
JustHackIt: It’s Like a Dating Site For Hackers - makimaki
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/20/justhackit-its-like-a-dating-site-for-hackers/
======
13ren
You've struck a chord: there _is_ a problem to be solved.

But your solution is imperfect.

This is the ideal situation! If your solution was perfect, someone could just
copy it as is. But if you need to keep improving it, building it, it becomes
harder to copy, and you gain a deeper understanding of the problem (and
solution). This is valuable. Any copier-guy is playing catch up - and people
usually aren't all that keen on that guy. The danger is if you perfect it!
Because then you are standing still, with no where to go, and it's inevitable
that others will catch up. The copier guy is now just as good as you (perhaps
better on other factors that you don't care about, but some users do...).

The ideal problem is one that can't be solved, like some human need that
technology can't actually perfectly address. You then have an endless runway
to perfect it. With your headstart, deeper understanding of problem &
solutions (and most importantly) all the market benefits of being The Guy
(feedback on what works, complaints on what doesn't, statistics on same, more
users finding more bugs, and let's not forget encouragement and admiration!
Very motivating), you have the _best_ chance of keeping that headstart
forever.

Well, that's my analysis of competitive advantage, anyway. :-) But I wonder if
you're better off just making something cool that "people want", and not
sparing an moment's thought for the competition...

------
brm
Erik from TechCrunch doesn't have to do work anymore, he just reads hacker
news :)

~~~
ichverstehe
It's about time to ban everything from TC. I think I remember a Greasemonkey
script for it, no? What about us Safari users? Please.

~~~
tstegart
Oh don't turn this into a TC hating thread. Someone's site just got a lot of
press. Be happy for them. :)

~~~
brm
Wasn't hating TC just making a comment on the quick turnaround

------
jrockway
_Like_ a dating site for hackers? Just when I had gotten my hopes up...

------
Tichy
Just curious: it seems JustHackIt was posted first here on HN and later on on
TC? So how come they write about it, as I thought they were rather strict
about only writing about "first hand news"?

~~~
maryrosecook
My understanding is that both this site's community and the TechCrunch writers
view HN as a geek ghetto. Thus, putting your site up here for feedback isn't
really announcing or launching it. It's more akin to demoing to friends and
family to get feedback.

------
13ren
This made me look at <http://slinkset.com> (which its "powered by"), for
creating "social news sites" in the HN/reddit style. I think it's well-known
here (but not to me).

It's amazing, and enables you to try out a cool idea (like JustHackIt) really
quickly. I created a site in about 10-15mins (most of the time was because I
had trouble uploading a photo as the "logo").

------
tlrobinson
This is good news for Slinkset. When the _users_ of your app can get on
TechCrunch, you must be doing something right.

------
tstegart
Hey, congratulations on the write-up. That was quick :)

~~~
breck
Thanks! Woke up to see that. Pretty awesome! I totally got lucky.

Already got over 100 members and 4,000 uniques. Anyone have any ideas how to
keep it going/improve it?

~~~
j2d2
From what I can tell with recent times, if you make your site collapse
repeatedly in a few months, TC will cover it again and you'll get more press
coverage. Be sure to have the code working so you can _fix the issue_ by
releasing the existing fixes and blammo. You're back on top with lots of
press!

Perhaps that's overly cynical.

You're already doing well. Follow your gut and blog the experience as much as
you can. This worked well for balsamic.

~~~
abstractwater
Wait... you're suggesting a planned collapse of your own site just to get more
press?? It's not cynical, it's non-sensical. This kind of thinking is poison
IMO. Just focus on your product and make it perfect and scalable.

------
vegashacker
"...a site aimed at developers that launched last night."

I first read this as, "It's for people who launched their software the night
before." Interesting choice of demographic.

------
stcredzero
Now, if we follow the covert purpose pattern of Redux, we need a hacking site
for dating.

------
callmeed
Great use of slinkset ... funny how TC gave SS a weak review but then
spotlighted one of their users.

~~~
netcan
True. They did come down on Slinkset with a sort of :

"You don't need a push button news site. Installing your own is easy enough."

    
    
       >"So is Slinkset really necessary?'

------
alaskamiller
I miss hackermatcher.

------
sabat
Why are people so down on TC? I don't really get it; maybe I'm missing
something.

