

Ask HN: Would You Use This? - downandout

I'm looking for a new business to build, and I'd like to get feedback before I spend resources on it. Here's the basic idea:<p>If you have a strong resume, whether you are looking for a job or not, you will wind up with a ton of recruiter spam, and maybe people asking you for advice etc depending on your situation.  Basically I was thinking of creating a site where you just enter your email and a price that you want to receive for each email someone wants to send to you.  We give you an email address that you can post publicly.  When someone sends email to it, an autoresponder lets the sender know that they must pay for delivery - whatever the price you asked for.  There is a link, the user pays, and the email is sent upon payment.<p>Would anyone use this - on either side? It has applications beyond the basics - for example business luminaries, celebrities, etc. could also use one of these addresses and get paid.  It could work, but my barometer is so far off on these things I would love any feedback before I build it.
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DanielStraight
Thoughts as they come to me:

1\. If I'm spamming for a job, I'm basically just throwing darts. Why would I
pay to contact one particular person? Surely there are still plenty of people
who aren't using your system that I can spam for free.

2\. If the person in question is someone you actually respect (and are not
just spamming), then the question is whether your offer is truly interesting
and how good you are at pitching it, not how much you're willing to pay to be
heard. I mean, if I wanted to contact Bret Victor, I would ask myself whether
I actually had something worth saying to him, not whether he'd take $10 or $50
or $100. If I actually had something worth saying, I'd imagine his response
would depend on my ability to make the value clear, not a bribe.

3\. Celebrities asking for money directly from the public is just bad PR. I
can't see any celebrity doing this.

4\. Business luminaries selling conversations is already a thriving business:
it's called consulting.

~~~
downandout
Which is why I ask these things; I come up with ideas and see no downsides.
Now I see plenty of them. Although, you are uncharacteristic this as a bribe.
It's a way to reduce the number of spammy emails that in-demand people
receive. Also, a third party service that charges and has the ability to get
emails to celebrities isn't exactly "a celebrity asking the public for money".

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ig1
Facebook do it but it doesn't seem to have any traction:

[http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/21/technology/social/facebook-m...](http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/21/technology/social/facebook-
messaging/index.html?iid=EL)

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orangethirty
Study the offline market, and see what online needs they have. Then cater
those needs.

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brudgers
I give my contact email to a resume site marketed to recruiters and it will
reduce spam?

That ain't the way I'm placing my bet.

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downandout
The site wouldn't be marketed to recruiters.

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brudgers
Recruiters are the chickens. Without them, what's the point of building an egg
warehouse?

Yes, I know the metaphor is confused.

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bowerbird
send me $7, and i'll answer your question. ;+)

-bowerbird

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stevekemp
I'll answer it for $5.

~~~
bowerbird
well, sure. but i'd bet $9 he wants the _right_ answer... ;+)

-bowerbird

