Show HN: Por Favor - Favors between friends • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Por Favor - Favors between friends

#31

Post by mheap » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 1:48 PM UTC

rhomboss wrote: post #30

I might be alone in this, but I absolutely hate landing pages like this. Your copy is absolutely correct: it IS a bait and switch. I was ready to pay for the app to try it out, and now I can't give you money? I understand the data you could gain from this is valuable, but is it really worth it? I'm not going to throw my email address to you for an app I'm mildy interested in trying, especially after that.

Sorry you feel that way :( Awesome that you were willing to give us a try though, thanks!

As for the data, it really is worth it for me. I don't have an iOS dev license, or know anything about mobile development particularly. If I'm going to dedicate weeks of my life to this, there needs to be at least enough interest for us to break even, or it's not worth it.

Re: Show HN: Por Favor - Favors between friends

#32

Post by Smudge » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 2:00 PM UTC

mheap wrote: post #29

Smudge wrote: post #26

If there's a real market for this kind of app, that's great and I hope it does well. But it's not something I would ever use. (This is intended as feedback -- think of me as the type of user you'd have to work hard to win over. Maybe it's a problem you can solve somehow.) I already have several communication channels available for contacting my friends, and the cost of adding another isn't worth the slight benefit I…

Can your partner get the hang of your Google doc? How about your mum? Por Favor is about making things easy for everyone. Your partner types in 'pick up some eggs when you go to the shop' and chooses you as the recipient. When you get to the shop, your phone buzzes to remind you (using geofencing). It is another communication channel, but it's one that's reserved only for the most important people, and only when they…

I understand what you are going for, but in this case, I think a more relevant question is "can my housemate/co-worker/sibling/mom get the hang of email or phone?," in which case the answer is certainly "yes."

If I need something done, and it's important enough that it can't wait, it's also probably important enough to just call someone, instead of relying on a potentially less reliable middle-man service that might only add to the confusion.

I'll note that the Google Docs are generally just for my own use, with the exception of expense tracking and very simple shared lists, which I've never had a problem getting others to contribute to. (My family and friends are pretty good when it comes to tech, so maybe I'm not exactly your target customer when it comes to that.)

I definitely understand where people might benefit from Por Favor over communication channels that are less optimized for this kind of problem, but again, it's not for me. (I guess, in short, it's just too specific.)

Maybe if I were back in college, where the housing situation tends to be close to a lot of other people... I could see a case where my entire suite or floor would subscribe to this service. But I digress...

Re: Show HN: Por Favor - Favors between friends

#33

Post by mheap » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

Smudge wrote: post #32

mheap wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can your partner get the hang of your Google doc? How about your mum? Por Favor is about making things easy for everyone. Your partner types in 'pick up some eggs when you go to the shop' and chooses you as the recipient. When you get to the shop, your phone buzzes to remind you (using geofencing). It is another communication channel, but it's one that's reserved only for the most important people, and only when they…

I understand what you are going for, but in this case, I think a more relevant question is "can my housemate/co-worker/sibling/mom get the hang of email or phone?," in which case the answer is certainly "yes." If I need something done, and it's important enough that it can't wait, it's also probably important enough to just call someone, instead of relying on a potentially less reliable middle-man service that might…

Por Favor's more than a phone call or a text though, it's also a set of reminders with an alarm to remind you to act on a task at a a specific point in time.

I'm obviously rubbish at the explaining what we do thing (though in my defence we're still working out the details)

I wasn't expecting to see many people on Hacker News saying that they'd adopt the system themselves, but I was hoping that some people would see the merit in it.

You hit the nail on the head about less optimised communication methods. Por Favor is primarily about asking people to do things, then reminding them when the time is right automatically. The time might be a specific time (e.g. 6pm), or when they're next in a certain area (geofencing) (or something else that we haven't thought of yet).

Based on feedback from HN, we're thinking about selling a "Family plan" or something like that, where it's a slightly higher fee, but you can share the service with X people. It's definitely about getting lots of people invested in the system, otherwise it's just another app on your home screen (or, hopefully on your home screen)

Re: Show HN: Por Favor - Favors between friends

#34

Post by processing » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 3:33 PM UTC

mheap wrote: post #28

processing wrote: post #25

I dont get this. I need a favour so I log into an app to ask for it - rather than email, call my friend? Secondly - I have to pay 1.99 before even asking for a favour - I take it my friend needs the app too? Hey I want a favour - can you first download this app for £1.99 and then I'm going to send you a favour request. I might be missing something - I can't see how this works in the real world.

The £1.99 pricing is a work in process. It shows a different price randomly. We're trying to use click through data to find the optimal price. Everyone needing the app is an issue that we know about, and we're trying to work out a way to solve the issue so people can try it out and see how it's beneficial before having to cough up some cash.

Good luck finding a solution!

I personally cant see myself using this with my friends.

However I would be interested in an app where there was a network of people around the world - who were willing to do 5-10 min favours for each other.

Can some one proof read this blog post? Can some one provide critical feedback on this song I just produced?

Could work by karma / ratio like torrents / split into interests etc

Maybe remove the price of the app and allow people to donate if they want to have someone / access to a network to help with their 5-10min tasks.

All the best :)