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Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

linkwok.com

21–30 of 42 posts

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#21
Okay, I think I've figured it out. This app is a mind-mapping tool, where nodes usually represent web content (but can be text, files, charts, or tables). It also has a somewhat convenient search interface built in which mirrors results from a few popular search engines.

The use-case that sounds most reasonable to me is trying to do some heavy learning on a new topic, and using this tool to organize your findings. They cite some other use cases (such as buying a new car or phone, or planning a trip) but those seem best-served by other tools. I was actually researching cars to buy this weekend, and a simple spreadsheet worked very well (columns were features I wanted/needed, rows were potential candidates). There are also many trip-planning apps that I think would serve that need far better than a general-purpose app like this.

Ultimately, it looks like a lot of time was invested into this app - that said, I can't see it being terribly useful (at least to me). It's too complex to be helpful for the 90% of tasks that can completed with a piece of paper, or a notes/spreadsheet app, and it's too general to offer a better solution than niche products for the other 10%. If I had invested in this company, I'd be encouraging them to pivot into either a) a Google Keep/Pocket competitor, or b) something much more minimal that actually enhances the search engine experience (as the title implies).

P.S. You're not impressing anyone with your grid-style website. It's not a technical feat, nor does it improve the usability of the site - quite the contrary. Even if it were somehow easier/faster to use than scrolling (hint: it's not), the cost of switching to some new navigation paradigm is far more than what new users will be willing to invest for some new app. You have about 3 seconds to get my attention, don't waste it teaching me how to get around your website. Even if users are willing to put up with it out of curiosity, it'll make the pre-app experience worse, and that determines what lens they'll view the app itself through: "Cool, let's see what this does for me" vs "What other ways has this company devised to annoy me?" This may sound harsh, but I'd like to see you guys get some kind of reward for your hard work and your current website is actively preventing that from happening.

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#22

I went there and immediately received a very nice looking 500 error

So did I. Try clicking on Dashboard in the top right, that worked for me. Edit: False start, it doesn't do anything unless you make an account. Lame.

We're sorry you were greeted with this error. We have found the fault and are clearing it. You can use Linkwok without logging in but you do need to log in to store what you create on it.

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#24
I somehow managed to navigate your atrociously laid out grid navigation. I read the blog titled "The Maze of many things", and seems like you pitched it to some VCs and were criticized. You resolved to make your pitch stronger, and after 4 months you still haven't managed to do it, because I did not get what is the benefit, and how I can achieve the said benefit. Please rework your processes.

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#25

Okay, I think I've figured it out. This app is a mind-mapping tool, where nodes usually represent web content (but can be text, files, charts, or tables). It also has a somewhat convenient search interface built in which mirrors results from a few popular search engines. The use-case that sounds most reasonable to me is trying to do some heavy learning on a new topic, and using this tool to organize your findings. Th…

Hey notduncansmith, thanks for the candid (and detailed) reply. The target is to spend more time creating a canvas that can be used to collaborate and present on than juggling several apps- tabs, Notepad, Word, Excel, Powerpoint.

The end goal, our vision is to become an ecosystem of knowledge canvases (a wikipedia of 'mindmaps'). 6 billion searches are made every day just on Google, out of which 90% have already been repeated within the last 24 hours. How awesome would it be if you did not need to go through the haystack to find the needle that somebody else already found?

That said, the concerns you and others have pointed out are genuine and we do need to address them.

I will be taking down this post in an hour or two to resolve the 500 error that has suddenly crept up. Thank you all for the feedback... :)

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#26

To (most) of the comments regarding not knowing what to do, Linkwok is all about DRAGGING AND DROPPING search results, annotations, files from your computer and more to the canvas on the right side. It has a few similarities to mindmaps, but where those force you to concentrate on creating, with Linkwok, you get to concentrate on organising.

Any link to one of the canvas?

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#27
Use your arrows.

B-but I'm on an iPad. Swiping maybe? Nope. Nothing happens. Just broken layout pieces strewn about, plus some inscrutable green bar (seemingly) loading something.

And then, just when it looks like something is about to happen... the page crashes Safari. Repeatedly.

I wish I could comment on the concept itself, but the UI keeps stubbornly getting in the way.

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#28
post #27

Use your arrows. B-but I'm on an iPad. Swiping maybe? Nope. Nothing happens. Just broken layout pieces strewn about, plus some inscrutable green bar (seemingly) loading something. And then, just when it looks like something is about to happen... the page crashes Safari. Repeatedly. I wish I could comment on the concept itself, but the UI keeps stubbornly getting in the way.

Some more things they can work on:- Even if you navigate right on PC, you get stuck upon navigating down, only way out is to navigate up again. And then you reach the blog, which breaks the arrow key navigation again, and you have to use mouse scroll. UX like this should have been caught on early.

Re: Show HN: Linkwok – Picking up where search engines left off

#30
Hi Guys. I'm with Team Linkwok. We regret the issue that you guys faced. It was because of our MongoDB service provider. Our oplog instance was offline. We have subsequently added a fix for this. The internal server error should not appear anymore. Thanks for your patience. As for the feedback you'll have given us, many thanks, we shall take your points into consideration.
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