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

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

#52
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The TRU Score is the primary point of differentiation. The goal is to provide an independent way to measure reputation and trust, that uses community feedback. There are many ways to generate a score for a person. Our method involves the trading of of virtual shares, which are bought/sold just like stocks. Share price changes are reflected in that persons TRU Score. The investments you make in others is reflected in…

I don't think this is how people's relationships work. Putting a number next to someone's name doesn't make this person more or less reliable. The only kind of recommendation that is trustworthy is the one made by someone you know.

I believed this, but watching the movie Parasite changed my perspective on personal recommendations more than a little bit.

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

#53
post #12

Earlier 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…

> selling blocks of time to people who want to consult with you What does this actually mean? Would you be selling my time to someone else? Do you have an import LinkedIn profile feature to reduce friction of adoption? Also why doesn't your sign up support Google auth or any other identity providers? Another friction reducer opportunity right there.

The consult feature is in development for the next release. You decide if you want to provide this service in your profile. The idea is to make it easy for you to turn-on/turn-off this feature. Initially, we see 30-minute and 60-minute blocks of time, where you determine the price.

So, if for example you sell accounting services and I am looking for an accountant, I will pay you $xx amount of money to have an initial consultation.

You may prices your services high or low, depending on supply demand. But, for me as a buyer, it's a transparent low-risk way for me to meet/evaluate a professional that I am considering to hire.

The platform would take a % of the consult fee paid, which would take place off-platform [Ex. Stripe].

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

#54

Not 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 h…

What's driving this new surge of cash?

corporate welfare in the form of immense cash injections, forgivable loans, immaterial interest rates, downright lovable tax policy, and an accelerating crap-ton of captured regulation (like lockdowns heavily favoring the largest businesses). all without any structural reform so that that excess isn't hoovered up by the already wealthy.

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

#55

Not 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 h…

Not likely. The work permit immigration spigots have opened up again with new administration relaxing previous constraints. My vendors Cognizant, Wipro and TCS are very excited for lots of contract work in SV. We can come back and revisit this comment at the end of the year. The wages will barely budge.

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

#56

Not 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 h…

What's driving this new surge of cash?

Valuations are high. They're competing with SPACs, and no-one wants to miss out

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

#57
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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, withou…

Expecting fairness in capitalism is like expecting the olympic games to feature random contestants drawn from a pool of the population at large.

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

#60

There 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.

points are a pretty poor proxy for the amazing variety of skills, proficiencies, and perceptions of humans (or even animals), no matter how sophisticated the point system might be. it also paints an illusory objective sheen (aka ass cover™) over a highly subjective evaluation. you might believe in the point system if it favors you, but that doesn't make the point system any more transparent or "good".

we're just not as fungible as nearly a century of mass industrialization would have us believe. we devalue humans by trying to bucketize a set of skills and buy only those skills on the labor market, despite the vast richness that each person brings to the table. that we allow the labor market to be commoditized this way is already a huge imbalance between worker and corporation. we need fair and transparent labor markets for people, not corporations.

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