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Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

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Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#81

Post by lutorm »

alain94040 wrote: post #62
lutorm wrote: post #52

Just a question: If you haven't launched, how can you claim to a "most popular plan"? Seems dishonest...

I wouldn't worry about that. "Most popular plan" is marketing-speak for "we think that's the plan most people want". Even if you have 0 users, I wouldn't be shocked. Do not try to be 100% technically accurate. That leads to long, unreadable text. It's ok to rely on your reader's imagination to convey a message.

I guess that's why I'm not in marketing... ;-) I would prefer a statement that conveys that it's an opinion and not empirical fact.

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#82

Post by msy »

kabuks wrote: post #71
msy wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. I'm not sure whether that's brilliant or insane but I wish you the best and will watch with interest.

Can you elaborate? what disadvantages do you see in running this way?

No major ones. Until something goes wrong and every deliberation and discussion about how to respond is dissected and quoted without context in public. I mean are you going to do everything in public? Hiring and firing decisions? Whether to sue someone who screws you over somehow? Whether to change hosting suppliers?

As I write this I'm arguing with myself about the power and value of genuine transparency, it's something I believe in deeply but done asymmetrically, as you are doing verses your competitors or as our governments are doing verses the private sector does provide a huge soft underbelly for easy attack.

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#83

Post by shaunxcode »

kabuks wrote: post #31

Ok, here it is: http://rm.bettermeans.com Guess I didn't need 30 days! This is totally overwhelming. Thank you everyone. Please be generous with your feedback.

Hey there is a typo on front page: "Using BetterMenas" I assume should be "Using BetterMeans".

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#84

Post by jackowayed »

lutorm wrote: post #52

Just a question: If you haven't launched, how can you claim to a "most popular plan"? Seems dishonest...

On a similar note, that "Popular" ribbon looks really bad in Chrome. It's like ... fragmented.

http://skitch.com/jackowayed/dq24n/bettermeans-popular

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#85

Post by kabuks »

webwright wrote: post #28
kabuks wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't yet have a landing page. Bettermeans is an open democratic project management tool. It allows people to work together on a project with a meritocratic governance as opposed to command and control.

Stop coding and spend 1-3 days on your launch plan, brainstorm some marketing and PR ideas, cook up some inspiring screenshots, etc. Not having a landing page now is REALLY FREAKIN' SCARY.

Ok, here's what we cobbled up in the last hour http://rm.bettermeans.com/home/show?page=index

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#87

Post by kabuks »

shaunxcode wrote: post #83
kabuks wrote: post #31

Ok, here it is: http://rm.bettermeans.com Guess I didn't need 30 days! This is totally overwhelming. Thank you everyone. Please be generous with your feedback.

Hey there is a typo on front page: "Using BetterMenas" I assume should be "Using BetterMeans".

Thanks. Fixed it.

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#89

Post by nerfhammer »

lutorm wrote: post #81
alain94040 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't worry about that. "Most popular plan" is marketing-speak for "we think that's the plan most people want". Even if you have 0 users, I wouldn't be shocked. Do not try to be 100% technically accurate. That leads to long, unreadable text. It's ok to rely on your reader's imagination to convey a message.

I guess that's why I'm not in marketing... ;-) I would prefer a statement that conveys that it's an opinion and not empirical fact.

You could convey the same thing by saying "best value" or something like that

Re: Tell HN: I'm launching in 30 days. No matter what. Hold me to it

#90

Post by kabuks »

msy wrote: post #82
kabuks wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate? what disadvantages do you see in running this way?

No major ones. Until something goes wrong and every deliberation and discussion about how to respond is dissected and quoted without context in public. I mean are you going to do everything in public? Hiring and firing decisions? Whether to sue someone who screws you over somehow? Whether to change hosting suppliers? As I write this I'm arguing with myself about the power and value of genuine transparency, it's somet…

I agree about the huge soft underbelly. It definitely feels exposed and vulnerable to write everything in the sky. But after a while you get used to it. It keeps us honest (well more honest), and fair, and hopefully encourages more and more people to join.

What we lose by the competition reading our every move, we gain by having a large, engaged team.

I don't think it's for everyone, and there's definitely a place for stealth, privacy...etc. But I do think that businesses can afford to be a LOT more transparent than they are today. Hopefully it doesn't blow up in our face.

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