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Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

technews.london

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Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#11

Post by elwell »

bgcks wrote: post #9
jacquesm wrote: post #7

HN is viable because it has a worldwide community of hackers, good moderation and someone writing $120K checks. If the only thing technews.london does is reduce the scope then I fear it won't live long, like so many HN clones before it. I only recall two that were successful and they were successful by doing something HN did not (general business news and designer focused news). London is already on HN as it is.

> someone writing $120K checks And that is only possible b/c it's a marketing expense which will generate its return by attracting lucrative start-ups to YC.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#12

Post by bgcks »

elwell wrote: post #11
bgcks wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> someone writing $120K checks And that is only possible b/c it's a marketing expense which will generate its return by attracting lucrative start-ups to YC.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

You say that like making money is a bad thing.

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#13

Post by ovi256 »

bgcks wrote: post #9
jacquesm wrote: post #7

HN is viable because it has a worldwide community of hackers, good moderation and someone writing $120K checks. If the only thing technews.london does is reduce the scope then I fear it won't live long, like so many HN clones before it. I only recall two that were successful and they were successful by doing something HN did not (general business news and designer focused news). London is already on HN as it is.

> someone writing $120K checks And that is only possible b/c it's a marketing expense which will generate its return by attracting lucrative start-ups to YC.

Which is in turn neutralized by the loss of productivity at said startups due to their reading HN compulsively.

So it's done for the community after all!

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#14

Post by freshflowers »

jacquesm wrote: post #7

HN is viable because it has a worldwide community of hackers, good moderation and someone writing $120K checks. If the only thing technews.london does is reduce the scope then I fear it won't live long, like so many HN clones before it. I only recall two that were successful and they were successful by doing something HN did not (general business news and designer focused news). London is already on HN as it is.

The first argument is also a limitation of HN and an opportunity for alternatives. Actually maybe even the first two.

HN community, culture and politics (and also its moderation) are very Silicon Valley / US centric. This comes through especially on non-technical (but relevant) topics, like regulation. But also topics like company culture are extremely US-centric.

Localized topics (both in terms of content and culture) is probably the only reason why an HN-like site would be viable.

From my perspective it's definitely desirable, and just the current frontpage of technews.london confirms that there is a lot of stuff that will never make it to SV-centric HN.

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#15

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

merrua wrote: post #4

I'd rather smaller lines for each story. I can scroll in and out if I want it bigger. I'd also like to see a different font used. I don't like the logo placement as its distracting and in the way.

I like HN's minimalism.

The London site isn't minimal. It looks distractingly busy and over-designed.

Unimpressed by the content too, but I think that's maybe more a function of the infamous forgettability of the Shoreditch scene. (I find it hard to get excited about startups that help you get your ironing done. But maybe that's just me.)

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#16

Post by BenC88 »

freshflowers wrote: post #14
jacquesm wrote: post #7

HN is viable because it has a worldwide community of hackers, good moderation and someone writing $120K checks. If the only thing technews.london does is reduce the scope then I fear it won't live long, like so many HN clones before it. I only recall two that were successful and they were successful by doing something HN did not (general business news and designer focused news). London is already on HN as it is.

The first argument is also a limitation of HN and an opportunity for alternatives. Actually maybe even the first two. HN community, culture and politics (and also its moderation) are very Silicon Valley / US centric. This comes through especially on non-technical (but relevant) topics, like regulation. But also topics like company culture are extremely US-centric. Localized topics (both in terms of content and cultur…

Agreed. We'll see over the coming weeks whether it's viable alternative or not.

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#17

Post by rmsaksida »

freshflowers wrote: post #14
jacquesm wrote: post #7

HN is viable because it has a worldwide community of hackers, good moderation and someone writing $120K checks. If the only thing technews.london does is reduce the scope then I fear it won't live long, like so many HN clones before it. I only recall two that were successful and they were successful by doing something HN did not (general business news and designer focused news). London is already on HN as it is.

The first argument is also a limitation of HN and an opportunity for alternatives. Actually maybe even the first two. HN community, culture and politics (and also its moderation) are very Silicon Valley / US centric. This comes through especially on non-technical (but relevant) topics, like regulation. But also topics like company culture are extremely US-centric. Localized topics (both in terms of content and cultur…

Exactly. And if there is demand for a London-centric HN, there is an even bigger demand for non-Anglo alternatives. There are huge markets outside of the Anglosphere.

I'd love to have a local HN to see what's going on in my country's scene.

I think HN clones like this should always be encouraged.

Re: Show HN: A London-centric hackernews

#18

Post by druml »

rmsaksida wrote: post #17
freshflowers wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first argument is also a limitation of HN and an opportunity for alternatives. Actually maybe even the first two. HN community, culture and politics (and also its moderation) are very Silicon Valley / US centric. This comes through especially on non-technical (but relevant) topics, like regulation. But also topics like company culture are extremely US-centric. Localized topics (both in terms of content and cultur…

Exactly. And if there is demand for a London-centric HN, there is an even bigger demand for non-Anglo alternatives. There are huge markets outside of the Anglosphere. I'd love to have a local HN to see what's going on in my country's scene. I think HN clones like this should always be encouraged.

An example -- HN clone in Chinese language: http://news.dbanotes.net/
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