Comment by biot | Hacker News Reader

Comment by biot | Hacker News Reader

Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction: http://worrydream.com/#!2/LadderOfAbstraction This should be required reading for every developer.

While the redesign looks better, I'm somewhat turned off because it follows the same design strategies as used by low-quality info products:

* Cheesy book shot. At least it's not a fake "book generator" box. If this will be delivered as a PDF, why not use the Acrobat logo below a thumbnail preview of the actual cover/first page? To me, seeing real content lends credibility.

* Thin column of text with bullet points.

* Periodic bolded keywords.

* The only things it's missing are a "P.S." section and a breakdown of the cost savings over the alternatives.

I have no doubt that the reason these things are standard is that they work. However, for me the site has the same look and feel I've seen in many low-quality info product kind of sites. As a result, I'm immediately more skeptical than I otherwise would be.

well, then I guess you won't be a customer. Guess what.. this doesn't matter, the loss is probably all yours (if the actual content is something you can benefit from).

Don't forget, this book is being written to get profit and recognition (I think ;) and loosing a couple of "this looks too cheap for me" dudes is an OK price to pay to significantly increase the readership. And I'm pretty sure patio11 and brennan know quite a bit about this.

So, so long as "it works" I think he's going in the right direction.

  > well, then I guess you won't be a customer. Guess what.. this
  > doesn't matter, the loss is probably all yours

Was this meant to be snarky, or am I misreading it? I completely agree, and it seems like you're arguing against a position I never took.

  > ... is an OK price to pay to significantly increase the readership

As you no doubt noticed, I said these design decisions were likely made because they work. You are agreeing with my statement.

  > And I'm pretty sure patio11 and brennan know quite a bit about this.

Did I claim otherwise? I shared the reasons why I had somewhat of a negative initial impression of the site. My impressions have nothing to do with the experience or credentials of those who were involved with the redesign.

Well, My book will not be low-quality. And it will be evident after I've written some high-quality sample content and guest blog posts. So the landing page is just the final step in the funnel.

That said I don't mean for it to look low-quality. That could just be a side-effect of my lack of design skills. :-)

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