Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
1–10 of 240 posts
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#2Hi HN, creator here!
Today is a good day, the achievement of months of works (but also the start of a great adventure ).
I'm very excited to announce Bloom: A free and Open source ‘Google’.
Our mission ? Empowering the world with open technologies.
Why? How? What? https://kerkour.com/blog/bloom-a-free-and-open-source-google
Website: https://bloom.sh Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bloom42.bl... Code: https://github.com/bloom42
All the backend and services are written in Rust (You can learn more on the rust forum why I written it in JavaScript, then rewritten in Go and finally in Rust: https://users.rust-lang.org/t/bloom-a-free-and-open-source-g...) and is entirely free and Open Source on GitHub. No opencore, no bullshit.
The project seems awesome and you want to help ? - By spreading the word on Twitter: https://twitter.com/z0mbie42/status/1136297238387482625 - by contributing on GitLab: https://gitlab.com/bloom42 - By becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/bloom42 - By becoming a sponsor: https://bloom.sh/become-a-sponsor
Let's spread freedom
Sylvain Kerkour, a.k.a z0mbie42
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#3Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :)
As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology efforts come and go, in order to personally get me on the bandwagon, it would help to know a few things that didn't stand out to me at first, even after visiting the https://bloom.sh website.
(1) When I think Google I think "search" first and foremost, and I didn't see a search demo or anything. I think your average visitor is going to be thinking the same. If you're not involved in search, then branding yourself up as a Google alternative seems a bit off.
(2) How do you intend to sustain the project? Funding, grants, donations, paid plans, etc. More light on the team behind it as well perhaps, their incentives, skills, etc. I want to know that you have a reasonable chance of existing long enough to grind Google to the ground. :)
(3) A past version of myself would like to know more about "What's in it for me, like right now"? Saving the planet is all well and good, but I was a selfish short-term thinker.
(4) A future version of myself would like to know (assuming points (2) and (3) are answered to satisfaction) more about what I can do for you, but just in small ways, i.e. I don't/won't have the time to help with an iOS app. Practically speaking, this may just mean placing your donation links or "Subscribe for updates" buttons somewhere more prominent. I know some of this is included in your peer comment here on HN, so speaking about the websites only.
Anyway, good on you for releasing, and good luck! I'll be following the project!
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#4Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology efforts come and go, in order to personally get me on the bandwagon, it would help to know a few things that didn't stand out to me at first, even after visiting the https://bloom.sh website. (1) When I think Google I think "search" first and fore…
Hi, Thank you very much for these encouraging words!
(1) You are totally right, I plan to use this wording only to target the 'geeks' (those who may be early adopters, contributors), those who see Google more like a very innovative tech giant rather than just a search engine
(2) As written at the bottom of the article (yes I acknowledge it's very very long) the master plan is as follow:
1. Build free software and charge for hosting, security of hosted data and enterprise support
2. With this money reduce prices, free the data and the access to scientific knowledge
3. With this money and this community create the open infrastructure to run these software and host this open data
(3) I tried to make it clear by putting a large banner in the blog post in the section explaining what we currently have, in order to catch the eye of the bored one who will speed scroll: https://www.kerkour.fr/blog/bloom-a-free-and-open-source-goo...
(4) ACK, thank you, I will try to improve this
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#5> What would happen if tomorrow Twitter went bankrupt and stop its services?
Everyone's lives would improve and productivity would increase worldwide? Was this a trick question?
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#6What are your plans as far as sunsetting unpopular or unmaintained services?
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#7Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology efforts come and go, in order to personally get me on the bandwagon, it would help to know a few things that didn't stand out to me at first, even after visiting the https://bloom.sh website. (1) When I think Google I think "search" first and fore…
Hi, Thank you very much for these encouraging words! (1) You are totally right, I plan to use this wording only to target the 'geeks' (those who may be early adopters, contributors), those who see Google more like a very innovative tech giant rather than just a search engine (2) As written at the bottom of the article (yes I acknowledge it's very very long) the master plan is as follow: 1. Build free software and cha…
Regarding (2), how are you funding the initial phase of the project? After all, you're offering 30 GB of storage - twice Google.
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#8Do you have a comprehensive and viable plan to pay for costs? If it involves getting enough donations, does your plan include a viable way to optimize donations? Simply including a donation link, bitcoin addresses, etc, is NOT a comprehensive plan for that. I see only 2 patrons, zero ETH donations, zero BTC donations, despite what appears to be a considerable amount of work put into this.
Any plans to partner with someone who specializes in marketing or otherwise running the non-technical side of things? You'll attract more interested parties (including potential partners with expertise) by having a higher percentage of what you're presenting, something that looks like it's made by a winning team.
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#9Hi HN, creator here! Today is a good day, the achievement of months of works (but also the start of a great adventure ). I'm very excited to announce Bloom: A free and Open source ‘Google’. Our mission ? Empowering the world with open technologies. Why? How? What? https://kerkour.com/blog/bloom-a-free-and-open-source-google Website: https://bloom.sh Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bloom…
It's a laudable project but why are you accepting bitcoin if you're so concerned about the ecological crisis? It seems kind of contradictory, given how bitcoin transactions are so computationally expensive now that they reportedly consume about the same amount of energy as Denmark.
Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'
#10Regarding Bloom Drive you mention
> And Bloom Drive is encrypted using SSL.
You mean the connection is encrypted, right ? Or was there a typo ?