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Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

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Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#41

Post by throwaway290 »

hsynkrkye wrote: post #36
throwaway290 wrote: post #25

This is destined to either not be popular or be swarming with bots and stalkers. How you fight bots, abuse and all other problems of public posting and DMs? and how you make money for it?

Email verification is in place to prevent the creation of bot accounts, and if a bot account is created, it can't do anything inside. No one can create more than one new room per day, and following is prohibited to prevent malicious use. You can't even search for individuals in the app's search bar; you can only search for previously created rooms, and there are other restrictions as well. The goal is for only real p…

by spam I mean spammers will squat on codes for popular products and spam the comments with related product they're promoting. And It's very easy to scale and automate

by stalking I mean you show screenshot where you can dm people. so if your child snaps a toy with this app and then get some man DMs because he is monitoring a bunch of those codes. same with women and other vulnerable situations. how will you fight that

do you think the money you make will be enough to maintain staff to deal with tons of flagged dms and posts with potential criminal situations and lawsuits)

> The goal is for only real people to use real code

yeah and preferably non criminals;) we live in real world that's why I am saying your app will be swarming with bots and stalkers if it gets popular

Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#46

Post by hsynkrkye »

kej wrote: post #5

I think some small adjustments could reduce friction to new users. Let people scan and read comments anonymously, group similar product discussions together until volume increases, and look up UPCs instead of asking people to enter what they just scanned.

[dead]

Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#47

Post by hsynkrkye »

astralasia wrote: post #26

Really cool idea, however as a product developer myself, I know how hard it is to hit the ground running especially for a product that requires an already existing audience to function. I tend to lose myself in the coding and design part, while not realizing that the 90% of the real deal is actually marketing. You have to delve much more into ways to market the idea, rather than develop it.

You're right, I don't know anything about marketing either.

Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#48

Post by hsynkrkye »

noduerme wrote: post #19
LinkSpree wrote: post #18

A popular way of gaining some traction in the SaaS world is to own a high intent keyword and then spreading from there. Social Networks must work similarly with owning one specific audience. Think super niche, like a kitchen appliance review community or something like that. If you can own a community you can own another. Marketing is basically like shouting into the void because new users will feel compelled by exis…

This, but I'd go even further. Wny not test run it by developing a hyper-local market first? You could make QR codes for neighborhoods and paste them up on telephone poles. Have a photo element to encourage people to post pictures of themselves there, or something they're seeing. Encourage people to make their own QR codes as well. Userland QR codes for local bands and pubs, etc. Not just products. Once the ball gets…

Actually, I live in a small town, I could try this.

Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#49

Post by hsynkrkye »

zihotki wrote: post #7

Once, or even if it gets some adoption, it will be filled in with ai-generated crap or abused in other ways directly via api. That's for later, now you need to answer who is your audience is and why the target audience has to adopt this app.

My target audience is everyone, but not for daily use. Just like Wikipedia isn't a site you visit every day, but you go there when you need specific information. In the same way, this can be the go-to place for information about products, places, or anything with a barcode or QR code. People can just check it when they are curious about an item right in front of them.

Re: Show HN: Codala, a social network built on scanning barcodes

#50

Post by hsynkrkye »

mwachs wrote: post #22

I personally think this is awesome and a charmingly weird way to convene people. I launched my long-germinating app, which is strangely parallel to yours in big ways (peeps.biz), a couple of weeks ago. I think especially with vibecoding, getting recognized/paid attention to is damn near impossible. I think consistency in marketing has to be there as does going out IRL to promote the site. (I’m not doing either het, b…

Thank you, I hope we both achieve something. By the way, I visited your website.
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