
Show HN: Skuuddle – Arrange face-to-face interactions with online acquaintances - suhas_oodi
http://www.skuuddle.com/getapp.php
======
gregdoesit
When the description of an app starts like "XXX changes the way you meet new
people. XXX is so much more than a social app." then I feel I've come across
yet another app where the developers watched The Social Network and
recreated... Facebook / Google+ / Bebo / Path / {add an existing social
network} _?

_ but adding extra stuff that is missing from these social networks.

Engineering wise I'm sure it's a fun challenge to build something like this,
but product wise I can't see how this will get traction.

My advice would be to target a niche group (either geographically or interest
wise) if you are going down the social app route. It's a chicken & egg problem
getting a community that makes using an app worthwhile.

PS: I wanted to try the app, but the first line of the privacy policy scared
me off: "You will not provide any false personal information on the App, or
create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission."

Damn right I won't give real data to test run an app I have no reason to
trust. Since on the registration screen the only thing to read is the privacy
policy, which does an excellent job intimidating me as a person - I guess so
much for the test run.

~~~
jdmichal
To reinforce your point, even Facebook followed that exact strategy by
starting exclusively in ivy league schools. Then expanding to all colleges.
Then opening the gates to everyone.

~~~
degenerate
The day it opened to the world was the day it died

~~~
Karunamon
Many a startup wishes it could "die" in the way Facebook did :)

------
Spoygg
Try to make lingo a bit simpler, I think most people won't get through all the
complicated explanations:

> Catching up with Facebook friends has never been this easy or straight
> forward before.

This does not mean anything to me, does not deserve main spot.

> Download the app to see what all the fuss is about

Maybe go with "Download the app and start meeting friends for real", emphasize
what is it actually about.

> Life's too short to sit around at home

This should be at the top of the page

> Skuuddle helps you be the most socially proactive version of yourself.

I can imagine people with blank expressions when they read this. I would re-
word that to "Go out and meet people, a lot", ok, maybe not that simple, but
you get what I mean.

> Skuuddle helps you turn your acquaintances into friends.

"Skuuddle helps you turn your virtual friends into real ones."

And so on.

~~~
nannal
It's like tinder minus the fucking, got it.

Maybe that should be their tag line.

------
jblok
Any app that tries to make me talk to strangers is an instant no from me. I
can do that quite easily without an app and I choose not to, daily.

~~~
Raed667
This is not the case for many people. There are people that need this
"catalyst".

This can happen when you move to a new town/country. Or when you're just not
socially weired to be open to strangers with easiness.

~~~
notheguyouthink
I mean, an app like this does have value imo. Maybe not _this one_ , but
_like_ this. Ie, i'd love to meet other people trying to meet other people,
but like online dating, i want the right grouping.

I don't want friends with no common interests. Right there that means going to
a bar and making a friend is not likely to fit my profile desire. I could go
to a common interest ground, like a sports bar or gaming center, but then i'm
with a group of people who are not all looking for friends/etc.

I think there's room in this scape for most people. A dating site for friends.
However i'm not sure what good features or UX is needed to wrap this concept
in.

~~~
suhas_oodi
The app collates your phonebook/Facebook contacts and you can create your own
groups! You can create groups for people who are good friends, besties or
acquaintances. So when you're making a plan to do something, you can send out
an invite to whichever group you choose. At that point, invites are sent out
randomly (you can also choose instead to handpick who you invite) to those in
that group. It's kind of like social potluck. Let serendipity choose who you
end up hanging out with.

------
pawelwentpawel
Congrats on your launch, nice website and getting to the first page of HN!
Some feedback :

1\. It took me a moment to figure out what the app actually does. As some
other posters suggested, the name doesn't sound very straightforward.

2\. I think it's an idea that could be explained very nicely in a video. Happy
people, happy places. Everybody using the app.

3\. Can somebody explain me (this is not the first time I see it) why so often
the download buttons are "download on the app store" and then "get it on
google play"? Why a different verb? Is there any implicit reasoning behind it?

~~~
dyladan
I assume it has to do with the official branding of both Google Play and the
Apple App Store. The official button images that they've approved use the
verbs 'get' and 'play' respectively, and I believe it is probably against
their TOS to use non-approved graphics/text/branding for download buttons.

~~~
suhas_oodi
Yep, that's exactly what it is.

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HipstaJules
I don't understand what is this from your homepage

~~~
suhas_oodi
Skuuddle is an app that aims to expand your active social circle. The app does
it by mining your phonebook/Facebook contacts. You can categorize people into
groups depending on how well you know them.

When you're making a plan to do something (throw a party, go see a movie or
gig, for example), you can send out an invite to whichever group you choose.
At that point, invites are sent out randomly (you can also choose instead to
handpick who you invite) to those in that group. It's kind of like social
potluck. Let serendipity choose who you end up hanging out with.

------
kbart
_" Skuuddle helps you be the most socially proactive version of yourself."_

Um, what? Also, at least provide some real use screenshots/videos, I'm not
going to download some random app and give it permissions to my contact list,
location etc. just to check it out. I didn't try this app, but if you want to
get any traction (especially in such competitive market as socializing), make
a better and more informative landing page. Flyer like product pages only work
if you are an already well established brand.

------
slantaclaus
Three points possibly worth considering: 1.) The app should probably have a
web interface, trying to get someone to download the app before they sign up
may prove difficult. 2.) Social networking is a crowded space, does this one
have some kind of angle, some "reason for existing"? 3.) Not sure about the
name...Skuudle? What does it mean? This is my most tentative point, there is
after all a popular dating site called zoosk.

~~~
suhas_oodi
Thanks for providing your feedback.

\- We're using Facebook as the conduit to sign up for the app, and we're
hoping that encourages user.

\- Our "angle", is social potluck. First, the user categorizes their contacts
in groups depending on how well the know them (besties, pals, acquaintances
and so on). Then, the user can send an event invite (can be public or private)
to one or more groups of contacts. At that point, the invites are sent out to
a random set of people in that group and the first ones to accept get to
attend the invite.

My making it social potluck, the app makes it more likely that you'll meet up
with contacts you might not otherwise make the effort to meet, or might find
it a bit too forward to invite.

\- we're going to a name that would stick in the mind. something that would be
fun to say as well...

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m82labs
This feels like what Meetup does. What makes this app different?

~~~
suhas_oodi
The difference is that, the app enables to manage events, whether public or
private. You can use it to organize a party, and find events in your city and
send out invites to random subset of your contacts. Kind of a social potluck

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iliaznk
Kudos for not messing with scrolling on you landing page!

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pmontra
In a nutshell, an app that shows you which of your contacts happen to pass by
close to you or viceversa, so you can socialize in person with them. Is that
correct?

~~~
johnlbevan2
I don't think so... Based on
[http://www.skuuddle.com/#features](http://www.skuuddle.com/#features) I'd
say:

    
    
      - Lets you find people who aren't contacts who happen to pass close by you.
      - Lets you organise events with open invites.
      - Lets you discover nearby events.

~~~
pmontra
You're right and I'm right too. I tapped the link on my phone and went to
Google Play. The description there is different and it reads

> Skuuddle is a powerful tool that mines your existing phonebook contacts,
> Facebook friends, and even acquaintances to expand your active social group.

That seems at odds with the features on the desktop site which I checked right
now.

------
lessclue
The name could definitely be better. I have to scroll down to the bottom of
the page to figure out what the app actually does. A one or two line
explanation in the landing area would be great.

------
mrmondo
Hey congrats on launching your project, regardless of feedback and however it
goes you should be proud of the work you and those around you put in, don't
forget to reward yourself and reflect on the experience.

\---

Feedback, now, it is negative, but please don't take it personally, it's
purely intended as an honest, transparent brain dump from when I landed on the
page.

1\. Rather than telling people something as you see it in the main paragraph -
tell them WHY this product is needed in your minds and WHY you made it, I
don't think many people are going to read that paragraph to find out why the
app exists and why it might be important or valuable to their lives.

2\. The front page is very noisey, I didn't know where to look and it felt
'too bright', I don't know why but when I saw the bright baby blue it made me
think of either something disposable or something to do with babies / baby
care (no idea why!), so the blue makes me think of immaturity for some reason
and the yellow makes me think of danger or healthcare for some reason (again,
I don't know why healthcare, it's just what came to mind so I thought I'd
mention it).

3\. Source code - where is it? If it's not open source why? and if it uses
some open source components what are they?

4\. Privacy / Security information, independent audits or the source code
would be useful to instil trust. What data do you store / share / ask for /
share with, how and where is it stored and handled (or classified) and why.

5\. 'The possibilities are endless' \- sounds like lorem ipsum title, from
what it looks like the possibilities are actually very limited and that might
be fine but saying that this product gives or opens you to endless
possibilities, as a side node, I can't see the reason to clutter the page with
# tab-like titles that scroll you down just a few lines as the landing page
isn't that long, on my desktop for example it's not even 1 full scrollbar from
top to bottom.

6\. Facebook is dying and quickly, why not integrate with other platforms or
do something decentralised / network neutral? When I think of Facebook in
2017, I think of out-of-touch social meetup groups, privacy concerns, a
different kind of blue (yes as in the colour), siloed culture and social
bubbles. I just don't see it as relevant and I watch as more and more people
say similar things every few months.

6\. Can you export your 'data' at any time? and if so to what formats / where
can I sync it to?

7\. Silly, petty thing that doesn't _actually_ matter but your site / app just
launched but the page says copyright 2016, I know it's silly but it caught my
eye for some reason.

Again, _please_ take this just as constructive criticism, I'm probably not
your target audience, I just wanted to give honest feedback and it shouldn't
put you off want to improve / change the product, create new products dream of
ideas or down right disagree with me - that's all fine and I really hope you
keep whatever passion and ambitions you have rolling forward.

About me as some random internet person that saw the site and brain dumped for
you: Male, early 30s, works in IT engineering (ops platform delivery in a very
devops like culture), I have 330 apps installed on my iPhone 7+, I use macOS
on my work desktop and laptop as well as my home desktop, I have a couple of
Linux (Fedora) laptops / handhelds and I also have an Oneplus 3 Android phone
just for playing with. Location is Melbourne, Australia, Personality is driven
leader and enabler, overly outspoken (as you can tell), know what I don't know
(which is a lot) and this is now sounding like a dating profile!

Hope that helps in some weird way!

-Sam.

~~~
immigrantsheep
Why would they provide the source code and export abilities? Do you get access
to the source code of facebook, twitter, gmail...? What exactly would you be
exporting or syncing if it uses contacts that are already in your address book
or friends list?

~~~
mrmondo
if by people you mean me as the person evaluating the site and looking for
information about the production, I'd want to see the source code to give it a
once over to see how / where my data was being handled and if it was a
sensible choice to recommend to friends or relatives.

No I don't get the source code for all of Facebook, although they do open
source a number of projects, they're widely known or at least suspected of
misuse of peoples information and / or meta data and because you can't see the
source it's a good reason not to use the platform, and I for one no longer do.

Twitter and google are the same story, they open source many projects and
services that run and monitor their platforms, those are trustworthy and it
shows an investment in society in general, the bits we can't see however are
the parts of I am wary of.

I personally would like to export point-in-time state of contacts before /
after sync A) in case anything wrong B) for my own personal trending /
information over time

------
Cozumel
> Catching up with Facebook friends has never been this easy or straight
> forward before.

Isn't that what Facebooks for?

------
daddykotex
Not available in your country :(

Canada

~~~
Freak_NL
Also no web application at launch in 2017? It's a bit on the exclusive side.

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brilliantcode
> not available in your country.

~~~
suhas_oodi
Where are you located?

~~~
brilliantcode
canada

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dharma1
Not available in my country (UK)

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deepuj
Not available in the US yet?

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yazbo_mcclure
If you had two phones one for farming and one for business this would be good
for meeting up

