

Ask HN: How do sites obtain their initial content? - acconrad

This has perplexed me for some time. Whether its Wikipedia or Yelp, I'm always late enough to the game that when I arrive for the first time, there's already a wealth of content. But they had to start somewhere...so how does a company build up its initial data set so it can properly and adequately serve even its first users with useful content? What's a good rule of thumb for knowing how much content you need for a minimum viable product? Say if you were to start Yelp over from scratch...how many reviews would you have started with in San Francisco before you opened it for its very first users?
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wturner
"What's a good rule of thumb for knowing how much content you need for a
minimum viable product?"

Analytics can tell you if people are showing up.

From a strictly guerrilla perspective just add your own like a religious
fanatic. Everyday just devote X number of hours...and treat it as important as
the tech development itself.

Other than that,you have to realize a lot of successful companies are started
by founders (serendipitously) branching off of prior situations that are
uniquely specific to them. There is a good tech nation episode where they talk
about how the "guy in the garage" narrative of many big companies (that I will
leave unnamed) are largely a myth - these people all had connections and
worked in places that allowed for them to blossom ideas in environments that
were conducive to their success. This isn't to suggest that being a guerrilla,
an engineer or idea man isn't part of it, of course it is, just that there is
more involved on a case-by-case basis.

So "Yelp" may have had any number of things to get the ball rolling that is
under the radar.

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byoung2
If the site has user-generated content, you should open it to users from the
very beginning. The early adopters will get a certain satisfaction out of
nabbing those early reviews. You'll likely have to prime the pump with some
paid writers in the beginning, until the site gains popularity.

