vail130

Thank you! I really appreciate the time you took to check it out. If you have any more specific thoughts/comments, feel free to email me (vail130@gmail.com) or you can use the contact us form at the site.

Real quick go at it:

http://jsbin.com/edoyoc/4/

It's pretty good at detecting some dog faces too!

Hey, doksbin looks really cool! I do often find myself wanting to save text and have it be accessible everywhere, but I don't feel like making a new google doc or a new file in dropbox (I use both, but this use-case falls in the middle somewhere).

There are a few things that I felt were missing. I bring this up, because this is the kind of feedback I'm always looking for on my projects:

1. The publish URL faded away and I hadn't copied it, so I lost it. I realize I can hit Publish again, but I'd like it to still be there without me feeling like I had to Publish "all over again" (I realize it's one click, but that's just how it felt).

2. I had the weird urge to delete the document before I left. I feel weird just "leaving it there" if I don't want to keep it.

3. Clicking the "New" button from an existent document seemed to take forever to load... Maybe just make it a link to the domain?

Well done!

I don't have a specific idea, but here's a more specific challenge:

Figure out a way to save your average marketing or operations manager 30 minutes - 1 hour of work that they have to do on a weekly basis.

Personally, I wouldn't spend much time trying to figure out what these people are trying to prove. Take what they say at face value. Decide if you think the arguments are comprehensive and logical, or not.

The second one makes a value judgment about what people should or shouldn't do, that person is probably no longer fully correct. I love creating things, I obsess over tiny details, and I'm interested in technology, so programming just fits for me. But it doesn't fit for everyone.

I did not find Jeff Atwood's blog post very compelling, but if his goal is to reduce the number of people who talk the talk and can't walk the walk, then it's a little too Machiavellian for my taste, but not such a bad cause.

At the end of the day, do what you love, because what you do will never love you.

Wasn't it Shortcut.js? http://www.mattytemple.com/projects/shortcut-js/

Yup.

There's no limit to the number of collections you can make. If the service is useful for people, I can create optional user accounts for easier management, but for now, just don't forget your password. Or make the password easy, because what's the incentive for people to even try to get control of someone else's list?

Hmm. What you're saying sounds cool, but I don't think I actually fully understand what you mean. Are you talking about more sharing between collections, and sort of adding other people's links to your own lists? I think if people start to really use the service, a lot of cool stuff would become possible. I'm definitely interested to hear more if you have ideas!

Good question. The password is so that you can maintain ownership of your bookmark collection and so other people don't add and delete the links you've stored.

Yeah, that's a big one for me, too. I think this whole online identity thing is overrated. Thanks.

Cool idea. Here are a few ideas:

1. I second what eykanal said. That wide button looks kind of weird and I didn't see it right away.

2. I would rewrite the text for the Ask, Reply, and Follow sections from the perspective of a power user. Imagine that you are simply a user of the site, you love it, and you are giving your friend an elevator pitch of why they should use it, too. As it is, you are just explaining the actual functions of the service, but you are not conveying the value proposition. After reading each little section, a prospective user should think "Oh, nice, that solves a problem that I have." To add another layer to this, be compelling and tell a story. You could even use a use-case example. For instance:

- Ask people which food truck is best in Midtown, NYC - Let people know about that amazing slice of pizza in Brooklyn - Keep track of activity in the East Village

3. The stream seems really wide. Maybe you can have two columns: one for questions and one for answers. Then they would be thinner, easier on the eyes, and it would showcase what your service does a little better.

Hope this helps!

Man, I can just sense the total clarity in what you're saying! Thanks!

You're right. I've totally lost sight of the actual people whom I can actually help, and if you can't help people, you can't run a business!

I believe that there are people I can help to sell their old stuff. It would make more sense to start there, use a website to sell the stuff, and figure out what my fee might be for both sides.

Thanks again!

Thanks for posting! Sorry that there isn't much yet; I just put up what's there to gauge interest.

So, the idea is that the site connects people who having something in common (buyer/seller, etc.), but then they would deal with each other on their own terms. I would think that it's more attractive to people trying to sell stuff, because I do not take a percentage. Just $1 to post. Of course, they won't pay $1 if no one is on the site...

Thanks for the feedback! Could you point me to maybe a couple of sites that you would say do have enough sex?

So, the difference that I see between Stack Exchange sites and what I'm talking about is that each Stack Exchange site is based around one content area. Within that topic, you have people of all mastery levels interacting and problem-solving. Many of those questions/answers are simple, many are obscure and complex, and many are what I would be looking for.

I think the difference between any question & answer and what I would consider a "hack" is that it would be a somewhat common problem with a consistent way of solving it very easily that many people might not figure out.

I'm thinking of creating a community, very much like a Stack Exchange site, but NOT based on a certain topic (programming, cooking, etc.). Instead it would be based on the idea of sharing these "hacks" from any topic.

Haha, yes, Hacker News does target those same people. I suppose I was wondering if any other forum or Q&A style sites were targeting the same market segment.

Hmm, good point. Moderation would be super important, which means that it needs a very actionable definition of what classifies as a "hack" and what does not. It might also need a little of structure in the way the information is presented to act as a proactive guard against off-topic posts. I definitely agree with what you're saying about not defining it too narrowly, but of course it needs to be defined.

Interesting example about gifted homeschooling. Serving the community and being mindful of their interests, for sure, can make or break a community.

Thank you for replying!

I agree that any community of smart people with a common interest will have some hackers, but I would think that the goal of that community is to master the common interest, and not "hacking" itself. For example, I assume that the goal of a community based on road bicycles would be to become extremely knowledgeable and handy with those road bikes, and not necessarily to become proficient in the versatile art of "hacking."

I think you bring up a great point though! Clearly identifying the common interest around which a community is built is a prerequisite to getting the smart, motivated people to work hard to make the community successful.

Thanks!

Thank you all SO much.

maxbrown and minalecs, you make some great design points. jayzee, really good insight into the tribal behavior. And nice physics reference.

I'm going to let it all sink in today (during my day job), and this weekend will be full of some 'putin and 'grammin.

That's a really good point.

I suppose my initial idea was to do something that gave people the feeling of belonging to a team, which I implemented through competitions, and then I felt the need to reward winners of the competition somehow.

Do you (or anyone) have any ideas for socially meaningful rewards for participation? I feel like I see badges all over the place nowadays, so that seems kind of overused...