Tell HN: Thank you • Hacker News Board

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#31

Post by minouye » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 1:34 AM UTC

staunch wrote: post #22

I may be way off base, but the cynic in me sees your post as related to the recent changes you made with Mixergy. I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Pod…

In the absence of a Charlie Rose that interviews entrepreneurs, an Andrew Warner will do just fine. Yes, a free program would be better, but given the amount of work that Andrew has already done (nearly 270 interviews by my count), and the benefit I've gotten from his guests, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If pay-walling content means that he'll be able to do this longer, then I'm all for it.

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#32

Post by mschaecher » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 1:37 AM UTC

pkaler wrote: post #28

staunch wrote: post #22

I may be way off base, but the cynic in me sees your post as related to the recent changes you made with Mixergy. I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Pod…

The Charlie Rose Show on PBS is underwritten by companies like Google and Pfizer. It is also resold to Bloomberg Television. I'm not sure how that is different from what Andrew Warner is doing with Mixergy. Also, I'm not sure what entitles you to Andrew's hard work for free.

Exactly. Charlie Rose does take a salary as well I am assuming.

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#33

Post by mattm » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 1:48 AM UTC

I liked the shouting (and I've emailed this to you).

Your earlier show intros started out with so much more energy. Now, I wonder where the energy is especially with a name like Mixergy. You are doing an interview a day now so that makes a difference.

I listen to you pretty much everyday now but when I first stumbled upon your interviews, it was that initial energy that got me to listen more. At first I was thinking, "who is this guy?", but the energy kept me listening a few more minutes, and then a few more and now I'm hooked.

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#34

Post by andreshb » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 2:13 AM UTC

AndrewWarner wrote: post #9

andreshb wrote: post #8

The work that you are doing is very useful for all of us, and like faramarz says; perhaps you'll reveal what you are doing in Buenos Aires and meet up with the HN/Startup community here. Thank you!

One of the first things I did when I got here is help organize an HN meetup. 2 - 3 dozen guys showed up. I'd do it again if you want to help me set it up. I'm here because I wanted to go in a cave and quietly work on my work without distractions. I don't speak the language here so I don't get caught up in aimless conversations. Most days I don't even put my contact lenses on. I just spend most of the day improving my…

Ofcourse, let us know when you'll be available for a meetup.

By the way, I highly highly recommend you go to Palermo Valley http://www.palermovalley.com/primer-pvn-de-2010-capital-para... next tuesday, and as a special guest I can arrange for a translator as well, though most attendees, speakers, and organizers speak english too.

Perhaps this goes against you not wanting distractions. But if you feel like getting out a bit and meeting the startup community here, let me know.

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#35

Post by hammmatt » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 2:15 AM UTC

Thank you for thanking us. It is easy to love that which loves us. Which makes me question the motives of the lover... ah consciousness is exhausting, huh?

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#36

Post by mjfern » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 2:23 AM UTC

staunch wrote: post #22

I may be way off base, but the cynic in me sees your post as related to the recent changes you made with Mixergy. I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Pod…

Andrew Warner developed a product (Mixergy) that creates value for a number of people, and now he is looking to capture some of that value (in the form of profits). Isn't this the essence of entrepreneurship? Why would you feel burned?

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#37

Post by dusklight » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 2:30 AM UTC

Andrew I was under the impression that you are already independently wealthy from your previous companies?

Why are you trying to make money from Mixergy?

If it is just a matter of keeping score, I challenge you to dream bigger.

The idea of paying for content is such a 20th century idea .. treating ideas in a similar fashion to physical property is such a 20th century idea. We are increasingly seeing people capitalize on the very significant differences between intellectual property and physical property to do new things.

If you have the luxury of not needing a cashflow from mixergy, why not challenge yourself to find a new way to make money off your work, that doesn't involve paywalls?

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#38

Post by bootload » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 2:57 AM UTC

staunch wrote: post #22

I may be way off base, but the cynic in me sees your post as related to the recent changes you made with Mixergy. I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Pod…

"... I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Podcasts that exist. Something fairly altruistic that may generate money for you, but not as its primary goal. ..."

I agree with you about charging but these things cost. Plus Andrew is in this to make something users want (and can pay for). My own view is the way Mixergy set up now, you can view the latest for free but historical views cost. Here is a question though. It's related to startups and converting users from free to paying.

Do you think Andrew would benefit from a freemium approach where users have some, but limited access before payment is required? (more than now?) Or would some sort of token, voucher for HN followers be enough to avoiding negative early adopters?

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#39

Post by rewind » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 3:21 AM UTC

dusklight wrote: post #37

Andrew I was under the impression that you are already independently wealthy from your previous companies? Why are you trying to make money from Mixergy? If it is just a matter of keeping score, I challenge you to dream bigger. The idea of paying for content is such a 20th century idea .. treating ideas in a similar fashion to physical property is such a 20th century idea. We are increasingly seeing people capitalize…

I challenge you to offer valid alternatives instead of just challenging him to do it. And what does being wealthy have to do with anything? He has the same right to choose this business model as someone living on Kraft Dinner.

"Why are you trying to make money from Mixergy?" Why not??? He's not running a charity. His business, his work, his content, his right to try to monetize it.

You're calling his business model 20th century. Feel free to offer some 21st century alternatives.

A lot of "I want your content and I want you to keep working on it, but I don't want to pay you for it, so find another way to make money" comments flowing in this thread without many good ideas to help him do it differently.

Re: Tell HN: Thank you

#40

Post by brandon272 » Sat, Mar 13, 2010, 3:34 AM UTC

staunch wrote: post #22

I may be way off base, but the cynic in me sees your post as related to the recent changes you made with Mixergy. I really liked Mixergy. I turned lots of people onto it. When you decided (almost out of the blue) to turn it into a strictly money making venture for yourself I felt burned. I thought you were following in the footsteps of Charlie Rose's interviews, Paul Graham's essays, or one of the dozens of great Pod…

I'm intrigued by this response because, as others have mentioned, there is nothing inherently wrong with charging for content. People do it all of the time. We all need to make a living somehow, right?

I think one mistake that may have been made in this case, and others may disagree with me, is that there was (as far as I know) no disclaimer about the content not being free forever. I think some people stumble upon a resource like Mixergy, see it's free, and get used to it being free. And once the owner of the content decides to start charging for access, it feels as though something has been taken away.

While I realize that it probably isn't rational to think that way, I think that many people do engage in that kind of thought process. And I wonder if Andrew would still have received this kind of response if he had let his users know up front that he had intended to eventually switch to a pay-for-viewing model.