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Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

sellff.com

41–50 of 190 posts

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#42
Very interesting! I'll be curious to see if the focus on privacy for something like this ends up being a differentiator. Lots of folks care about privacy, though sometimes it becomes a challenge due to some of the limitations you end up with as a result. The trade-off people are making is obvious to some, but not to others.

Congrats! Launching a product is super hard, this is an impressive accomplishment. I'd imagine you would put this site on your profiles. :D

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#43
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low interest rates means managers of pensions and other large money managers can't put their money in bonds. They would lose money because the interest rate is lower than inflation. So they need somewhere else to put it.

Interest rates have been low for quite some time, though. Maybe it is also driven by perception of overvaluation among publicly traded equities?

well the 10-year treasuries along with other t-bills are rising in yields now ...

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#44
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low interest rates means managers of pensions and other large money managers can't put their money in bonds. They would lose money because the interest rate is lower than inflation. So they need somewhere else to put it.

Interest rates have been low for quite some time, though. Maybe it is also driven by perception of overvaluation among publicly traded equities?

I wonder if it has something to do with how tech companies are relatively unaffected by the big sick.

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#45

Has everyone forgotten Klout?

As I recall, the Klout [and CRED] score was based on an aggregation of your off-platform social activities. This included, for example, your Twitter activity.

The SELLFF TRU Score is based on your on-platform activities and is determined only by members of the SELLFF community.

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#46
very poor messaging here.

this is like 99designs or toptal or any marketplace for providers. not like linkedin. ad-free is a lie as the entire platform is advertising. (syndicated ad-free more like it.)

because the platform depends on the TRU score, this form the social network between providers, and customers I suppose. This in and of itself is a privacy violation. The major problem with linkedin (from privacy perspective) is the information they have on you, which they monetise. They are the privacy problem, not syndicated ads, and you are not fixing that.

outside of the bubble, no one cares about the privacy angle, not in a real way. (they complain, a lot, but have no problem continuing to use privacy invasive services.) your pronouncement of being privacy focused, while not actually being so, is pretty bad.

i think you may have something here, you just need to pivot your messaging.

FWIW I think the TRU score is a) not innovative, and b) should be abandoned in favor of familiar 5 star scale. (like amazon or ebay: #stars plus #ratings)

If you really want to be "trustworthy", you will publish statistical data on ratings. Of course, everyone will have >4 star rating, so you can't do that. I don't think that's a hindrance to marketing "trustworthiness" though, even if it's baloney.

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#48

Very interesting! I'll be curious to see if the focus on privacy for something like this ends up being a differentiator. Lots of folks care about privacy, though sometimes it becomes a challenge due to some of the limitations you end up with as a result. The trade-off people are making is obvious to some, but not to others. Congrats! Launching a product is super hard, this is an impressive accomplishment. I'd imagine…

Yes, launching was a lot of work. My focus is on product. The real talent is a 3-person team in Croatia who I found via a HN "Who wants to be hired" post. We started April-2020. What you see today is the result of everyone working evenings and weekends, during the quarantine lockdown, while maintaining a full-time job.

Much respect and love for: Bruno, Ivona and Kresho. They are an excellent representation of how the SELLFF platform can work. If you are looking for talented programmers, I can definitely recommend them.

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#49
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No. I reject the premise that exchanging labor for compensation is the same as self-commidification parallel to having a simulacrum of "stocks" that are bought and sold based upon whims and sentiment like some kind of fungible, tradeable asset. 100% rejecting that.

The former is a mutually beneficial exchange, not an ephemeral manifestation of trading chattel that masquerades as some indicator of competence or value in the job market as is the latter-IMO.

I am not a commodity, I sell my skills and talents as services by virtue of career-based contributions to my employer. Are those commodities? Arguably, probably so. Those are the table stakes.

Re: Show HN: I built a zero-cost, ad-free alternative to LinkedIn

#50
post #36
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 f…

But the investment is directly proportional to the number of people you know and can coerce/bribe in some way. If you know many people, you can rig the numbers in your favor, at least temporarily, which might be long enough to get another position (or whatever it is you're after).

Not sure that manipulation can be entirely eliminated. Instead, we are trying to incentivize good behavior and make it easier to identify fakes.

If you sell services and/or need to find a service provider, you need some method to perform [1] discovery, [2] evaluation, and [3] decision.

This is what we tried to build, in a manner which we hope promotes trust and good behavior. That said, as the platform develops, we will no doubt need to make adjustments.

But the focus will remain on maintaining an efficient marketplace for buyers and sellers to interact and transact.

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