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Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

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Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#21

Post by mladenkovacevic »

funkyy wrote: post #18
dewitt wrote: post #15

I think that people here are way overestimating the importance of Product Hunt.

Not for small startup that cries for early adopters...

But I don't think PH is good for early adopters at all... Unless your product is directly aimed at startup founders or angels and VCs. For anything else, you'll get the ultimate cross section of tire kickers - people trying out hundreds of products for 5 minutes with the question "what can I copy here" or "can I invest in this".

If you're after loyal users chances are PH does nothing for you.

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#23

Post by tedmiston »

l33tbro wrote: post #6
rib3ye wrote: post #3

The web app behind PH is trivial. You still need a human to curate and build hype around the thing, and therein lies the problem. PH is rigged because Silicon Valley is rigged.

Really? I think the Reddit model works pretty well. It's based on (as far we know) organic upvotes from users. It's also engineered so it makes it very difficult to game with upvote brigades and such.

> It's also engineered so it makes it very difficult to game with upvote brigades and such.

Besides shadow banning, do you know what exactly Reddit does to make it difficult to game? I'd like to understand this better.

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#24

Post by volaski »

The problem with these criticism is that they seem to be coming from people who have no idea how Product Hunt works. If you have ever actually had your product featured on PH you would know better than this. Here's how Product Hunt works: 1. There are many of those so called "Insider" users. 2. Then there is a 2nd tier group of users who can comment. 3. Then there's the rest.

The tier 1 group is not as small as you think, and they are pretty diverse group of people from all around the world. When they post something, it goes up straight to the featured page. There is no censoring. They are definitely not paid by producthunt the company to submit these new products, they're merely users sharing what they discover. Their main incentive for posting on product hunt is to be the "first one" to discover a cool new app and share it with others. Now if you understood this, think about how ridiculous all your speculations are.

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#26

Post by minimaxir »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #19
minimaxir wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obviously, any link aggregator would need full-time moderators, which is another consideration for this mysterious PH competitor. The notion that human curation is intrinsically better than algorithmic ranking is a Silicon Valley trend I don't feel is accurate, but that's a topic for another rant thread. (In general, I think the new semimanual approach Hacker News has been doing is an interesting idea)

semimanual It's not semi. That's the core reason why Lamer News had no chance of success, even if their broken software had worked. It's odd that it's a controversial idea. The best Reddit communities are those that are heavily moderated. To admit this is to admit that some people have better taste than others. Maybe that's the controversial bit. But it's the cornerstone of any new successful community. You see it pe…

To clarify, I'm referring to the "second chance" mechanics implemented a few months ago, where an article which got few upvotes may hours later get a spot on the front page and maybe get some upvotes, or when you get an email asking for an invitation to repost. Both processes require a human to determine what is "good" and what is "not good."

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#27

Post by processing »

If it attracts the same audience that upvoted a link shortner to the top post of the day - that adds your own branded image on links - please call it quits. Also can you ghost ban posts that have 20 people saying how awesome the app is? or maybe just call the site astroturfing.com.

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#29

Post by minimaxir »

tedmiston wrote: post #23
l33tbro wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I think the Reddit model works pretty well. It's based on (as far we know) organic upvotes from users. It's also engineered so it makes it very difficult to game with upvote brigades and such.

> It's also engineered so it makes it very difficult to game with upvote brigades and such. Besides shadow banning, do you know what exactly Reddit does to make it difficult to game? I'd like to understand this better.

Vote brigading detection, and the presence of submission downvotes which will correct any submission that really does not deserve to be at the top.

Re: Let's Create a Better Product Hunt

#30

Post by andrewstuart »

OK here is the business model for an "alternate PH": Organic listings, everything gets listed as long as it is not already seen, non-biased voting moves things to the top on a given day. Voting accounts must come from LinkedIn to at least have a chance of being authentic. Founders may choose to embargo their launch so their company isn't listed until they are ready. Revenue comes from paid listings where startups can pay more to have their startups listed on the right of the page, unconstrained by all the rules above that apply to organic listing.
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