Hacker News Reader

I've just updated the details with a couple examples. The goal isn't to tell people what to build, but to make it easier for them to build things. I figure, lower barriers to entry and watch the possibilities unfold.

View on HN

I think this is cool, but I think you need to have some ideas of what pain points you are solving.

When I installed a Nest it said that we were saving money but actually our bills were higher. Correlating appliance usage to utility bill changes might be interesting.

The pain point Pulse solves is the difficulty that developers have in accessing user utility account data. As much as there has been a push for programs like green button connect, these programs will only be touched if the utility has some sort of monetary compensation for doing so. The adoption rate has been annoyingly slow, which is why applications that better educate users on energy usage and consumption haven't been built.

You need to get better at communicating this kind of thing on the site and drop your position that you aren't trying to tell people what to build. Listing such info will not compel other people to do as they are told. Not listing it will cause a great many potential users to shrug and move on, never having gotten any idea why they should be interested.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com