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Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#21

Post by kris_schlesser »

lennysan wrote: post #7
silent1mezzo wrote: post #5

I don't like that you show accounts for Twitter and Google and then just say they aren't available...I understand the reasoning behind it but just show the images and don't provide links. EDIT: On a 13" MBP the "Have an invite code" link is below the fold and was difficult to find at first.

I initially put that in there to measure (using mixpanel) how many people wanted those, to avoid overbuilding. Learned pretty quickly that people want a Twitter auth option. While we build it, wanted to at least acknowledge that they are on their way.

Did you have the same intention by including the link to the non-existing 'global activity' in the top nav? My guess is that everyone will click that one if for no reason other than the fact that this is a new toy - we're going to click everything.

In general I think you've got a great idea with this product. Solid alpha/beta. Keep up the good work!

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#23

Post by kris_schlesser »

I'd like to be able to control exactly who sees my questions and answers. If I'm at a place that I think is awesome, it might be because everyone else in town isn't there in which case I'll have incentive to misinform any/all strangers. For what it's worth I recently released something like Localmind for surfers, so I look at it from that perspective. When the waves are good, we only want to tell a few specific individuals with whom we'd like to share the experience.

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#24

Post by joshontheweb »

I really don't like it when applications require me to sign in through a third party account. As an option it is good, but not as the only option. Especially with a new service that I am unsure how they will use that access. I wasn't able to try it since I was unwilling to hand over the keys to my facebook account to an untrusted service.

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#26

Post by rabidonrails »

joshontheweb wrote: post #24

I really don't like it when applications require me to sign in through a third party account. As an option it is good, but not as the only option. Especially with a new service that I am unsure how they will use that access. I wasn't able to try it since I was unwilling to hand over the keys to my facebook account to an untrusted service.

I agree. I usually don't allow an application to sign me in through a third party. Something about it conjures up images of someone trying to access all my personal information and paranoia kicks in.

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#27

Post by rabidonrails »

I like it and I see why a service like this would be helpful. But, is there enough incentive for your users to answer the texts?

For example, if I'm at a bar in NYC drinking with my friends and I get a text (from a stranger) asking how much a pitcher of Coors is, I'm likely to answer because it's a quick text back. But, if someone asks me to list what's on tap, I'm likely to ignore the message because it's a lot of work and the payoff seems very little.

Also, I would have been quicker to signup if I didn't have to use a third party.

Overall, I think it looks awesome.

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#28

Post by lennysan »

rabidonrails wrote: post #27

I like it and I see why a service like this would be helpful. But, is there enough incentive for your users to answer the texts? For example, if I'm at a bar in NYC drinking with my friends and I get a text (from a stranger) asking how much a pitcher of Coors is, I'm likely to answer because it's a quick text back. But, if someone asks me to list what's on tap, I'm likely to ignore the message because it's a lot of w…

I appreciate the feedback. That is where a lot of our energy is going right now, fostering the intrinsic motivation and making it as easy (and fun) as possible to answer. I think there's enough precedent (e.g. Stack Overflow, Quora, Aardvark, etc.) to be confident this can work.

Re: Ask HN - Review my startup: Localmind

#29

Post by rabidonrails »

lennysan wrote: post #28
rabidonrails wrote: post #27

I like it and I see why a service like this would be helpful. But, is there enough incentive for your users to answer the texts? For example, if I'm at a bar in NYC drinking with my friends and I get a text (from a stranger) asking how much a pitcher of Coors is, I'm likely to answer because it's a quick text back. But, if someone asks me to list what's on tap, I'm likely to ignore the message because it's a lot of w…

I appreciate the feedback. That is where a lot of our energy is going right now, fostering the intrinsic motivation and making it as easy (and fun) as possible to answer. I think there's enough precedent (e.g. Stack Overflow, Quora, Aardvark, etc.) to be confident this can work.

Are you looking to use a "badge" system to reward those who answer like SO?

Quora works now because they don't have to deal with idiots posting crappy answers...will they be successful after a real launch? Isn't that their main concern...becoming Yahoo Answers?

Do you have a workaround? Just curious...I'm sure you have something...

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