Congratulations on launching.
My question is why would anyone pay for a community which they could get for free elsewhere?
Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
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Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#22I'm English, and every group I joined was full of Russian language posts so I quit. English speakers aren't going to stick around, it's a horrible experience.
Fair, there are groups in various languages on Openland and the group language isn't always obvious from the group name. We need to make our community recommendations more aligned with people's preferred languages.
The most useful communities on Openland are single language and well-moderated.
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#23Congratulations on launching. My question is why would anyone pay for a community which they could get for free elsewhere?
There are two business models here:
1. Community is free for members, organizers pay Openland for premium features. This is useful for businesses who use communities for volunteer management, lead generation, product sales, support, and referral programs.
2. Members pay organizers, Openland takes the cut. This is useful for various "knowledge products": premium content, consulting, coaching, courses, mastermind groups, and networking clubs.
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#24Looks like a morph of reddit into something modern?
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#25This is pretty cool and I like the UI. Congrats on the launch!
For anyone that's interested, I created a "Programming Career Advice" group: https://openland.com/invite/sX8kTKR
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#26Looks like a morph of reddit into something modern?
I like this analogy! Key differences from Openland to Reddit
— Most users use their real name
— Focus on direct and group chats, not posts
— Ability to save people in contacts, profile hashtags to find interesting people
— More professional-grade tools for organizers: automaton, integrations, analytics, payments, etc.
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#27I was obsessed with social networks in my early career. Wanted to build a new one but felt it doesn't worth it. I have a small observation which I can't explain it in a clear way (pardon my poor English). There are some designs that look desirable to work with. Things feel just right. I am not a designer, but I can feel it. But something is wrong with openland design. The column in the middle is too wide. The font do…
Hmm, I don't see it. It looks a little enterprise-y, but otherwise good IMO. What are some examples of peak social media design to you?
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#28This is pretty cool and I like the UI. Congrats on the launch! For anyone that's interested, I created a "Programming Career Advice" group: https://openland.com/invite/sX8kTKR
Dave, congrats for launching your own group on Openland so quickly. We'll help you find members among people who are already on Openland.
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#29If Openland is VC-funded, my first question is what is to stop Openland from eventually introducing ads, invasive practices regarding user data, etc, in order to maximize it's investor's return?
In other words, why should we believe Openland is simply not the next Facebook, etc?
That said I think the product looks cool and the ideal - as it is expressed - is admirable.
But on a real-deal level unless you are a B-corp, nonprofit, or your financial incentives are aligned with what's best for the user (the way that Apple has a financial incentive to ensure user privacy, for example), inspiring words are merely ... words.
Re: Launch HN: Openland (YC W18) – Community platform with automation
#30If Openland is VC-funded, my first question is what is to stop Openland from eventually introducing ads, invasive practices regarding user data, etc, in order to maximize it's investor's return? In other words, why should we believe Openland is simply not the next Facebook, etc? That said I think the product looks cool and the ideal - as it is expressed - is admirable. But on a real-deal level unless you are a B-corp…
We think that sustainable people-first social networking will follow from the new business models. Openland's bet is on SaaS model for community organizers + revenue cut from member-funded communities. This business model has better incentive alignment between Openland platform, members, and organizers.