

Ask HN: What drives comments on "Show HN" threads? - calgaryeng

Hi there,<p>I've mostly (/completely) been a lurker on this site.  I posted a Show HN the other day for my app, and I only got one comment (it was very useful though).<p>I've looked at other Show HN's that make it to the 1st or 2nd page, and couldn't discern any noticiable difference between theirs and mine.<p>Just looking for some advice as to what works if you want input from the HN community.<p>Thanks!
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eli
Some of it is probably just random luck. Stories that don't make it to the
first page don't get many comments, and there are way too many new posts for
them all to make the front page.

But I think that the fact that your site is about retirement planning (a
decidedly unsexy topic -- no offense!) probably also plays a role.

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calgaryeng
LOL! I do understand that my site topic is "decidedly unsexy" (maybe that
should be my tagline!).

Maybe I can create a landing page talking about Retirement Planning meets
Bigdata/NoSQL and I'll make it up there :)

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shanelja
I agree, at the moment, HN is being dominated by Apple versus Samsung, a large
amount of c and c++ and other general tech news.

Unfortunately for you I come here almost exclusively for tech news, so if I
see something unrelated to technology, I tend to glance right past it. I think
it is just a case of targeting the wrong audience in a way, or a mostly
unsuited audience, in any case.

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logn
So right now HN has Main, New, and Ask. I'd like to see a top-level "Show". I
think that would help us all a lot. I've experienced the same thing.

Sometimes I'm in the mood to read tech articles so I visit the main page.
Sometimes I like freeform discussions so I visit Ask. And if I were ever in
the mood to review people's sites I'd certainly like a top-level menu button.

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sebg
Just as a note - it also helps if you put your contact email or information on
your profile. That way people can reach out to you as well if they have
questions or thoughts about what you are doing.

ps. - I went back and found your post and left you my thoughts. Good luck!

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Sharma
Also I feel sometimes posting a link to a blog with some interesting story and
features of your site can help too.But as eli said it is mostly luck!

