Comment by bastijn | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bastijn | Hacker News Reader

The reason why netflix became big so fast is not because of their suggestion service or categories but because they made accessible content that was otherwise not available to them at a reasonable price except from illegally obtaining it. I.e. The content versus the small monthly fee is the power.

Ratings are actually something Netflix has proven to be bad at. They even want(ed) to remove the stars system and replace it for thumbs up. In other words, suggestions, while nice, are not why it became so big.

In the podcasts land most content is free. The shows are usually already containing the category in their title or else in their tags. This means a simple search works very well in opening a series of podcasts in any category. To know if it's any good from your app would be great but again, even netflix sucks at this. Googling for reviews is still your best shot both for series as well as podcasts.

I cannot see yet what Podflix brings over using my Overcast app and simply using the search functionality. I'm already getting all the content I want in a single search and at a great price you cannot hope to beat: free.

So I guess my question is: what problem are you solving? I would have a good session thinking about this and than broadcast very clearly on your landing page what problem you solve that I have today. This can be a problem I don't even know I have right now. However, it is not availability of great podcasts at a great price. I already have that. Overcast also gives me playlist and downloading for a ride.

Hi Bastijn: 1) I think recommendation play a critical role in any customer-facing app. It's also powerful when we can start recommending episode instead of a podcast 2) The categories or topics are pretty strict on itunes. Have more subtopics will certainly make it lot easier to consume content. 3) I am also not planning on competing with any existing app. If possible I will even allow methods to subscribe using their favorite app.

> I am also not planning on competing with any existing app.

But that's not up to you. That's up to users and the decisions they make.

I'm not denying that proper suggestions is a great service. I am questioning if it is enough to build a product around. Especially when people do not yet know they have an issue or are missing it. Netflix, Spotify, Apple music, they all share a common thing that made them great: give access to content not previously available for a fixed price. Your service doesn't. That doesn't mean there isn't a product here, it does mean you need to market your product completely different than "a netflix for podcasts". People probably feel they already can get all the podcasts they need for free so they do not easily see the value in a netflix for podcasts.

In any case I wish you all the best and hope you find good product market fit!

I think it's a bit cruel to compare multi-billion-dollar businesses with a lone guy doing his thing. None of those services started small. It's a fact that there isn't yet a good recommendation engine for podcasts out there. There are tons of clients relying on a few (relatively dumb) directories. The first service that can crack that particular nut, could easily become a lifestyle business or even get acquired. Not everything has to be a unicorn.

I'm not criticizing the current state. Sorry if it felt that way. I'm suggesting to change the communication of what the product is about and have a good thought about what is the USP of the product. This is why I said that there may be a product but the way it is brought now is not what triggers me to use it or feel I need it. Maybe suggestion is enough to build a product around, who knows, but right now I came in expecting a service like netflix and it wasn't which made me close the product after a few seconds.

The title literally suggests me to compare the product to netflix.

"what is the USP of the product"

USP?

unique selling point.

ty

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