
   Dive Dashboard – This is pretty well organized, but I was expecting the content to be more like what you have on the “My Profile” page. Usually, a dashboard page allows the user to access their personalized preferences, settings, and so on, while a profile page is strictly for editing the user’s public profile. The content you have right now on the “Dive Dashboard” is more community oriented and might be more appropriate for the home page. That way visitors could get a glimpse of what goes on on Olim Dives and immediately be drawn into the action.
    
   My Profile – This is well constructed, although, as noted, it’s more like a dashboard page than a profile page. But it’s nicely organized and easy to navigate. This is a minor point, but you might want to make capitalization consistent under the “My Profile menu.”
    
   Dive Feed – Good set-up. I like that I have an easily accessible feed of alerts, news, blogs, and my own activity. However, I find it strange that this seems to be the main way for me to access “Transactions” and the “Watch List.” Isn’t the whole point of this site to make virtual trades? “Transactions” should have a tab of its own on the navbar, and it should be a page of its own with the “Watch List” included.
    
   Published Blogs – Nothing wrong with this. Self-explanatory.
    
   Find Members – This is a fairly rich search feature, which is great. I wasn’t able to be too picky with my search parameters since the site is young, but as your membership grows, this should be helpful.
    
   Overall, I think you have an interesting idea here. However, it seems less like a social network for traders than an online game for people who want to practice virtual trading. I’m sure that would have an audience, though. I just think you should give users some virtual cash and expand the trade possibilities to more accurately approximate a real trading experience. 
    
   Regarding the web site itself, I think you should revise the home page as detailed above. However, once signed into the site, users will find that it’s well organized and easy to navigate for the most part.
    
   Good luck!
    

6. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.

   I didn’t find any ‘bugs’.

   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knowledge of investing?

   The site is easy to navigate. It is simple and straight-forward. My only suggestion is to make the font larger as it would be easier to read the text. Just for ‘looks’ I would darken the background a bit more to provide more contrast to the block sections and this would help them be more eye appealing.

   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?

   Markets in Focus: there are only 4 listed. I would like to see more markets listed in this sections.
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?

   I would likely visit this site at least every 2-3 days. This site makes it easy and convenient to connect with other investors.

   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

   The FAQ is very well written as I learned the most about this website via the FAQ. Instead of only the heading under the name: ‘The Investment Network’, perhaps as a subheading at the top of the site: ‘Olim Dives is an investment based social network used to connect investor’s worldwide ‘ would help to instantly explain more about the purpose of Olim Dives.
   My suggestion is to put the FAQ tab on the top bar, rather than at the bottom of the page. Also, an explanation in the FAQ about the name ‘Olim’ would help to make this website seem more familiar and friendly.
   The blog has very well written articles, especially written for beginner investors, which I greatly appreciate. My favorite blog is ‘Investing is not Rocket Science’ as it explained in such an ‘easy to understand’ way about the concept of investing in stocks. I appreciate how the author pointed out that how would we know it (investing) is too complicated if we never take the time to find out.
   I felt that concept sums up Olim Dives – helping those who are willing to take the time to understand investing by offering the support to those who do want to invest.

7. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
   I searched through the site and I was able to connect with investors quite easily and even though I know little about investing I found it easy to navigate through the site using the keywords that are connected to the investors. Keywords that included healthcare and other industries. I was unable to find the ‘report bugs’ link but rather the ‘having issues? contact us’ link.  
   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knoweldge of investing?
   The site was incredibly easy to navigate so I can only imagine how simple it must be to someone who has some knowledge on investing. I actually read one of the top blogs that stated that investing was not rocket science; investing has always been intimidating to me but looking through this site, I actually felt capable.  
   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
   I wish it had a live chat kind of widget as I believe that is something that can be beneficial to any site, because I’ve always been a bit too impatient to wait for an email answering my inquiry.  
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
   I would visit this site often because it seems organized, something I have trouble with and it seems simplistic which is a great plus because I don’t like to get too technical.  
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   I can’t think of anything to add to what I have already spoken about except perhaps adding some testimonials of happy customers, or how this site has increased or helped it’s members.  

8. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link. No bugs found.
   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knoweldge of investing? Yes it is very easy to navigate and kinda has a Facebook feel with the status updates and connecting with others on the site features.
   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer? No, I like the setup and the features offered. 
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members? I would visit like I do my Facebook daily to keep in contact with my connections and to share pictures and ideas etc…
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. The site is really great easy navigation easy to find features I really enjoyed testing it. Thanks for the opportunity!!

9. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
    
   I did not find any bugs.
    
   2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knowldge of investing?
    
   I found the site easy to navigate. I do see some areas where it could have been easier to navigate. For instance, in order for users to register faster, perhaps just require email address and password creation. Then, on the profile, request full name and DOB. Also, I believe the country should be automatically setup to United States as the main option, not Afghanistan, if most of the market is in the U.S. In addition to that, it should be nice if the dashboard showed a news feed and a text box for me to type in some type of news right then, like Facebook. In other words, the Dive Feed should be the first box on the Dive Dashboard instead of the Top Rated Diver. Another option would be to make the Dive Feed the first menu bar option, but I think adding the feed, or at least a summary of the feed on the dashboard would encourage more action by users.
    
   3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
    
   Perhaps top picks of the day would be nice on the dashboard.
    
   4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
    
   Probably everyday if it offered real to-the-minute live info on investment opportunities. I think I would want to know this is the go-to social network to make sure I don’t miss any hot investment opportunity. If I were connected to a large group of members, I would probably log on everyday if the members were real active and offering some trade secrets.
    
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    
   I believe the site is clean and easy to navigate. However, it’s missing a little pizzazz. In my opinion, the site needs to enchant new visitors by showing real live news, because the investment market definitely has that real-time feature to it. It also needs to make it even more simple for people to create an account: just email and password. It would also be nice to have an area specifically for day traders and another one for regular investors.
    

10. 2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knowledge of investing?
        Navigation was siimple and easy.
    3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
         During the sign up process, it would have been nice to know why certain information was requested. For example, the name of the school that we graduated from. Is the information used to connect with other investors who attended the same school as I did? It’s always good to know why certain information should be given or how it will benefit the user.
    4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
         I just joined a investment group and this would be a great platform to use online to discuss ideas and objectives. Also, it’s a great way to expand our investment group. So I would visit this site on a weekly basis.
    5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
        It would have been nice to have an About Us section when you first visit the site to get an understanding of what it’s about and how it can benefit the user to join. For me personally, I love to see a real time ticker on any type of investment site.

11. 1) Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
    No bugs found.
    2) Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knoweldge of investing?
    Yes, the site was easy to maneuver around with slight problems searching for the privacy policy and terms and conditions. It would also be a bit more interesting if you could preview the site without signing up. Just to see if you would be fully interested before giving your personal details. (Be mindful that many people are leery about giving out their email and personal information.) I notice there were pictures of what the website looks like inside, although the pictures did not scroll.
    3) Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
    I did not personally see anything that I wish I can do except maneuver around the website without having to sign up and go through the activation process before being sure if I will like the site. If people don’t mind this or is sure that the site is beneficial for them before signing up then this site is very appealing and useful.
    4) How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
    This would be a website to check out once a day if it were something that interests you. Having a blog helps, as it keeps people wondering what is to come and if there are any updates to the site or business. Also because it has a social networking aspect of it, it’s more of a reason to check on it everyday to see what may be available or an interesting topic of the day.
    5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    VERY interesting site. I would recommend that you add the terms and conditions to the bottom of the page as that is the first thing I look for when visiting a site. (It makes you feel comfortable with the company) After 5 minutes of looking over the pages I realized it was under the register box on the right. I would add a link at the bottom of the page on your homepage. This will make visitors feel more comfortable and make it easier to locate. Maybe allow a preview to site before requiring a sign up. Just don’t allow any interaction until signed up. The picture scroll did not work on the main page so I could not get an idea of the pages inside without having to sign up.

12. 1)Test the features of the site and connect with investors. Identify bugs by using the “report bugs” link.
    The website seemed to me a uncluttered, simple and neat design, usable from an end user perspective. A few observations and issues have been listed herein:
    •Try Contact Us –> Enter correct details –> Navigates to a screen which says ‘Your message has been received’. Nothing else happens. Supposed to navigate to the home page I would think or display some other information to the user. 
    • Contact Us –> Error messages are displayed below the field that has incorrect data. There is no differentiation between the label and the error message font/format. Not obvious to the end user. 
    • Tried logging in without registration, gives me the correct error message ‘Login Failed.. ‘ Tried  forgot Password on this page. It works as expected. Try the user name again (without registration), gives you the correct error message and takes you to the New User Registration/Login Screens. 
    • Logged in with facebook (click the facebook icon). Ditto with twitter icon – login allowed using twitter account which seems seamless and easy. 
    •Creating an account –> Don’t select the terms and conditions. It takes you to the next page, with an error message prompting selection of the T&C. Note that the username is also displayed in the ‘Login’ section. This is not correct, since I have not finished my registration yet. Now on the same page, when I select T&C now and finish registration, I get a screen which displays two error messages – “You are not authorized to access that location”. 
     “ You have been sent an account activation email. Please confirm your account. You will not be able to login until your account is activated.” The first line doesn’t seems misleading to me. The second message “You have been sent …” seems appropriate.
    • Try new user registration from the home page (Dive Dashboard) –> Registration goes through successfully and displays the correct message “ You have been sent an account activation email. Please confirm your account. You will not be able to login until your account is activated.”
    •Activated Account successfully (using the link sent out in an email) – Message is displayed on the page when you select this URL within the email that their account is activated. Logged in successfully post activation.
    •Edit Profile page –> Delete Profile link on the page: I found this link different from the ‘submit’ button. This could have been consistent.
    • If I update my Investment Preferences and/or Investment Experiences – it always defaults to the Basic Information tab. This is a more of a preference, but as an end user I would like to remain on the same tab that I added/updated information into and ensure that after I submit, it remains on the same tab.
     
    2)Did you find the site easy to navigate and use, despite your knowledge of investing?
    Yes, its easy to navigate through the website. New users who may not have any knowledge of investment could access the site easily and mark/view members based on their preferences. Apart from the observations in point#1, the site seemed pretty useful and usable to me. The site provides a list of recommended divers and allows searching for archived/existing blogs, members which is great.
     
    3)Was there anything you wish you could do that the site did not offer?
    I would also prefer seeing the currency rates on the home /dashboard page. Most users would be interested in knowing the daily currency/xchange rates and if its through a social site, its easier to access.
     
    4)How often do you think you would visit the site if you were connected to a large group of members?
    Every day – probably twice a day at least.
     
    5)Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
     The site is a great initiative and will draw attention from many users who do not religiously access investment websites on a daily basis. I like the fact that the sites overall design is in keeping with most social sites such as FB, twitter and hence will blend easily.

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