UX-wise, I think it'd be engaging if the format would be like 9gag where there'd be popular/hot/new pages. Also, it might be take a while to deal with the poster/voter chicken and egg thing. How about also integrating the product's engagement via various channels (quora, stackshare, fb, tw, ig) but focusing more on the engagement metrics than the vanity popularity metrics? Like a Klout for products. :D
I agree; 1. a "new stuff section" is super important, 2. measure popularity via engagement (although I'd use upvotes for that), 3. allow users to share via fb/tw/... .
As for the chicken egg problem; I guess focusing on a small industry first would help. Actually, why not make Nyolk focus on sneakers first? There is a community of people that are obsessed with sneakers and they would love such platform. The word would spread quickly in that community. They eventually would become the first core community to contribute to Nuyolk.
I'm excited to see what Nuyolk becomes! We can keep in touch:)
(for readers curious to know what Nyolk is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11441834)
Other feedback on the general idea to offer an alternative to advertisement?:)