
How to get your first 1,000 users - ColinWright
http://swombat.com/2011/2/8/how-to-get-your-first-1000-users
======
Mz
The question from a few days ago which gave me the wrong impression and which
did not get, say, an answer giving a link to any of these pieces:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3923569>

And I am apparently about to go to dinner.

------
alex_g
That was a waste of 5 seconds.

~~~
Mz
Maybe you missed the article it linked to:

[http://viniciusvacanti.com/2011/02/08/how-to-get-your-
first-...](http://viniciusvacanti.com/2011/02/08/how-to-get-your-
first-1000-users/)

I searched and though it is over a year old it does not appear to have been
previously posted here. Yeah, the summary is a waste of five seconds but
unfortunately it appears that without an HN top dog to espouse it, the actual
original article would never see the light of day. I considered bitching about
it myself but didn't, wondering in part if my motive is mere jealousy or
something since I do plenty of original writing that never sees the light of
day either....etc..etc.

Edit: another, similar article posted three years ago on hn:
[http://www.vinnie.net/2009/03/10/10_ways_to_get_your_first_1...](http://www.vinnie.net/2009/03/10/10_ways_to_get_your_first_1000_users/)

Of course, that makes swombat far savvier than me since posting that link here
does absolutely zero to develop my own following, web presence and so on.
Story of my life/ clearly, I will never learn.

~~~
ColinWright
I often link to swombat's summary rather than the lengthy originals because I
find the summary useful to determine if the original will be worth clicking
through to. I guess not everyone feels the same.

FWIW, the original was submitted just over three months ago:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3498473>

Personally, I found it useful to revisit these ideas.

~~~
Mz
I appreciate you posting it as well as letting me know the original posted
here. And, looking closer, it appears swombat is not guilty of the thing that
annoyed me, which is that someone recently asked "how do you get your first
1000 users" and didn't get much response and then this appears here just a few
days later which gave me the erroneous impression he dug up some old article
and did a quickie post, inspired by the question. But the date on his summary
is also from last year.

I am just personally annoyed by the social pecking order crap generally. My
aversion to playing king of the hill has long kept me at the bottom of the
heap. It is very much a personal issue. Chalk it up to bad mood, homelessness,
fever and general injustice in my life.

Edit: However, I will note there was no discussion on the original. Why?
Probably because the author seems to be an hn unknown.

~~~
ColinWright
With the current popularity of HN in general there is now a huge dependency on
timing and luck in any submission. Some people have favorite authors they look
out for, and they get more upvotes in the noise, but it's all pot luck.

I'm working on a site that auto-discovers interesting people for you and might
avoid the "celebrities get the votes" problem. Email me if you're interested.
It won't be ready soon, but you'll go in the project folder.

~~~
Mz
My major malfunction probably boils down to "I don't know how to get
discovered." And I have tried an awful lot of the things I have read you are
supposed to do and/or which have worked for other people here. None of it ever
pays off for me.

And I'm seriously feverish today. I don't think I really understand your last
paragraph. But thank you for your gracious response.

