

Show HN: Side project this weekend? Start a Labradoc project log to keep track. - follower
http://www.labradoc.com/

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charliepark
This looks really good, and I hope a number of users sign up and try it out.
One issue that you might think about addressing: I imagine a lot of developers
(at least, the ones on HN) would see this and think "That sounds like a good
idea ... but why would I use this service when I could hack something up on my
own and use it?"

That is, you might want to tell developers why they should use Labradoc and
not some home-grown solution.

You might use the answer the Dropbox guys used when asked why they were
entering a saturated market, and they asked back: How many of those solutions
do you actually use?

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sixtofour
My immediate thought was "Why wouldn't I use Google Docs?"

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follower
That's a reasonable question to ask.

There's a number of generic tools you could use for keeping a project log
(Google Docs, a blog, wiki, text file) but at the moment the primary reason to
use Labradoc is it focused on making project logs easy.

Small features like automatic date tracking for entries, a clutter-free
interface and simple formatting via Markdown help reduce the overhead of
keeping a project log. This in turn helps increase the likelihood you'll keep
the log up to date. Which makes the log more useful to you and others.

If you do use Google Docs for keeping a project log I'd certainly value
feedback on what it provides for you in this instance.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

~~~
sixtofour
Google docs gives me ubiquitous availability, various file formats (which is a
plus or a minus) and not much else. Your response includes good reasons for
using your product.

~~~
follower
Thanks for taking the time to reply again, I hope you'll give Labradoc a try.

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follower
For a number of years I've kept project logs (or "lab notebooks") for the
various projects I have in progress. I've found project logs really great for
reducing the time getting up to speed when switching between projects.

I've frequently recommended the habit to other developers.

Project logs are a form of documentation that really helps "future me".
Because I write entries as I go, the overheard for any entry is really low so
that encourages me to write more.

An added bonus, the notes I take along the way are accessible to others and
they can find the way I worked around a bug or solved an error message. Also,
there's always many more "in progress" projects that never make it to a site
like Instructables but a project log can help others reproduce the work.

When I was unable to write project logs for a while I really missed it so I
started a project to make writing them easier. And then I thought, hey, why
not make it available to other people too.

So, thanks to HN's inspiration I recently launched Labradoc.com to provide
"project logs to help you...and everyone else".

It fits the definition of an EMVP (embarrassingly minimal viable product) but
I hear that's the done thing. :)

While I'm interested in feedback about Labradoc in its current state I'm also
keen just to get people trying it out.

Keeping a project log is really beneficial, so whether you use a text file,
blog, personal wiki or Labradoc I highly recommend you give it a try.

Thanks for your time!

