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Ask HN: Can I help you be more awesome today? (No strings. Inquire within.)

20 pointsmikegreenberg35 comments

Every once in a while, I throw up an offer to give free help. If it's something I can do in 10-15 minutes, I'm happy to oblige (within reason).

- I'm a full stack web developer (LAMP primarily),

- I've helped a lot with personal development-type things (resume critique, self improvement suggestions, etc),

- I've done my share of business model and product pitch reviews,

- I'm an early adopter and provide strong/constructive feedback,

- I've got great aesthetics and design sense

So if there's something I can help you with, just ask here or @mikegreenberg on Twitter. Be specific about what you're trying to fix/solve/accomplish. The more details you provide, the better I can help you out. :)

Cheers!

PS: This is how it went last time I did this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2544886

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http://hubski.com We are in the early stages of a social aggregator. It is built off the HN code in Arc, and the style still looks currently grokked. We are looking at innovative ways to move away from this.

Functionally, the site primarily differs in that you follow people and topics, which builds a custom feed. You can also hub (retweet) posts you like, which refers them to your followers. -Not unlike HN meets twitter. Also we are playing up the submission format a bit so that a user's submissions are more like a blog. When activity permits I envision the frontpage to be replaced with a user's feed. A bit more service than destination.

Looking for design feedback that will inform our next UI changes. Thanks! A cool thing to do.

{tl;dr} Define your assumptions. Capture data in an effort to verify those assumptions. Modify experiment or assumptions appropriately. Repeat. {/tl;dr}

There's a great answer I recent read on Quora which may help answer how to approach the design of your site. The thing that made the most impact here is being aware of the market your are entering. (http://www.quora.com/Internet-Startups/Should-I-focus-on-get...)

It's easy to argue which stage/market your product falls into, but I think you agree that the experience of your site is going to be the primary differentiator. (Experience Focus Stage)

Aside from the few tips in that thread, the next thing I would focus on is capturing data to verify your assumptions. Your assumption here are that the blog layout and distribution model is better than what's available elsewhere. (Right? If not, what ARE your assumptions/goals?) Custom analytic tools which let you capture custom events are helpful in verifying these things. You might setup a tool like MixPanel to capture key events your users are experiencing.

For example: Maybe you have a specific flow or funnel you're expecting users to take. Are they completing this flow? Where are they stopping? Are you staying on a specific page for very long?

I would also ask people who have never seen your site before to try using it. Watch what they do and ask them to share their thoughts out loud as they browse the site. Do they get the point of the site? Does your vocabulary used on the site confuse users?

Above all else, make sure you're investing your effort in the right things. You might not need to improve your UI. Your UX (user experience) may be hurting you more than the site's looks. The fact that you have a whole FAQ explaining your site's basic terminology is a bit concerning. (I know many of these things didn't make sense until I read your FAQ. How many users do you think will invest that sort of time?)

Follow up questions are welcome. Let me know if I should elaborate further.

Thanks for those very thoughtful suggestions. I am now going to write our assumptions down, and then set out to test them. I also think you are dead-on about the experience being the primary differentiator. The blog aspect is a completely untested assumption.

As you point out, the terminology is an unnecessary hurdle, -especially considering the space we are in. I am going to look at ways to simplify that as well.

This has given me some very good food for thought. I think that I was putting more thought into UI when UX is just as relevant, if not more so. Thanks a lot. It's much appreciated.

p.s. I see you are on Forrst. I might follow up with you there in some time if you don;t mind.

Of course! I don't log in often on there, so only follow up there if it's not too urgent. @mikegreenberg on twitter is the easiest way to reach me.

Glad it helped! ;)

Hi Mike! A few years ago, I created a website where users could submit Flash game walkthroughs. It got about 200 or so guides, but never really went past 1,000 uniques a day. I'm trying to build a similar site right now, and any advice would be appreciated.

Here's the link: http://hintbin.com/.

A few questions:

1. My main traffic will be from search engines. How can I increase PageRank? No one really blogs about Flash game walkthrough sites.

2. The demographic is mostly teenagers. From personal experience, I know that this group isn't very willing to give up their money. Are they worth anything to advertisers? How can I best monetize this site?

3. Is the current design good enough?

Thanks very much!

Wow. This one is tough. I have to admit I'm not very strong on the SEO stuff. There are people who work on this professionally and end up having to learn everything all over again whenever "they" change the rules.

This may not be helpful, but the thing I hear the most when it comes to increasing Page Rank is to produce quality content. All things will start and end here. My favorite walkthrough site before they sold out was gamefaqs.com. They had a REALLY simple layout which was well organized, directed you to the needed info and was easy to consume. They cared about having high quality content with information (like size, number of views, etc) that helped a visitor to decide what was important to look at. I wouldn't worry too much about the design at this point. (Besides, teens are the most discerning audience, either.) Content is key.

As far as monetizing a site like this, I'd say advertisement is your best bet, but I'm certain there are clever business models a diligent business-minded person could figure out and test. One thing I'd consider (and partly answer your first point as well) is that your actions don't have to DIRECTLY result in higher revenue. You might, instead, focus on growing your traffic and stickiness on the site. As many social-media gurus will attest, attention is the currency of the internet. With attention, revenue will likely follow.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice! This is my first real "startup" attempt, so your perspective is really valuable. I will be referring to this comment a lot in the future. :)

It was late when I posted this... I meant "Teens AREN'T the most discerning audience"... :?

Could you please give critique on my side project:

http://www.cvstash.com

About aesthetics, impression on the landing page, ease of use, and the look of the resume (only 2 templates). This means signing up (should be very quick) and trying to put some resume entries and such. If it's cool with you maybe you can also suggest ways to improve the site or monetize it, as I haven't thought of that yet, just trying to move the identity away from LinkedIn resumes. Thanks!

Arbie, I really like this a lot and is an area I'm particularly interested in a solution for. I'm going to email my thoughts instead of posting online.

I'm interested in your opinions about my football simulation http://deeproute.com

Constructive feedback, and design sense concerning the signup, and learning of how to play is the biggest challenge.

We have 400 consistent users, but most signups don't login more than once or twice, so learning the game is our biggest challenge.

Can you help?

{tl;dr} Improve your on-boarding experience (interactive tutorial game) and improve your help tools (in-game community support/commentary, discussion area, etc). Study what companies like Zynga are doing in the online game space and figure out how one of any of their more complicated games get so addicting. {/tl;dr}

I started looking at the Developer Channel videos about the sim and I gotta say you weren't lying about the steep learning curve! sigh If I were in your shoes, I'd be out looking for money to secure a badass UX designer. A site like this REALLY needs an experience that immerses the player into the game and GRADUALLY shows them the ropes. This sort of thing is very difficult to get right because there are so many moving parts. The "progressive reveal" is a great tool a designer will use to help the user jump on easily without getting "fatigued".

I really think this is the sort of product which could do well with the very hardcore sports fans, but you'd have to create some support to get them over that initial hurdle. An ideal solution would be a tutorial game which walks the user through the features and common strategies.

I'd try to develop a community around it and let users collaborate on their experiences and strategies. Promote improving your game with things like contests or tasks (max number of completions in a game, lowest salaried super bowl winning team, etc) and generate content that gets players thinking about how to win these challenges. If you have the budget, attempt to do some real-world tie-ins. Ex: Winner of this season's superbowl gets tickets to the real deal.

The driving factor of each promotion should ultimately get players "better" at the game. And providing tools to help each other improve the on-boarding experience (and bring their friends) will help your user base grow more easily. As much as I loathe Facebook platform games, many of the games that Zynga publishes there are very complicated and require some user training to get them up to speed. I'd study those games VERY CAREFULLY. Look for patterns and how they provide incentive to continue playing.

This is the most thoughtful and thorough advice I've received. Thank you, I will work hard on the onboarding process, and take your advice.

Hey Mike, question for you related to my project.

Curious, but do you (or do you know of techies like you), who sometimes feel obligated to help when friends/family come to you for desktop tech support, even when you can't quite afford the time to troubleshoot and hand-hold them through simple PEBKAC problems?

The friends and family thing is difficult. Most important thing you can do is set expectations early for the sorts of problems that I can help with. Whenever I explain to someone that I'm a computer engineer or software developer, they automatically think that I'm available to help them solve their computer problems. Typically, I help verbally direct them to resources that will provide solutions to their problems (customer support for the manufacturer, nearby/local resources, websites which have helpful peer support, etc). If they want my personal time, I explain that I can consult with them for a little while but it takes me away from the time I use to generate money to support my <insert responsibilities here>. Spend a small amount of time with them pro bono if you feel like you should, but set expectations early and let them know if you'd like to be compensated for your time.

Ah, so you would nudge them towards current solutions, e.g. Best Buy, local mom and pop brick and mortar repair stores, etc. Would you be concerned that they would get ripped off?

I would only direct them to resources that I, myself, would trust/use. Especially if they are friends and family. Additionally, I would also give them advice to mitigate the need for future external support from the very beginning. (Like direct them to vendors with strong products and great customer support.)

In this particular example, what resource would you trust to use? Which specific vendor?

Here's a prototype of what I'm building, would love your thoguhts: http://www.killerbees.co

Well, in the case of my parents (who ask me the most for help, who feel the most obligated to help), I know resources where they live (which is far from me) who can help them solve their problems simply. I usually get a call from them directly when my dad brings the computer in so he can get a technical description of the problem he's having and the technical solution I recommend for him. They know I know what I'm talking about and they know when to offer their opinion and when not to. This is perfect arrangement for all parties as they will act as my ears, eyes and hands; offer feedback appropriately; and follow detailed instructions.

Regarding your site, I think it's a great idea. Not sure how you intend to monetize this yet (which you identify and embrace, great!). I'd personally decide on the business model and test it now. If you don't charge any money to start, there's no way to know if there's a viable market to build your business around. (The real proof is when people pay you to solve their problem.) Even if you don't charge the person who needs help, find some business model and test it out.

There's not much i can recommend at this stage of your prototype. I tried a few zip codes but couldn't find anything where tech listings would show up to see layout. (This matters.)

I'd make the copy more succinct and straight-forward. Your mission has great information in it. Find a way to distill this down in to short bites of text that visitors can quickly scan and absorb. (Visitors decide if they need your site in seconds!)

Thanks Mike! I appreciate the input :)

Also, if you ask me for help, please let me know if I was helpful. While this may seem selfless, I'm actually improving myself by forcing my thoughts on these topics into prose. If they don't make sense or sound like complete bullshit (and I don't know it), this ultimately helps no one.

So. Feedback please. :D

http://plusapps.eu/Earthquakes-Monitor.html I would appreciate some feedback on the landing page or the app itself (assuming that you own a Windows Phone) . Thanks , George.

{tl;dr} I would start identifying benefits that your app provides and highlight those. {/tl;dr}

If you're more specific about the feedback you're looking for instead of just generally, I could probably be more helpful. Are you trying to improve the design? Are you working at improving conversions? Are you playing around with layout?

I don't have a Windows Phone, but your landing page is informative and answers all of my immediate questions like "What is it?", "What can I expect?" but I think you're selling the features more than the benefits. A good analogy for this is like offering frozen lemonade in the summer and yelling "It's guaranteed to be less than 32F!" As a potential customer, I don't care how cold it is. I'm more interested in knowing that it will help me avoid a heatstroke during this uncomfortable summer.

Mike, I never refuse such a generous impulse, so thank you! One of my sites, vidinotes.com is a pay per use app. What is your first impression(s) and should I target the app to niche groups vs. a general purpose video tool?

Best, Chris

{tl;dr} Niche the hell out of it. Over and over again. {/tl;dr}

Well, first impression of the site leaves me feeling a little in the past. (Circa IE5?) I'm a visual person and the way you present yourself means a lot to me personally, so take that with a grain of salt.

The product actually looks pretty interesting and could work in a lot of different scenarios. I actually have been following Patrick McKenzie over at http://www.bingocardcreator.com/ for some time and he has a product which is not very unlike yours.

Vidinotes (like Bingo Card Creator) are products with a very specific window of opportunity. Generally, these sales will only convert if the user is absolutely certain that this product will satisfy their need at THAT MOMENT. If there's even a shadow of a doubt, there only needs to be a more promising alternative and you've lost the sale.

So in the vein of what Patrick did for Bingo Card Creator, I'd consider setting up single-purpose sites targeted to specific use cases. These sites are likely to convert much better than the general site you have now and probably wouldn't take much time if you develop a good system for it.

Patrick recently got together with Andrew Warner (Mixergy) and Noah Kagan (AppSumo) and made a video that discusses exactly what I'm describing to you. If this resonates with you, I suggest checking it out. (It sounds like promoting, but I've been a customer of Noah's and reader of Andrew's for a while, shared drinks with and genuinely find their insight and content useful!) http://www.appsumo.com/hacking-content-creation/

Hope this helps.

Mike, First, a big thank you for your time and thoughts! I of course agree with your view on the datedness of the site. The links are great resources. I am a fan of Andrew and Patrick (aka patio) and will try to position my app for specific use cases / niches. Thanks again for the thoughtful review!

My pleasure. :)

I won't be able to do anymore of these for now. I usually do this every 2-3 weeks so if you'd like a hand, just keep an eye out or follow me on twitter where I usually announce it there.

Cheers!

Please review our landing page: http://orangeqc.com

You've got your 30-second teaser video, clear call to action, social proof, many channels of communication, key features identified under-the-fold for more interested individuals, trustmarks (your Guarantee), etc.

I don't see any major offenses. It's standard. The only thing I'd recommend... include a call-to-action visible no matter where the user is on the tour page. (One the scrolls with the user, perhaps?) You don't want the user to search for it after they're satisfied that your product is what they need.

If you'd like more specific feedback, please be more specific with your request. By not investing the time to direct me to specific items which you are currently trying to improve it shows me that you are unappreciative of my time which I am freely offering, don't have a specific thing you're attempting to improve, or both.

Thanks Mike. I'm sorry I wasn't more specific. The feedback you've provided is actually very useful since we redesigned the page just last week with the things you mentioned in mind.

Overall, we're working on properly communicating to our particular audience/demographic... old school guys. We don't want to make our product look cheap but we also don't want it to look too expensive.

These items all help to complete an "ideal" landing page, but the honest truth is there is no recipe or checklist. While a site developer USED to get points for including all of the aforementioned accouterments on a landing page, today it is standard fare.

As far as reaching out to your target market, see if you can arrange some sessions with people in your market. Show them the site and ask them to talk about their perception, thoughts and questions while they look around. There are sites that offer a service like this but don't necessarily target your market appropriately. I haven't used many of them, but I've heard great things about askyourtargetmarket.com.

I am trying to convey frugality and green living in a web app's design. How might you approach that?

Really wish I could help you with this, but most pay good money for a (qualified) UI/UX designer to understand the psychology behind a question like that. While I have ideas on how to approach something like that, it's more ad hoc and random. I know there are processes and techniques that designers rely on to help answer this (theme/mood boards, color charts, studies/research, etc) better than anythings I could suggest.

That said, here's where I'd start:

1. Find sites/examples which convey the same qualities as you're interested in expressing yourself. Be specific! (Colors, accents, imagery, text/passages/copy, etc) It helps to include a few keywords next to each example. Sometimes, I print out a bunch of examples and make notes on these (full-color) sheets.

2. Talk to as many designers as you can with these notes in hand. Get their opinion and take notes! (LOTS OF NOTES!!!)

3. Throw up these notes, examples, thoughts, links, resources onto a freelancer site and see if anyone will do some mockups/spec work for you. This will give you more ideas (which you'll pay for) and help you iterate your thoughts toward a decent solution until you can hire someone properly.

4. (Bonus step!) Grok as much info from these sites as you can: http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-influential-design-bl...

Thanks!

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