

Ask HN: What do you think of this project? - jenn

101in365 is a site that lets you create a list of 101 things you'd like to accomplish in the next 365 days and then helps you track your progress and share it with friends.<p>I caution to call it a startup, considering I only work on it in my spare time and I wouldn't consider it a viable business at this point, but I have a lot of ideas for its future from features to monetization. I just launched the "2.0" version today which included a redesign and some more social features.<p>Do you think it's a worthwhile idea???<p>http://101in365.com<p>Thanks for your feedback in advance!
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qeorge
Nice idea, and I like the design. Looks like you've got people using it.

I was a bit confused as to where to begin though. Am I to create my own list
of 101 things, or are there some suggested lists I can start with?

Also: try preloading the images in your stylesheets (or using sprites).
There's a noticeable flash when I hover over the sign-up button as
signuphover.png is loaded for the first time. I'm fond of this jQuery plugin,
which makes this painless:

[http://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/update_automatically_preloa...](http://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/update_automatically_preload_images_from_css_with_jquery/)

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apsurd
I think this is pretty good. You should focus on simplicity. I'm thinking
about signing up (haven't yet). It's a nice reminder and a cute way to
motivate oneself.

An API is vital imo. This whole concept rests on simplicity and friendly
motivators. I'd want a nice widget display or a json output of my list so I
can add it to a blog or wherever I'd like to promote/remind myself of my
goals. This of course is a huge marketing benefit for you as well.

Hope this helps.

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jenn
I -completely- agree. Unfortunately building an API is slightly out of my
technical skill set, but it's very high on my list of things to do! If you
have any tips for how to go about developing one, I'm all ears (err...eyes?)!

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apsurd
Cool. Building a read-only API is actually pretty straightforward. Looks like
you're using php, any framework?

Feel free to email me personally if you'd like some help on the matter.
Depending on how much of your codebase you'd be willing to share, I can hack
something out for you if you want, I'm really open to anything, I like being
as active as I can in projects.

Depending on how your data is structured, it might be as simple as adding an
apikey field to your user table then fetching all 101 goals relative to a
given apikey.

Then you'd simply create a controller that accepted an apikey and returned a
pure json view of your data. Something like:

    
    
      http://101in365.com/api?apikey=20Fa34uU&format=json&sort=r
    

This method is just like creating a webpage at /api only instead of sending
back text/html you send back text/json The page validates the apikey and you
are free to pass any number of parameter to help you further manipulate the
data.

You can check out <http://pluspanda.com>. I use this method in that site.
Create an account by clicking on the big green button and see how the "install
code" is just a request to my api controller. The code is actually a little
more complex in that it sets up an entire widget environment via javascript
and then does "jsonp" requests to fetch data. Sounds complicated but its
really straightforward and COOL once you get the hang of it!

Let me know if you want some help with this. - Email is in the profile.

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minouye
Great design and a cool idea, but I really think that 101 things is way too
many. I had the patience to put in about 5. I doubt that very many people will
be able to think up 101 things--of course maybe I just have fewer goals in
life than the average person :-)

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jenn
haha you know I get that feedback almost daily, but then people stick it out
and thank me later for making them get all 101. I'm open to making the number
smaller it people get -really- turned off by it, but for now I think it's kind
of fun! And hopefully once I fix up the Explore page, coming up with 101 won't
be as difficult!

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rick_2047
+1 for fixing up the explore page. Make it so that people can see other wishes
and pick the ones they want

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jenn
you should be able to do that today. If you're logged in and haven't finished
your list you should see a + that will let you add that item to your list
straight from the explore page. there's definitely a LOT more work to be done
there, though! thanks for the feedback!

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iamgabeaudick
Maybe decrease the number of goals. 101 is a lot - both to accomplish and even
just to think about and write down.

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Ascendancy
Seems like a really nice system, actually. The idea has room for growth and
could turn into something really neat

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corruption
Where did 101 come from?

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jenn
just a play on the whole "101 ways to do X better" thing. I've created a list
of 101in365 in my blog for the last few years and I thought I'd finally
automate the thing.

and then I did the math later and it turns out that there are 104 weekend days
in a year, so it also works out that you can do 1 thing each weekend day and
have a few to spare :)

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corruption
Might be worth stating on your webpage. I went there and through holy crap,
I'll never get 101 things done. But it doesn't sound that hard the way you put
it.

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rick_2047
I just love the design simple and accessible. I am giving you the facebook
authorization because I just loved the way your design handles the things. Way
to go bro

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jenn
thanks! and I'm not a bro, but I appreciate the sentiment! :D

