
How does the unconnected get buzz for their startup? - master54

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davidw
"The Unconnected", starring Clint Eastwood as an aging entrepreneur who
decides to go for that last startup, just for the money. At first he runs into
trouble, with both sherrif paul graham and deputy techcrunch casting a cold
glance as he rides into town...

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webwright
I don't buy this. I've gotten on TechCrunch twice (with related splash on Digg
and Del.icio.us), most recently a month ago with <http://www.rescuetime.com>
\- which was (at the time) just a series of screenshots and a beta sign up
form (i.e. pure vaporware, just about). Neither time did I solicit coverage.

The first time I got on TechCrunch, I was living in Anchorage, Alaska.

The trick is:

1) Build something that is unique (or at least has a twist). No one wants to
talk about yet another restaurant review site.

2) Build something controversial (or at least something that is interesting to
talk about). I met a guy in Seattle who is trying to build (I kid you not) a
social network for car insurance customers...zzzzzzzzzz

3) Talk about what you've built in a clear, compelling, and sticky manner. Try
to understand the audience that you're speaking to and communicate it in a way
that speaks to THEM. Most hackers suck at this. It requires a combination of
information design and copy-writing.

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davidw
Buy what? I was just feeling humorous... I didn't have a point. I just liked
the sound of "The Unconnected" and how it reminded me of the Clint Eastwood
movie title "The Unforgiven", which I've never seen.

Good advice in any case!

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jaggederest
Why do you care about buzz? If you build it, they will come.

Once it's built, it's not 'buzz', it's marketing. Hire suits for that.

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jsjenkins168
You can try to get on TechCrunch:

[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1331688095520243666&hl;=en](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1331688095520243666&hl=en)

Good luck though, if you're not being referred from someone "in the know" you
probably wont get covered. But never hurts to try.

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dean
You could try calling up Michael Arrington and crying on the phone.
<http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/22/silicon-valley-could-use-a-downturn-
right-about-now/>

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orlick
Have a co-founder who is as passionate about communicating ideas to people as
you are about hacking code.

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crxnamja
I know a fair amount of people in the valley if you need to meet anyone,
okdork.com

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master54
It seems that the ones getting the most buzz are those who are the best
connected, even if your product is better than theirs. In this case, what is
the best way to strike back?

(assuming trying to network yourself into his level is futile)

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amichail
I've set up this blog for this purpose:

<http://web2loop.blogspot.com/>

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master54
i don't see how that would help you get buzz. maybe a sneeze but definitely no
buzz

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amichail
The blog isn't about launches, but rather updates. Moreover, any reasonable
submission would be accepted.

So it gives you a way to promote your startup every week provided that you
have some update to announce every week.

