Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#41

Post by derwiki » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:32 PM UTC

ddkrone wrote: post #24

mattdeboard wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole premise of managing twitter, facebook, tumbler, etc. all in one place sounds like a joke to me. I'm sure Facebook didn't think it was a joke when they paid $50 million for FriendFeed, which did exactly that. http://techcrunch.com/2009/08/10/facebook-acquires-friendfee...

And how many people still use FriendFeed? It is now overrun by auto quote bots and viagra spam. Also, I don't see how facebook approving of something makes the idea any less idiotic.

The FriendFeed team all joined Facebook. I'd imagine less people would use FriendFeed as it became much less actively developed.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#42

Post by ddkrone » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:32 PM UTC

bdclimber14 wrote: post #34

ddkrone wrote: post #12

This looks like a joke. Is this real?

You are being incredibly rude and attacking. This is a real pain for some people, and the OP has built a solution to solve that. Having a dozen distributed communication mediums that you have to manage and stay on top of may not be your pain, but that doesn't me its no one's pain.

I didn't say it's not a pain. I just think if you're trying to engage users then blasting them with updates on all fronts is the wrong approach and doesn't change anything about the current political setup.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#43

Post by bdclimber14 » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:32 PM UTC

jkhaff wrote: post #6

spking wrote: post #3

Feedback: It wasn't immediately clear to me who this is for. A big headline telling me "Online Campaign Management for Civic Leaders and Candidates" would be helpful.

It's not just for civic leaders or candidates. While we built it with an eye on the non-profit and political world, it could also be of benefit to independent creators of all types -- artists, musicians, advocacy groups, small businesses, sports teams, public speakers, etc. Anyone who is a leader or creator with a following.

My suggestion would be to strictly target one niche, and it looks like it should be civic leaders. You'll find each market has unique needs with each of your features, and trying to build a solution that satisfies everyone will result in being mediocre to everyone. If you disagree, read Crossing the Chasm :)

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#44

Post by gokhan » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:34 PM UTC

My feedback:

- Landing page does not tell me what the site is about. Who is it for? Something like the one suggested by @spking needed.

- Carousel is too fast for me. It should also pause on hover to let me check.

- Heroku and AWS is most probably unknown to your target userbase. You should drop it from the carousel, IMO.

- Not urgent, but you should work on the YSlow score. Lots of the scripts are unnecessary for the landing page.

- Make the hover animations on the "features" pages discoverable. No one will notice them.

- Can't you make a shorter version of the screencast and put it on the landing page?

Overall, there are lots of features inside, but screenshots are too crowded and copy is not helping much in the landing page.

For example, there's a lot going on in this screenshot and there are many screenshots like this one in the landing page carousel (http://nationbuilder.s3.amazonaws.com/3dna/pages/36/features...). You have many features, but select something simple and stick to it for the landing page.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#45

Post by ddkrone » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:34 PM UTC

rymngh wrote: post #35

ddkrone wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jealous? Of what? Another half-ass workaround for fixing the ADD problem of the voting populace?

This guy sounds like an asshole. If he is so concerned about the current state of affairs he should write an application and show the world real problem solving concepts. Instead he rages about something and in the end pretends to be smarter than he actually is.

That sounds like something I said. Are you making a point or just flattering me?

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#46

Post by Tiktaalik » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:34 PM UTC

I think this would really help political candidates in countries such as Canada without fixed election dates, where elections can begin with little notice. Our election just started a week or so ago and parties were nominating new candidates for some ridings at the last minute. My riding still doesn't have a candidate for the Liberal party.

Certainly these new candidates are starting the campaign flat footed with regards to their web presence and social media strategy and this favours the long established incumbents. This service could fix that and get new candidates that haven't had time to prepare up and running as soon as possible.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#47

Post by ssebro » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:34 PM UTC

BTW, I'm working on a webapp that needs subscription billing. Who'd you go with, and why?

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#48

Post by bdclimber14 » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:35 PM UTC

emiranda wrote: post #27

Does anyone else think people would be more likely to sign up and try it if a credit card wasn't required for the 14 day trial? I was going to sign up to to see what it was like, but then decided not to when I found out that a credit card is required.

I don't have a link, but 37signals did some research on this. They also practice and preach requiring a credit card at sign up. I think it really depends on the market.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#49

Post by pitdesi » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:36 PM UTC

My initial feedback is that there are too many pricing layers and that is confusing. Maybe have a few and then do some sort of step function.

I like the idea, I think it makes a lot of sense and this market probably really needs this sort of thing... that being said, I don't know the market AT ALL.

Give me a shout if you want to talk payments, we can probably help you figure out the best way to manage that.

Re: Show HN: NationBuilder, my startup just launched

#50

Post by epnk » Wed, Apr 06, 2011, 11:36 PM UTC

As far as the idea goes, I think it's great, and very polished. Nice work!

I had a bit of a bad initial reaction when I heard the name, however, as it feels very imperialist and negative to me. Might just be me though, so just take it as a single datapoint. But my suggestion would be to look into names that are a little more positive.