Jott is a service that allows you to leave voice mails for yourself, or other people, and have it transcribed into text. From the phone number you choose to use, it will ask you who you want to Jott and then allow you to leave a message up to 30 seconds in length.

I haven’t used it to send messages to anyone or to any service, but rather, I use it to take notes for later use. Before I would usually take a picture of something or record video as reminders to myself. Instead I call Jott, leave a message telling myself to add a movie to my Netflix queue or to check out a new band. When I get home, I have a transcribed version of my message waiting for me in my inbox. The neat thing about having a transcribed version of my message is that I just have to glance at it to remind myself. There is no need to listen to what I said which takes a slightly longer time.

The transcription process is fairly accurate; Just make sure you speak clearly into your phone. If Jott can’t properly transcribe your message, and you don’t remember what you wanted to remind yourself of, you can always listen to the original voice mail.

The added benefit of using voice is that it’s quicker than texting. I find cell phone keypads to be slow, and distracting. With this service I can quickly leave my message and go back to my normal routine.

I can definitely see the service becoming big since it has a lot of potential. I recommend everyone to check it out and maybe write about how it has streamlined some task for you.

1. Don’t worry about the details; just make a decision. Don’t waste time arguing about the small details of your web app. The type font type used, border size, all don’t matter when it comes to the core of your application. Learn to make a quick decision and move on. Your users will give you feedback to let you know whether or not you’re on the right trail or not.

2. Include only the most necessary features in “1.0” Don’t add any unnecessary features; in fact a lot of the features that you think are necessary may really not be. Cut these features out and include them in a future release. An example they gave was a billing system when they deployed Basecamp. The feature wasn’t necessary until 1 month after their initial release because that’s when their users got billed. Instead they released Basecamp and then worked on it. This was plenty of time to create the feature and everything worked out.

3. Iterate as you go. The nice thing about web apps is that you can instantly deploy bug fixes and new features to your users. This allows you to be competitive since you are able to easily adapt to change and rapidly make fixes. You’re also able to receive instant feedback from your users as you make fixes and/or deploy bug fixes.

4. Create your interface first. Start off with some sketches on a piece of paper and then maybe convert it into HTML/CSS. The reason to do this is because the interface is easier to modify as opposed to re-writing code. As you create your mock-ups questions will be brought up and decisions will be made. It’s better to make those decisions at this stage rather than after you’re into hardcore coding.

5. Learn to market your site from day one. Include a teaser on your front page, screenshots of previews, blog about the development process and features that will be included in the initial release, use invite codes. All of this will create a buzz about your product. When it comes to invite codes, have users submit their email addresses to be notified when more invites will be available. You’ll at least now have a list of people who have expressed interest in your app and they can be notified when your initial release comes out.

6. Become your own support department. Dealing with your users on a direct basis allows you to get into their mind and get instant feedback. The people who are developing the application should be answering questions, defending their choices and taking criticism. Be sure to consider a FAQ page and forums so that users can help themselves and other users.

I’ve really only scratched the surface of what this book has to offer. Check out the rest here!