
My children’s book on technology raised 100k within 24 hours – here’s how - kp02
http://lindaliukas.tumblr.com/post/77372344314/my-childrens-book-on-technology-raised-100k-within-24
======
pwthornton
I backed the project, and think it will make a great gift for my nephew. It's
something he can grow into, where he can read the book part with his parents
right now, and then start doing the problems as he gets older.

I think this project did well for a few key reasons:

1) STEM, STEM, STEM and code, code, code. The timing is right. Look at all the
coverage this got in big mainstream media publications. Here is a project to
help your child get into programming at a young age. 2) There is a need for
introducing programming to children in an accessible way. There is some stuff
on the market, but not that much, and this might be the first centered around
a colorful children's book. I also think this is more approachable for parents
too. A cold, clinical textbook would scare off many parents. 3) Linda is
attractive, bubbly and non-American (on a heavily American site). This never
hurts with crowdfunding. The fact that she is female in a heavy male-dominated
space helps too. I can't fault her at all for this, and why not harness it?

I hope it turns out well and that this is just the beginning for Linda and her
books. I'm excited to read it with my future child.

~~~
tomp
How about

4) Linda is a co-founder of Rails Girls.

? Free publicity always helps. I'm not sure how Rails Girls is popular in the
US, but considering we have it in Slovenia, I'd say it's pretty successful.

~~~
pwthornton
Yes, I would agree that should be a fourth point. Another point along those
lines is her work with Code Academy and all of her connections there.

------
yeukhon
I like the idea and I backed it. Book for kids can be as simple as picture
books. Parents and mentors are the one supposed to help them to learn the hard
stuff.

But I also want to say that I have some feedback for the video. I just thought
there was too much "smiles". I don't know how to put it: but it's strange and
weird to see someone posting a video of her smiling like literally every few
seconds, throwing things every minute or so. A bit formal will be great.

There was too many moving. Scenes were constantly changing while the speech
was on-going. It was hard to concentrate, pay attention to the dialogue and
the animation at the same time. The main point wasn't delivered/pitched to me
right away. I wasn't too sure what exactly would go into the book and how
parents/mentors can help guide the kids in general from the video.
Essentially, an ad that changes scene every 1 second is going to hurt viewers.

Here is another project (which I backed too), I am not trying to promote it
(but putting out here is guilty of promoting it). Check wongfuproduction movie
fundraising video on Youtube. That was a lot easier to grasp.

Just my 3 cents. Good luck.

~~~
tomek_zemla
I suspect that the goal was to show the author's personality. The word that
comes to mind is playful. This is a book for 5 to 7 year olds. You want it to
be playful to capture children's attention and imagination. Judging from
number of sexist comments around this was misinterpreted in number of wrong
ways. Fortunately, as the campaign numbers proved there are many people who
believe in the presented idea and in Linda being able to deliver a great book
that will inspire kids to learn even more about the technology!

~~~
justathrow2k
"The word that comes to mind is playful. This is a book for 5 to 7 year olds.
You want it to be playful to capture children's attention and imagination."

To play Devils Advocate, the video was not intended for children. Unless even
the kids in the Bay have their hands on fat stacks of cash.

------
jonesetc
> Start a blog where you share progress on your project. This will hold you
> accountable and let people know what you’re working on.

For a long time I wrote off the idea of having a blog because it seemed vain.
I don't usually have any great ideas that anyone else needs to know about, and
my trials of learning new things are just the same as everyone else's.
However, over the past few months I've realized that I was dead wrong.
Watching a few good series of blogs like [1] and [2] has shown me that even if
you don't have anything world shattering it is still great as a means to make
learning more important. After all, you can't let down your readers, can you?

[1] [http://jvns.ca/blog/2013/09/26/hacker-school-day-4-c-unit-
te...](http://jvns.ca/blog/2013/09/26/hacker-school-day-4-c-unit-testing/)

[2] [http://www.jeffknupp.com/](http://www.jeffknupp.com/)

~~~
tjr
How do you think the chronological, little-bit-at-a-time blog format compares
to longer articles, or books?

I've found individual blog posts, linked to from sites like HN or found in web
searches, to be greatly helpful, but often when I go to a blog like one of
those that you shared here, and try to start reading it from the top, it feels
disorganized; the content isn't presented in any ordering that necessarily
makes good pedagogical sense.

~~~
wpietri
When blogs first started getting popular, I thought, "Man, chronological
organization is the dumbest possible structure. Somebody will soon come up
with something better." And so I never started a blog. Now I just feel dumb
for waiting.

The best solutions I've seen for this are a) organized post series (e.g., [1])
and posts that aggregate a bunch of things previously written (e.g. [2]). I'd
like to see people take that further, so if people have other examples of
interesting approaches, I'd love it if they could reply with them.

I will say that editorial work is hard. As I've experimented with writing a
book, it's clear to me that whatever I think the plan is up front, it's going
to change, and that refactoring the structure as I go is expensive. It's
cheaper to do it in large batches. So I think most blogs will just always suck
in this regard. I suspect the future is in collaboration, where the author and
blog readers can collectively build and maintain the table of contents and
intro material. That would mirror the writer/editor collaboration that goes
into books.

[1] [http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/what-makes-
the-u...](http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/what-makes-the-us-
health-care-system-so-expensive-introduction/) [2] This is only an ok-ish
example, but it's the only one I could think of:
[http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2014/02/04/how-to-
get-p...](http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2014/02/04/how-to-get-
published/)

------
nonrecursive
This is really inspiring! I had no idea that Linda co-founded Rails Girls, and
for some reason I had formed the impression that she was an illustrator before
becoming a programmer. I didn't know that she had learned to draw so that she
could create the book.

This advice is golden, and it's pretty cool to see such joy, enthusiasm, and
generosity rewarded.

~~~
nonrecursive
Makes me think that maybe I could write the code equivalent of "Scary Stories
to Tell in the Dark" using Java

~~~
MartinCron
The method call was coming from... _inside the method!_

~~~
kaivi
_–Then who was call?_

------
goldenkey
I'm pretty sure the only reason this is getting so much funding is because the
majority of computer science folk are horny men who are glossing over the
dreamhouse attire / makeup / presentation put on in the video. "Hi I'm little
Ruby and I wear polka-dots and pink lipstick, let me be your fantasy" That
said, I did fund it, because I'm a horny coder and Linda is very sexy.

~~~
MartinCron
I won't even try to convince you not to be such a terrible sexist monster, but
I will politely request that you:

1) Keep that shit to yourself

2) Don't attribute your perverse motives to others

~~~
sergiotapia
I personally know 3 other people who contributed for the exact same reason.
Not friends, but people I know personally.

~~~
king_jester
I would distance myself from people who are that misogynist.

~~~
sergiotapia
How is that a misogynist view though? Men aren't allowed to see women as
attractive in the USA?

~~~
MartinCron
There is a huge difference between finding someone attractive and reducing
them to nothing more than a sex object. Funding this because you're horny is
disrespectful to everyone.

~~~
ebfe
Imagine for a second that Lebron James were to create a Kickstarter for a
cookbook he wanted to make, which was funded to the tune of $100,000.
Obviously, much of this money would come from people who didn't _really_ care
about the superstar's take on the perfect omelette, but valued his athleticism
enough that they wanted to support him in other endeavors. Is this reduction
of James to nothing more than his basketball skills equally problematic? If
not, what do you see as the difference that makes this latter example of
objectification ok?

~~~
MartinCron
What a terrible analogy. It's not like Linda Liukas is a pin-up model trying
to trade on her sexuality. She's an educator and illustrator who is trying to
do something great.

Please, stop being so damn creepy and/or supporting people who are so damn
creepy. This community doesn't have to be such a hostile place.

~~~
selmnoo
> It's not like Linda Liukas is a pin-up model trying to trade on her
> sexuality.

So, I get what you're trying to say, but this is a tough one. Because, Linda
_did_ play up as a flirtatious girly girl in the promo video. Seriously, just
watch the video: [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lindaliukas/hello-
ruby](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lindaliukas/hello-ruby) \- and
imagine if it was a man doing all of those things. Very strange, right? She's
not behaving like a mature adult, she's got her shoes on the sofa... she's
sitting in a clearly uncomfortable way... and I have to sit through a video in
which I have to watch her fix her cute shoes? Why? Why not feature some _kids_
in a promo video doing kiddy things, if she was going for the kiddy vibe? The
flirtatious vibe that she instead chose to force in that video was very
unnecessary in my opinion. So, paradoxically, it's Linda that's reducing women
to sexual objects if she feels she has to behave in that way in order to sell
up some books.

~~~
MartinCron
If you think that is flirtatious and sexualized, you have some serious issues.
That video is whimsical and a bit over-produced, but it evokes play, not
foreplay.

Does someone need to be in a burqa and talk in a monotone to keep the creeps
from being creepy? How narrow a range of expression do you want for women
before you start to make their objectification their fault?

~~~
selmnoo
Thought experiment: you see a man, same age as Linda, doing all the things
Linda is doing (squinting eyes, and then abruptly opening them and doing an
affected laugh, fixing clothes, fixing cute socks, sitting on a sofa with legs
bent and shoes sitting alongside, jumping up and down on the couch, etc.),
what do you think of him?

If you're not picking up on the flirtatious undertones, if you have no problem
with that kind of unprofessional presentation, it's not me who has some
serious issues, it's you.

Also, I'd rather have my kids focus less on trying hard with clothes and looks
and more on the more substantive things in life. The focus in that video
simply should not have been on Linda and her awesome persona. But it was. I
wish I didn't have to sit through Linda fixing her shoe-socks, but it was in
the video, I watched it. It was peculiar.

~~~
detay
Can't agree more. If people can't see what you're talking about, they're
probably vulnerable to it. They're buying what that manipulative effort sells.

I totally find her gestures and the shots pretentious. I believe that's a part
of her sales pitch but it didn't have to be, because the book idea is already
good enough to sell.

~~~
king_jester
Finding this video pretentious is one thing, but being upset at the video
because you have converted a person into a sex object based on really sexist
notions about play and child-like behaviors is a red flag. We have seem
multiple commenter take that point of view on the video.

------
0xdeadbeefbabe
Harold and the purple crayon is a great book that introduces programming
concepts, but it doesn't beat you over the head with any computer lingo.

This book is a neat idea and the illustrations look cool, but here is one
concern: Why name the main character Ruby? Good kids books are timeless and
ruby the programming language is not, and it dates the book too. Why associate
any programming language in particular with programming concepts like
sequences or sets? That seems like a message from "learn to code" school. So
does DRY to a lesser extent.

~~~
mustardhamsters
I'd never thought of Harold and the Purple Crayon as related to programming.
How is that? In perhaps the broadest sense the crayon gives him the power and
freedom to create in the same way software might, but that's a pretty big
leap.

~~~
0xdeadbeefbabe
Okay, I hope this convinces you it's a leap instead of a pretty big leap:

He lives in a seemingly boring world, but it isn't boring after all. It may
not even be a world after all. He invents solutions using the contrived rules
i.e. using a purple crayon. Some of the solutions become problems. For example
the dragon scares him and makes his hand shake, so he falls into the water,
but he comes up thinking fast and makes a sailboat.

Both these lines remind me of computers or programming:

Nine identical pieces of pie that Harold likes best.

A forest with just one tree in it.

Also word play is important in programming and in HATPK.

Lots of things are more like programming than things obviously designated that
way such as programming languages. In Hoare's communicating sequential
processes he goes on and on about vending machines for example.

------
mu_killnine
I backed this project and loved how the author presented per project. I was
able to identify with her and, more surprisingly, my non-technical spouse and
family were also able to identify with her. I am excited to see where the
story of Ruby goes for both my young daughter and myself.

~~~
fastball
I was about to say...

It really helps your sales pitch for a whimsical and fun book when you are
attractive and have a cute smile that seems full of joy.

------
kaivi
Would really like to see a couple of starting pages from this book. I hope she
has an idea about how to deliver this stuff to children: coding by itself is
pointless for somebody who does not even comprehend the manifold of
applications it can solve. Video games are fun, because they exploit the basic
survival instinct within us. With programming, there is no low hanging fruit
to reach for a child, as the mental link between writing code and receiving a
reward is build by experience, which minors lack.

I find it hard to explain the fundraising which went way over the goal,
without including gender into equation. Anyway – a pink-colored children's
book about tech stuff, written by girls, sounds comforting in every way.

------
SyncTheory13
I've been watching this project since it was first posted on HN, getting giddy
over the thought of it. I love the execution in how this book will teach kids
about programming. I also love that the main character is a girl and that the
whole book is cutesy.

I plan on using this both for my own enjoyment, and sharing it with a soon-to-
be five year old boy who will be absolutely in love with the little
animal/Android characters.

I'm toward the end of a rough patch financially, and usually pass up
supporting projects on Kickstarter for this reason... But I couldn't resist,
and ordered the double package.

Congratulations on the extreme success, Linda! I hope you find the process
enjoyable enough to continue the series for years to come. I also hope the app
or even a little indie game will be possible to create in the future (I
realize it won't reach the $500k goal.)

As a final note - I just thought of the possibilities of this being
implemented in a classroom!

~~~
MartinCron
_I just thought of the possibilities of this being implemented in a
classroom!_

Years ago, I was a guest at my son's kindergarten's career day and I showed
the kids how I could move around a cartoon mouse with Scratch. I'm not a great
presenter or teacher, but the entire class, boys and girls, was completely
engaged. They were tossing out suggestions and laughing and I'm convinced they
"got" the basics. It was incredibly rewarding.

------
lifeisstillgood
It took me a while to work this out - but I think its a great and brave
choice.

Yes, totally agree software is "literacy 2.0". And yes, of course, we need
pre-school books on software. I had weird books teaching me BASIC without
putting it into context - and context not ability has been where I have missed
opportunities or regreted actions.

So I applaud Linda for her insights, hope her world view is one I want my
daughter to take into the 21 C, and look forward to seeing my copy at the end
of the year.

~~~
thearn4
To be honest, I'd focus less on it being about learning how to code, and more
about deductive problem solving skills and numeracy in general. If you have a
pretty good foundation there, picking up a particular programming language
isn't problematic. I think most people who stumble in basic programming have
trouble because of a more fundamental deficiency than "I never learned to code
in grade school".

~~~
acdha
Thank you for posting this – I was thinking the exact same thing. The real,
huge win for kids is thinking about how to decompose a problem into easier,
repeatable steps and that's of benefit in many fields even if you never write
a line of code.

------
hawkharris
I think the children would prefer learning JavaScript: "No class? You're
saying we never have to have class?? That's amazing!"

------
digitalboss
Some relevant news - "Women Outnumber Men For The First Time In Berkeley’s
Intro To Computer Science Course" \- good to see this growth and interest.

[http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/21/women-outnumber-men-for-
the...](http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/21/women-outnumber-men-for-the-first-
time-in-berkeleys-intro-to-computer-science-course/)

------
apunic
Nice idea + hot founder => 100k raised in 24h

------
nhangen
This project was the subject of a lot of debate when it launched, and at that
time, I was on the side of the author because I thought it seemed like a nifty
project, though not a fit for what I'd give to my children.

Now that I see it turned into a write up like this, I can't help but wonder if
those criticizing the project for its intentions were correct.

------
eliteraspberrie
The practical advice in this post is gold. Marketing to a select community is
true for apps as well as Kickstarter.

------
sireat
I think pretty much only No. 2 is sufficient and almost necessary these days.
That is if you have a community already, you can sell your project/book even
if it lacks much substance(this project certainly has some substance and is a
good cause).

If you do not have the early adopters who will also help you spread the word
to secondary adopters, you are SOL.

There have been countless posts on HN where the author has made some amazing
sales on e-book, SaaS MVP, apps, other software, and so on.

In pretty much all those cases, they already had some sort of community/e-mail
list to kickstart(ahem) the sales.

------
avitzurel
I backed the project, I am excited to see what comes out of it.

I want to teach my kids (4,2) how to program, if this is a more accessible
way, it's worth my money.

------
balls187
Cool idea. My only gripe was after she said she was from Finland, she
mentioned Scandinavian summers, when Finland isn't a Scandinavian country.
Nordic, yes. Scandinavian, no.

Minor quibble for sure.

~~~
tricolon
I'm a Finn and although I didn't truly grow up there, I've always considered
Finland a Scandinavian country. You can be pedantic and say that because of
geographical and linguistic reasons, it's not Scandinavian, but outside of
those specific contexts, no one really cares.

~~~
balls187
I grew up thinking Finland was also Scandanavian, but I'm a dumb american, and
so Geography isn't really my forte.

My girlfriend is Swedish-Finn and she was the one who insisted.

If you didn't grow up in Finland, have you at least been back to visit?
Helsinki is such a great city.

------
cyberaleck
Am I really the only one who things that she is annoying and fake? I literally
threw up when I tried to watch her playing Manic Pixie Dream Girl-role.

Ruby and Snow Leopard? Really? This book will be completely useless in 5 years
when technologies change. She should have wrote about basic CS principles
instead. But I guess most of the women just cannot think logically. And that's
probably why there are so few women in tech...

~~~
diydsp
People are going to pigpile on you b/c you are wrong about the longevity of
the tech information and sarcastic remarks about women, etc.

I DO agree with the cringe-factor, though. I really didn't like watching her
adjust her purple knit slippers, giggle and fluff her hair, etc.. It was like
watching any other advertisement involving models which I don't like either
and is one of the reasons I don't watch television.

I also didn't like her trying to increase the aura for her work by saying, "My
country is also where Linux and IRC, etc." came from. There's probably a
logical fallacy for that :)

Just like all bad art though, there is almost always information to be gained
in the layer of meta-communication. Obviously, many people respond to this
kind of stimulus. Perhaps it is because there isn't enough "cute" out there in
the world already? It is my belief that cuteness and happy feelings should be
more widely distributed, not just reserved for celebrities.

But even this morning on NPR (don't usually listen, was in a rush), I heard
them announce the birthday of a celebrity.

We are in a celebrity culture that believes in foregoing our own happiness in
exchange for concentrating wealth and happiness on certain other people. We
are schizophrenic in that we pay money for impressions of the happiness that
others experience. Is it made worse by the fact that we don't even care if
celebrity's happiness is authentic or not, we still pay for the illusion.

~~~
krick
> Perhaps it is because there isn't enough "cute" out there in the world
> already?

Exactly the opposite. There's plenty of "cute" and _that 's_ also the reason
why: people buy it.

