Who didn't immediately go to tripl.com?
I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
71–80 of 110 posts
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#72I received an email from a company that I did business with that said "urgent: [...]" as the title.
The email was a sale information message.
I complained to them immediately and haven't done any business with them since. Indeed this sort of dishonesty gets me to avoid as much as possible any support for a company. The message was not urgent in the least.
An antisocial attempt to con people in to paying more attention to your company: Hate is a word I seldom use but it seems valid here.
Presumably next up you'll be doing something like standing up in movie theatres shouting "fire!" so that people will exit past your friend holding an advertising board ...
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#73Praise from me for the naughty tactic regardless of execution. If you're note sure if you did the right thing then find some consolation in the fourth point on this page:
http://paulgraham.com/founders.html
Let us know how it goes.
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#74[deleted]
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#75"You have illegally been subjected to make..." "Try the new app right now, its beautiful:" As clever as it is, it would have been far more effective if you had checked your grammar before printing two hundred flyers.
Because as humans we don't make mistakes, right? You probably mean well, but this is the kind of attitude that people are complaining about in the HN community right now. People being cynical and instead of giving positive criticism people (like yourself) are picking on a lot of peoples grammar. I understand grammar is important, but working in an industry that heavily relies on print I see far worse mistakes than th…
"It happens, relax man."
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
To me, this would work beautifully if the startup were actually involved in solving traffic or transportation problems. Ridejoy, for instance. If Ridejoy had pulled this stunt, it would have been very cute. That said, I'll give the man his props. This is ingenuity. Perhaps it's misdirected, to an extent. Perhaps it'll backfire. But it's something different. It is clever, regardless of whether we find it enjoyable or…
I would find this pretty annoying personally. Not only that but this is how the pizza joint around the corner advertises(literally). Is that really the feel you want?
I think the key difference is that it's unexpected, given the context. Investors have just finished hearing a bunch of pitches, so they're primed to be receptive to clever "roadblocks" like this one -- whereas people who park next to a pizza joint are going to be annoyed when they find flyers stuck to their windshield wipers.
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#77I like this idea because it's polarizing. All risky ideas are, and I think you can get at least one person behind you (appreciating that ballsiness), even at the risk of alienating everyone else. If that's all you need, go for it!
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#78I just want to say something: NOBODY CARES ABOUT QR CODES Yeah, I can go to tripl.com or whatever, also add your twitter/fb/G+ page otherwise you'll just look like some bozo stuck in Web 1.0 (contact by phone?!)
The only regular use I ever have for QR codes is loading a long page url I'm looking at on my desktop to my phone. I keep a chrome plugin installed so I can click a button for a QR code. Beyond that, I'm not going to some random link encoded in a QR code.
If you use Chrome or Firefox, they have browser sync to their mobile apps now. You could also employ Instapaper or ReadItLater/Pocket and just click the bookmarklet.
Scanning a QR code sounds like it may take some time if you're in a rush.
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#79Personally, I would be rather peeved to be advertised to in this way. I wouldn't find it clever or cute--I would just find it annoying. I would not end up with a good impression of the company, and I wouldn't want to do business with it. One reason why I don't find it particularly clever, is that it's really not all that different from all the physical junk mail I receive that tries to visually mimic some sort of imp…
I think under the circumstances it may actually put a smile on peoples faces. They are probably already in a good mood and the right mindset for something like this.
This was a relatively common tactic in Chicago a few years ago, done by restaurants and a band if I remember correctly. Heading to your car on your way to work in the morning and finding a fake ticket that ended up being, as you say, junk mail, really made people angry. I am pretty sure the city got involved people were so mad.
Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...
#80Are windshield flyers now called "fake parking tickets" in order to sound less like spam?
I've always wondered if there is a law you could invoke against someone messing with your vehicle like this. Is it legal for a random person (not law/parking enforcement) to pick up the wiper and but whatever garbage they want under there? Can I put my used McDonald's bag under someones wiper?
"California Vehicle Code 10852. No person shall either individually or in association with one or more other persons, willfully damage or tamper with any vehicle or break or remove any part of a vehicle without the consent of the owner."
This is an all-purpose section that, for example, makes it possible to arrest someone who is walking down the street trying the handles on car doors to see if they are unlocked - even if they don't find any that are unlocked. I guess it would probably apply if someone broke off a windshield wiper while putting a pamphlet there. If someone was sufficiently irate, it might even apply to a used McDonald's bag being put under someone's wiper.