Comment by TimothyBurgess | Hacker News Reader

Comment by TimothyBurgess | Hacker News Reader

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I have a feeling I'll get some comments about how its intent isn't immediately obvious but I wanted it to operate like a true application. I am honestly tired of seeing 99% of startups' websites looking like only a slight variation of the last.

I've intentially made the initial page is so (seemingly!!) limited so that anyone who visits for the first time is pretty much forced to read what it is (you'll see it if you wait 2-4 seconds!)... and once you know what it is... you know exactly what it is and for that information to remain afterward makes it cluttered. I'm also covering a fairly small niche with the product so most people who visit will know what it is beforehand anyway (by word of mouth - given the nature of the business). You'll notice that if you start typing your name before 2 seconds arrives, the popups telling you what it is don't appear. ;)

If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of simplicity and efficiency but with high function. There's a lot more going on with my app than it seems at first glance.

I would also like as much feedback as possible regarding the mobile version since I've only been able to test it on a small handful of phones. I'm actually in the process of downloading as many emulators as I can right now.

On average I've been putting in 70+ hours a week since July, as I've put it together entirely from scratch. No frameworks whatsoever other than a graphing library and the phpmailer library (more reliable/portable than the native mail function). I think it's time I slow down a little bit and get on with my life... lol... I'm 23 and this is my first startup... and I'm going solo... unfunded... so any guidance in helping this move forwards is GREATLY appreciated!!!

>anyone who visits for the first time is pretty much forced to read what it is

I think you're overestimating the patience of the average web user. I spent about 8 seconds trying to figure it out before giving up an closing the tab. without any idea of what the site is, I have no motivation to invest any time in trying to figure it out. just my opinion, though.

>I think you're overestimating the patience of the average web user

I know a lot of semiprofessional musicians who would be the target audience for this kind of thing, and while they are creative, technical people who operate complex software and hardware to create their art, they are largely NOT of the same obsessively inquiring mindset we know and love here.

Creating music requires and encourages a different attitude to technology than programming. Lacking a full, deep understanding of your tools is almost a bonus a lot of the time. In fact it is necessary to prevent yourself from going too deep into each tool, if you want to successfully create any art. Music is all about results. There are no 'best practices' in art. This is why I keep failing at learning music production, I focus too much on trying to understand what I'm doing and never manage to create any actual music.

Understanding this fundamentally alien (to hackers) relationship to complex technology is IMO of paramount importance when marketing tools to musicians. They are already having to struggle to understand so many things, and the successful ones have learned to only dig as deep as they need to in order to realise their visions. Therefore you should be careful when offering them such complex tools, they may not use them the way you expect.

They are used to hammering their tools with unexpected inputs and combinations of inputs, until they get out something they like, and then they run with it, with no care whether they are doing it 'right' or not. If it sounds right, then it's right.

Understanding this mindset is key to making products for musicians.

(Disclaimer: This may not apply to other musicians, especially those making 'proper' music. YMMV)

Played with the mobile version on a Blackberry 9700 (using Blackberry Browser) - so far, no problems. I don't have a band or any experience being in one, so I can't provide any commentary in that regard. Sorry!

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