Has problems in authentication, ad-free, quite interesting.
Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
21–30 of 190 posts
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#22Black Mirror Nose Dive anyone?
Nice concept but the "invest" idea introduces friction that could be too much to overcome.
What about a PageRank system based on recommendation / testimonials and likes and connections?
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're making purchase decisions on 5-star ratings for eg consumer goods, objects. You're talking about trading people virtually. It's going to be extraordinarily offensive and maybe worse. Prepare for an incredible wave of never-ending lawsuits from the large number of people who don't like 1) being traded at all or 2) don't like how they're trading / being represented. And the service will lose those lawsuits: it'…
I remember an acquaintance of mine, Siqi Chen, built Friends for Sale back in the day on Facebook and that was a great launch pad for his career, where he did a lot more interesting stuff later :) Out of all the article about FFS, I don't remember ANYONE mentioning it was offensive back then: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_for_Sale
There are a lot of things that weren't considered offensive on the Internet 10 or 20 years ago, that are now offensive.
It shouldn't take more than a brief amount of thought to realize what imagery trading humans conjures up, and what happens next in terms of outrage and scandal and what will inevitably plague the service accordingly. Hint: will the trading all be perfectly fair? Without bigotry, without bias, without racism, without any accusations, and so on. Of course not, so it's obvious what will happen.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#24Novel idea but won't something like this just end up being manipulated or gamed in one way or another.
I believe the trading feature helps to prevent manipulation. The investments you make in others counts towards the TRU Score for you and the other person. So, if you make "bad" investments in others, it will only serve to reduce your TRU Score. Of course, some people might be willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. But, that should be easy to identify.
Example: If a high-reputation person vouches for someone, does it have more meaning compared to the endorsement from a person with no/low reputation?
Which is why the TRU Score is more than just the share price and your investments. It also includes other platform activities [Ex. member reviews, review scores, number of investors, etc.]. Not claiming we have solved this problem. But, we think it is a step in the right direction.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#25There are a lot of objections on here to being "valued" and "commodified." I don't understand why.
You are valued every time you go to an interview or ask for a raise. You can leverage your network in the same way as you can leverage "investment."
To me this is already a more transparent version of what already happens.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#26Turning personal trust in others into what looks like a stock market game strikes me as quite odd. I wouldn't find people trading internet points back and forth to determine my 'value' on a platform as something I would like. I like the trading of points even less considering the target of the website about people representing themselves in the scope of their professions.
Turning personal trust in others into what looks like a stock market game strikes me as quite odd. Because it feels like turning the individual into a commodity?
But that is what you are in the workplace.
And you admit this every time you switch jobs or ask for a raise.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
We believe the platform is attractive to professionals who want an easy, privacy-focused way to promote the services they offer, with the ability to differentiate themselves from people offering the same/similar services. The platform is zero-cost, ad-free and includes direct messages. I hope the UI is more easy to navigate and understand, compared to LinkedIn. The TRU Score, while somewhat controversial, is more pow…
> where you [as a seller] pays the buyer for considering your services Isn't this just ads?
Not advertising in the traditional sense. Today, many of the ad's you see are based on data collected about you. There is no "opt-in" and you are not compensated.
We envision a model whereby you select which promotions to participate in, based on your needs/interest "and" how much you will receive in compensation.
From the seller standpoint, we believe the costs to reach a consumer will be similar. Yet, the consumers they do reach will have a genuine interest in the offering. Thus the promotion has the potential to offer a better response. To be clear, the seller is able to select which members qualify for the promotion [Ex. based on location, occupation, TRU Score, etc].
From the buyer standpoint, we view this an an improvement over the current model. There is no privacy violation or personal data sharing with strangers. You have the freedom and choice of which promotions to participate in. Assuming it works as planned, it would allow you to make a more informed buying decision.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#28There are a lot of objections on here to being "valued" and "commodified." I don't understand why. You are valued every time you go to an interview or ask for a raise. You can leverage your network in the same way as you can leverage "investment." To me this is already a more transparent version of what already happens.
> There are a lot of objections on here to being "valued" and "commodified." I don't understand why.
Because it is immoral. It is not because it is maybe commonplace, and valued in a capitalist society, that it is a good thing.
And, the more you apply that mindset in the workplace, the more you will do it outside the workplace.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Valid point. Yet millions of people each day make buying decisions based on a simple 5-star rating. Trading shares is a very pure way to represent market value, whether that is company stock or cryptocurrency. We see an opportunity to apply the concept to a professional digital reputation? Where the TRU Score can be used as a form of currency. Separate from the TRU Score, the platform provides the ability to connect…
They're making purchase decisions on 5-star ratings for eg consumer goods, objects. You're talking about trading people virtually. It's going to be extraordinarily offensive and maybe worse. Prepare for an incredible wave of never-ending lawsuits from the large number of people who don't like 1) being traded at all or 2) don't like how they're trading / being represented. And the service will lose those lawsuits: it'…
To be clear, the platform does not support "short selling" of the shares in another member. So, there is no effective way to deliberately drive down the reputation of another member.
Shares are traded in a fixed size of 100. Each BUY transaction increases the share price by 0.01. Each SELL transaction, reduces the share price by 0.01.
When you join the service, shares in your profile become available to trade by every other member. Members discover each other primarily based on services offered/needed. Today, if you like someone on a network, you might choose to "follow" or "like" them. We offer an alternative, whereby you "invest" in them.
A follow or like from you to someone else makes the connection and allows you to view their network activity. An investment on SELLFF does the same "and" allows you to benefit from any upside in the value of that investment. As the person you invest in goes up in value, so do you. Not a bad situation really.
Anytime you like, you can BUY or SELL more shares. The exchange is open for trading 24 x 7.
Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn
#30Not directly related to the post, but developers should be aware that developer salaries will likely jump significantly this year.
The VC market is super hot right now - VC firms are being flooded with cash, and they need to deploy it. Companies are raising massive amounts of money at unprecedented valuations. A large chunk of that money is going to hire developers. The recruiting industry is seeing a huge surge in hiring in the past couple of months (source: I run a technical recruiting company (1)).
Because demand and cash available to hire developers has increased significantly in the past few months, but the supply is basically fixed, companies are offering higher salaries to attract talent. They have the cash for it.
Keep in mind that new money raised from investors will raise the value of your stock options, but rarely translates to salary increases for existing employees.
What a time to be a software engineer.