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Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

#12

Post by lucisferre »

volaski wrote: post #6
lucisferre wrote: post #4

I've had one blog post of mine and one link to another's post make the front page so far. I was surprised how few upvotes (if they are in a short period of time) it takes to make the front page though, and I don't doubt some people do this (or dummy accounts). I think it is a bit of a crap shoot whether or not a good story on the /new page will get traction though. It requires a bit of luck and timing for the right p…

Thanks for sharing your experience. Just to confirm, you just posted your post here and didn't tell your friends to come read it, right? Also, would be nice if you could share around how many upvotes there were, and how quickly it happened. Thanks :)

Well if I'm being totally honest, my wife kindly upvotes my blog post. It's shameful I know, but that's about all I get.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

#13

Post by lucisferre »

ISeemToBeAVerb wrote: post #10
volaski wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not implying that there's any conspiracy. Some facts I do know: 1. I know for a fact many people do this and it ends up being successful. 2. I have tried this in the past and it worked. 3. I have been observing /new and several really interesting projects just go ignored because of bad timing, or lack of promotion, or whatever. So it's not just the question of whether it's interesting or controversial. It require…

I guess I'm just not understanding where you're going with this question. It seems like you're trying to figure out all the variables that go into a high profile post. Quite frankly, I don't see the point in that. Is it possible for an unknown to get on the first page and get exposure? Of course it is. Does that mean he's "made it on HN"? I don't even know what that means. In the end, my point is simply this; stop sp…

I think he's trying to open some discussion around the mechanisms that govern the front page. Something I'm more than willing to discuss as I think there is some room for improvement there.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

#16

Post by tikhonj »

There is a natural problem with this question: people are much more likely to come out and say they got on the front page without help than the opposite. I think you would have been better off framing this as a poll rather than an Ask HN.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

#17

Post by jaequery »

I rarely go to new section. There's already too much news to read as it is. I may be speaking for 95% of HN community here. Only time I go to new section is after I post something. Which at that point, I won't even upvote anyone else in the fear of them out voting my posts (I know it's a bit un-ethical but can you really blame me for this? The whole point of posting on HN is so your post can be seen by the masses). So as you can see, there really is a bit of a problem here. I think the one way to go about it is by showing the new articles on the main page in a smaller sidebar but I fear that may also present a whole bag of problems with it.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone gained traction on HN *without* any of their friends upvoting?

#19

Post by volaski »

jaequery wrote: post #18

One feature I'd like to see on HN is to have a separate menu for any posts starting with "Show HN". I love coming in here and seeing what other hackers have worked on, it's post like these that make HN so unique to me.

Yes. I really agree with this. The reason I asked the question was because I've been seeing several interesting projects posted as "Show HN" and go ignored because of bad timing or any other factors. I tend to check out most "Show HN" posts if the title sounds even a bit interesting.
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