
Show HN: round.io, our side project for the last two years - roundio
http://round.io/?ref=hn
======
wellboy
Also have a look at [http://www.localmind.com/](http://www.localmind.com/)
(acquired by AirBnb) and Circle
([https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discoverci...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discovercircle10&hl=en))

~~~
b44rd
I´ve checked localmind out, and will for sure have a look at Circle. There´s
also Findery, Pindrop and Banjo. Plus, you have this connect-them-all
application for iOS called Localscope. There´s so much inspiration and great
thinking within many of these apps.

However, none of them works exactly the way round.io does, and I still haven´t
seen any service yet that does it. So we hope people will enjoy using it once
we get to a more finished state.

Anyway, thanks for the tips! :-)

Best regards, Baard

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why-el
Two things I think will help you:

1\. Leverage other social networks

I know it sounds ineffective, but other social networks are a great channel to
go through if you make sure people understand you offering more than they can
find there. Think Pinterest, who also ask you to sign through Facebook.

2\. Provide guarantees you will not be a place for creeps

This again can be achieved through 1. Think Chatroulette here. Phenomenal
space for people to communicate but their efforts to dwarf the creeps came in
too late.

Besides these two points, here are less important ones:

\- I think your value proposition needs some work. Start with examples first
and highlight your strengths (the fact that this leverages people around you).

\- Communicate why usernames such as mine are not valid.

\- Why is it that your Facebook posts redirect to your homepage?

All in all very good concept and a lot of potential. By the way you guys are
not English speaking right? ;) I recognize it from how your keyboard renders
the apostrophe.

~~~
b44rd
Hi there, and thanks a ton for taking the time! I´m Baard, one of two people
currently working on this project.

1\. Facebook login/signup will come. 2\. Agreed! This will for sure be a top
priority for us to achieve.

We´re for sure working on a pitch to make strengths and highlights stand out.
We´ll probhably need some iterations to get to the point we want to be. :-)

I can´t see why your username should not be valid, I´ll put that in the todo-
list. It sure should be a valid username to pick.

As mentioned, the facebook posts are redirected to home page because you´re
not logged in. We´ll change this once we go out of the experimental phase,
which are kind of the state the project is in right now.

Also, we´re the majority of the norwegian population at round.io at the
moment, yes. ;-)

Again, thanks a ton for your feedback, it was really helpful.

Best regards, Baard

~~~
why-el
You're welcome. I will be in the look out for your next iteration and see how
I can help.

------
oemfoe
I was instantly put off by having to create an account without being able to
see what it does and how it works. Sorry but I am too impatient for this and
I'm afraid a lot of other people will feel the same.

~~~
b44rd
Thanks for your feedback!

I have discussed the current design with people who say the same as you, and I
can definetly see your point. We´re in the making of a video that explains the
concept better, and will design the front page better as well.

Hoping to see you register some day anyway, though! ;-)

Best regards, Baard

~~~
StavrosK
Why can't I browse locations without an account?

~~~
roundio
Hi there, and thanks for your feedback!

You will be able to, just not right now, since the site is in an
experimental/beta state. :-)

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conradk
I like the idea. Sounds interesting ! :-)

A few things though: \- I find the title "Get instant knowledge from
everything nearby." to not really explain what Round does. Sounds more like a
description of an analytic's system than a social app. \- At the bottom of the
page, I can "register", but why should I? What will a registration get me?

~~~
roundio
Thanks! Yeah, we still have got some work to do there.

If you register, though, you'll become a part of a community built for sharing
knowledge about what's happening, and where to find cool stuff to explore. At
least, we got a gut feeling saying the patterns we implement allow the
community to grow in that direction.

For example, there is no friending/following. All conversations are open for
everybody to see. And we allow people to vote both up and down. The filters we
plan to implement, will hopefully make the community much more noise-free than
other similar services.

It's a bit of work left, but we really hope we'll make it happen in not too
long.

~~~
mcnabj
I agree with first comment. You definitely want to be more specific in the
early adopters you're targeting. You mentioned exploring, that is a great word
to use and should be part of your headline, something like "Explore the world
around you." Your facebook page does a good job of giving examples of what the
best use cases are. It will help for you to focus on travels who want to
explore the city they are in.

~~~
b44rd
Thanks for your feedback!

Actually, "Explore your surroundings" was our headline a few weeks ago.
However, this headline tend to change quite often, as the ideas flow along. I
guess you´re right, though. The exploration part of the app is what we want to
grow, and is probhably a very good thing to focus on. So I guess in future
iterations, this will probhably be focused on some more.

Best regards, Baard

------
motyar
I started working for similar project a year ago. But when I found that
getting real location in browser is not possible for 100%. I skipped it.

Now working something similar on mobile app.

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coke
... very interesting idea; can't wait to get the iPhone/Android apps with push
notifications! :-)

~~~
b44rd
Thanks! We´ll for sure make apps for both iOS and Android. Hopefully soon! :-)

Best regards, Baard

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elwell
If you want to _see_ what's happening around you, please check out my startup:
[http://wesawit.com/events](http://wesawit.com/events)

~~~
b44rd
Damn, that´s some _really_ sweet service! Please don´t mind us linking to your
site on a regular basis! ;-)

Best regards, Baard

~~~
elwell
Inbound links are certainly welcome ;-). We offer a paid API service [0] too.
If that's something you might be interested in, please let me know:
chris@wesawit.com

[0] - [http://wesawit.com/developer](http://wesawit.com/developer)

