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Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#101

Post by wglb »

jashmenn wrote: post #45
patio11 wrote: post #2

My projects are mostly based on features that are missing or misimplemented in the existing products. This is your first problem. First, features do not sell software . If there were a Ten Commandments of customer acquisition in the Internet age that would be #2 right after "Google is your god, you shall have no others." People use software and use websites because of the benefit that you credibly propose to bring to…

I'd be interested in hearing the other 8 commandments of customer acquisition in the Internet age, if you care to take a stab at them.

Check out his blog at http://www.kalzumeus.com/. He doesn't have a list of the 10, but it is very useful reading.

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#102

Post by brudgers »

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #41
brudgers wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a content standpoint, StackOverflow requires the participation of domain experts to be successful. Facebook just requires people to sign up and log in.

That doesn't make it more complex, it just means that it has a very specific requirement for the knowledge of the participants. From a software perspective it's really no harder to gather and store 1000 words on a detailed C++ problem than it is to gather and store "Mmm mmm mmm, Justin Bieber, he's soooo dreamy".

The "just" in:

"it just means that it has a very specific requirement for the knowledge of the participants,"

is not a trivial exercise that should be left to the reader.

The technical issue for Stackoverflow is to make editing an standards enforcement efficient and socially desirable to a highly tech savvy community.

It's not storage, it's filtering.

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#103

Post by nl »

sjs382 wrote: post #83
colinplamondon wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're arguing technical merits, not user benefits. It's the 'set once' part that's the trick. It's really, really fucking hard to get someone to set something new one time, even if it is a good bit better. Personally, I wouldn't start using a new tool for the benefit of the web in general when there's an immediate benefit to me for using a competing product. There's got to be a user benefit besides improving the web…

Whats your immediate benefit, as a Twitter client dev, to register for bitly and get an API key rather than just posting to isshort.com/api.php? You're confused about who I consider my user. My target audience is a developer, not an end user. The web page is only there as a demo; the product is the API.

Developers who use bit.ly don't see this as a problem - they like bit.ly because it can give them some intelligence into who uses their products and what they are linking to.

Publishers would like people to use their shortener, but that doesn't give developers anything.

Most consumers don't care. Some do, and prefer bit.ly because they trust it (and they like the intelligence it gives them)

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#104

Post by ertjertds »

fragmede wrote: post #56
patio11 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I used Facebook there wasn't a system of badges, karma, minimum karma levels required to access core features, and a community wiki for my wall posts. These are all highly nonobvious . Embedded assumption #475 in Stack Overflow users: it is obvious that replying to a question is not Answering it.

Don't forget the FAQ that demands you acknowledge its existence. I'm fickle enough that the top bar alone drives me away half the time. I'm not alone on this.

Joe Average allows SO to set a cookie so that it won't ask you more than once...

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#105

Post by fragmede »

ertjertds wrote: post #104
fragmede wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the FAQ that demands you acknowledge its existence. I'm fickle enough that the top bar alone drives me away half the time. I'm not alone on this.

Joe Average allows SO to set a cookie so that it won't ask you more than once...

How does SO setting a cookie in Chrome help Firefox, Safari, Opera or IE ? and how about on any other computer I'll ever touch?

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#106

Post by GFischer »

davidu wrote: post #29
patio11 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I used Facebook there wasn't a system of badges, karma, minimum karma levels required to access core features, and a community wiki for my wall posts. These are all highly nonobvious . Embedded assumption #475 in Stack Overflow users: it is obvious that replying to a question is not Answering it.

I use StackOverflow. I've posted questions and I've read lots of responses. I have no idea what the badges, karma, etc. are. For me, it works quite well. In fact, the only mildly confusing thing for me was that I had to use some OpenID thing to login the first time. Think about that. Their value prop to someone coming in through Google or posting a question is simple and the barrier to entry is very low.

I've also posted questions and read responses on SO, but I believe I still haven't figured out how to "use" StackOverflow.

My first experiences with the site weren't too good: I tried to upvote a comment (I mean, there's a big fat arrow to the left of the comment!), and then I tried to answer the question and I believe it didn't let me either...

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#107

Post by Document »

GFischer wrote: post #106
davidu wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use StackOverflow. I've posted questions and I've read lots of responses. I have no idea what the badges, karma, etc. are. For me, it works quite well. In fact, the only mildly confusing thing for me was that I had to use some OpenID thing to login the first time. Think about that. Their value prop to someone coming in through Google or posting a question is simple and the barrier to entry is very low.

I've also posted questions and read responses on SO, but I believe I still haven't figured out how to "use" StackOverflow. My first experiences with the site weren't too good: I tried to upvote a comment (I mean, there's a big fat arrow to the left of the comment!), and then I tried to answer the question and I believe it didn't let me either...

I don't see a private message option (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30088, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=75407), so I'm replying to your most recent comment to ask: Did you ever find the story you mentioned at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1386010?

Re: Ask HN: I built it, "they" didn't come...

#108

Post by GFischer »

Document wrote: post #107
GFischer wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also posted questions and read responses on SO, but I believe I still haven't figured out how to "use" StackOverflow. My first experiences with the site weren't too good: I tried to upvote a comment (I mean, there's a big fat arrow to the left of the comment!), and then I tried to answer the question and I believe it didn't let me either...

I don't see a private message option ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30088 , http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=75407 ), so I'm replying to your most recent comment to ask: Did you ever find the story you mentioned at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1386010 ?

I didn't really look for it.

If you want to I'll try finding it :) (it should be on my PC somewhere, I don't usually delete those things)

Edit: I'll put my e-mail on my profile, sorry people for the offtopic.

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