jfc

Yes, yes, we all know how to size markets.

The point I was making is that the market is there AND there is considerable interest around hair texture and styling among diverse women. Those who have researched ethnic personal care (and related issues) frequently discuss the importance and ubiquity of social interaction among those sharing certain beauty attributes. Check google if you're interested in the research--it's out there.

$1.4m is a small risk for a company already getting 2 million uniques a month.

By the way, if you are looking for traditional metrics on curly hair, the most you'll get is general ethnic personal care market sizing--the numbers just aren't as granular for markets around hair texture, skin color, etc. Hopefully soon we'll get access to that kind of data.

ETA: ethnic personal care data can be used as a proxy for curly haired people, but any ethnic group can have curly hair.

"These people"? Sounds a bit hostile.

Anyway, many social networks attempt meet pain points. Women with naturally curly hair deal with alot of issues. Lack of products, good stylists, societal issues (e.g., "is curly hair professional?"). It's the kind of thing you probably don't think about unless you have curly hair. Lots of bonding among curly-haired women is already occurring online. A central network is a great idea--I'm thinking it will be really popular. It's part of The Long Tail.

A couple of things.

The ethnic hair care & beauty market approached $3 billion in sales in 2011 (check out Packaged Facts, etc.). Not a small market. And in 2010, that market grew 13%.

There are big trends in social media around natural/naturally curly hair and beauty. I know a couple of startup founders who are building out apps in the ethnic beauty space, and there are already other social networks focused on hair-related issues for diverse women. Lots of high-traffic blogs, too.

All things considered, $1.4m isn't much.

ETA: Many women are very social around beauty, especially hair. I have naturally curly hair, and I can't tell you how many times I am complimented or asked questions (in person and online) by other women (and the occasional man) who are interested in chatting. Having an online network seems a natural next step.

This online tool will generate the .htaccess rules for you based on your inputs (URLs, etc.) - http://www.htaccesstools.com/hotlink-protection/

Here's what I make of it:

I have a big problem with equating blacks to poor people, mostly because it makes blacks monolithic, as if all blacks are poor. This isn't the case, even if you limit your analysis to the SF area.

Consider how ridiculous it is to equate an entire ethnic group with poverty, or wealth for that matter--there are wealthy and poor people across all demographics. Far better for the NYT to have said poorer residents, or some such like.

It does seem the mayor specifically mentioned blacks (could be a political calculus or real concern), but the reporters also referenced them separately, vaguely. Either way, the characterization of blacks in this article was done poorly.

You asked if this is racism; probably something like implicit bias - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aversive_racism.

Also: it seems you thought that the contributor's name (Malia) somehow indicates that she is black. A google search shows otherwise.

@tonyjwang, thank you for this feedback. I'm hoping to add a screencast soon that will provide a fuller sense of what you can do with the app.

Love this idea and the site looks great. I checked out some of the member sites and they look very fresh and are well-designed.

One thing: The member sites you included all have their own domains. If users can't get their name as a domain, what are their options?

Cool idea. If you haven't already, you should share this app with Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab -- they work on using technology to influence and change human behavior, especially across differences - http://captology.stanford.edu/

Thanks, much appreciated.

Strange that you got more access to data with an expired session than with a valid one.

Sidenote: Can't wait 'til Tinfoil opens up to a larger group; I've been over to your site several times over the past week. Looks like a useful product.

Toour - http://ontoour.com. Lets you create tours with things to do while traveling; you can include locations from different countries in the same trip. Currently in alpha.

Disclosure: it's my app.

I've been working on Toour - http://ontoour.com - get travel ideas from people who travel like you do.

Alpha in 2 weeks!

Sure there is--the page design. And the page is usable. :)

Appreciate the advice and resources. Really good call on the WWDC sessions; am planning to watch a few of them later on. I've got alot to learn, but it feels good trying.

Yeah, starting to see that.

Appreciate the comment. Will definitely check out the podcast.

Ditto. It's a great feeling to see an application that I've coded actually do what it's supposed to do. My second favorite thing is when an error message disappears.