Tell HN: Kevin will comment on more Show HNs this Friday | Hacker News Reader

Tell HN: Kevin will comment on more Show HNs this Friday

74 pointsdang24 comments

YC partner, designer, and master of friendly feedback Kevin Hale is going to do another round of Show HN comments this Friday, starting at 2pm Pacific time. If you'd like to hear Kevin's thoughts on your project, post it as a Show HN on Friday.

The last times he did this went really well (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9748308) so we're excited to see it become a thing.

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Question: Does this include mostly startup / monetizable projects, or could it include new open source projects also? I've been trying to figure out when some of my projects are ready for wider promotion, and even how to promote an open source project (without feeling "spammy", and since it is open source [no income potential], taking out web ads isn't really appropriate).

Open-source projects are legit Show HNs, so why not? I seem to recall that Kevin commented on some last time. And the line between startup and not-startup can be rather fluid anyhow.

Thanks. I posted it as a Show HN back a year or two ago, would it be OK to post it again? It didn't get enough upvotes to get any visibility then.

Oh, and if this becomes a regular feature, would it be more efficient to have a single posting for the feature, and have people post their projects as top-level comments to that master post?

That's a while ago.. so another post would be fine. I'd recommend making the post when he starts commenting, as the audience and ratio of upvotes on show HNs would be higher.

>we're excited to see it become a thing.

This would be fantastic for the community. Obviously more startups/side projects are rejected from incubators/accelerators/hackathons/VCs than accepted...and none of them get feedback. It is very noble for a YC partner to use their time in this fashion to directly help the community.

Clicketty Click: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9748308

Have you guys considered sharding out the feed into discrete "subreddit" type sections. That way posts would go to the db as "Show" instead of {post: "Show HN: somethong"}. I think thT would be a nice feature but understand why it might get resistance. Thanks.

Isn't that what https://news.ycombinator.com/show is?

Edit: Will post on Friday =D

Cool concept! I hit an exception when looking for aerial video in Christchurch, New Zealand [0]. Your environments are not right too since that kind of exception detail should not be showing in production.

[0] https://dronehire.org/hire/new_zealand/canterbury/christchur...

wups, fixing that exception from showing first and then onto the bug. Thanks!

Yea... I think the idea is to wait until friday, then make your own "Show HN: dronehire.org" type post.

My bad, saw the other person post first and then misread the post =D

Maybe I should mention Rate My App, my video channel to provide feedback for Show HN projects. I didn't know Kevin was going to provide feedback, but I hope I can add value, too.

I enjoyed providing feedback on HN in the past (post #2 at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863).

For credentials, I used to have my own app before Y Combinator started and I did everything myself -- programming, design, marketing, and customer service -- like many of you are.

https://angel.co/spoof-proof-software

Just reply to this comment and I'll try provide a 2-5 minute video overview of everyone's product. I wanted to have a daily show (and podcast!) but the goal right now is quality over quantity.

Link: http://ratemyapp.com

YT: http://youtube.com/ratemyapp

FB: http://facebook.com/ratemyapp

TW: http://twitter.com/ratemyapp

I would love to see you rate http://happyscale.com/. It's been my labor of love for over 4 years, and like you've done, I've been doing most all of different aspects myself (though I've recently been getting help with design).

I found a broken image on your front page (image linking to index.html) inside #features-icons, btw.

Thanks for the heads up!

Thanks for your brave submission, and going first. :) Here's what I have so far, as a "transcript."

1) First instinct: The fact it's an iPhone app and for weight loss, I got the vibe I have to spend time (do work) to compare how it's different from what's out there. I also don't realize what I would even search for to find competitors.

In other words, I didn't think “it’s a tool to help me lose weight” like an iPhone or a frying pan are clearly tools. Instead, I thought, it’s one of thousands of apps I have to compare and learn, a bummer.

2) Therefore, create some layouts (screens) that make the user feel they already know how they’ll use it and why before they even download it (regardless of what else exists). You know how to use a water pitcher, refrigerator, or even a digital piano (press on/off, push any key to make sound). Yes, there might be a learning curve to become an expert with tools (e.g. piano) but it’s clear what you’ll be doing with it.

3) Maybe you need one big screenshot on top of the page, a simple screen that simply shows a smooth graph based on the health kit weight data. And the explanation “install to visualize your data instantly, your info stays private on your device”. And a big Install now button. Nothing to learn. That might be worth $0.99 (or more) on its own.

And then of course you have the other stuff that people can explore and learn over time.

4) I like the “track multiple family members” screen because I let multiple users create profiles in my desktop software, too. I’m worried nobody really cares to share their weight data with a friend.

5) I would survey users to find out what their favorite parts of the app are, and what one feature makes them come back. Or what one feature they would miss if they lost it. Maybe that feature should have its own screen.

6) Another reason that people tend to trust simple screens is because they make the product look like “there’s less to break” to bugs, and a higher chance it will still work on their next phone, so it’s worth buying.

7) My reaction was, the benefits or features at the top of your page are hard to understand. The last sentence of the paragraph is the only one that actually describes what the app might do or how it benefits you. Also, Tame the Scale seems like the app name, not Happy Scale.

And the last sentence doesn’t go far enough. The real benefit is, "see your real weight trend, instantly, to stay motivated”, not to see trends. Or to control their emotions rather than being a "yoyo" that feels "I'm losing weight, I'm gaining weight" every other day. Stay motivated, confident, and consistent.

With that simple screenshot and text at the top of the page, that should be an awesome way to get people to take the initial action of installing the app (at the end of the day, you want people to install it, not read your site!)

Thanks for the feedback!

No problem! Thanks for showing me this app. Sorry for suggesting additional work on your plate. Always easier to provide feedback than to build from scratch! :)

That additional work is exactly what I was hoping for. A few of your comments gave me new insights into what fresh eyes see on first glace, and I agree with you that in general there's room for clarification and promotion of what the core benefits are.

Much better to have this additional data point than to try to puzzle it all out myself!

This is very cool. I've been building Testimote (https://www.testimote.com/) for the past few months. I'd love to have you look at it.

I'd love you to rate SquatCoach (http://squat.coach) - the app, not the landing page. I'm having some traction difficulties, and I have no idea if it's because the app sucks, or my marketing sucks, or both

p.s the Android version is ahead of the iOS version.

Just for fun, I'm curious if you'd offer an opinion on my old startup-turned-side-project, http://www.nitrogenlogic.com/. It's a home automation controller that allows one to recycle old Xbox 360 Kinects for advanced lighting and A/V control.

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