Could we have an option to have a link to our prototype alongside our names? This would encourage continued contributions to YC Startup News.

[amichail]

[Elfan]

You can just put a url in the about field. Many do this already.

[amichail → Elfan]

It's not as direct. Also, visitors of the site may not know that clicking on a name might lead to a prototype link.

[amichail → amichail]

It would also be good to include name and prototype links in the rss feed. Some angels/VCs may not even visit the site at all but simply use the rss feed as a source of startup news.

[brett]

I'm not sure this is up to YC. I doubt they want to go to everyone they're trying to fund and ask permission for this nor do they want to deal with potential investees feeling like their trust has been breached.

Furthermore it's probably in YC and their founder's interest that people not know what they are working on until they feel ready to disclose it.

[amichail → brett]

It's completely optional. You would have to explicitly ask for it. This is intended for founders who are not getting any funding from YC.

[brett → amichail]

I read it more as a request to YC instead of the founders themselves. I guess the later's not a problem if people feel like disclosing.

[amichail → brett]

I've changed the title to make this more clear.

[sharpshoot]

Hey a good way to promote your startup is post it on http://demomyapp.com

Thats why we built it!

[amichail → sharpshoot]

One problem with demomyapp is that it uses youtube, which does not allow high resolution videos.

It would be better to use flash for demos.

[sharpshoot → amichail]

cool - we'll add higher resolution demo support later down the line. I don't know if google video might be more appropriate, be interested in your thoughts...

[amichail → sharpshoot]

Have you looked at this tool?

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

[ralph]

Vote: -1. It would just clutter the normal display. I'm not interested in your web site unless I'm interested in you based on your comments in which case I'm more than happy to click on your username to find out more about you. Next it'll be avatars. ;-)

[jward]

I don't know if this is a great idea. I'd rather spend time working on my code than scouring the web looking for stuff to post.

[amichail → jward]

It's a way to promote your startup so that you can get users and/or find cofounders.

And perhaps more angels/VCs would check out your startup as well.

[jward → amichail]

That part is good, yes. What I'm worried about is the time and effort it would take to get onto the leader board. There is already a profile linked to every username where people can list their startup urls, blogs, or contact info.

An adjustment to your idea that I'd feel more comfortable about would be having an url field next to your name in comments/submissions. So your comment would look like: 1 point by amichail (mystartup) 3 minutes ago

[amichail → jward]

Why not do both?

[staunch]

The way the Netflix Prize does http://www.netflixprize.com/leaderboard

[amichail → staunch]

It should be clear that there's a direct link to the startup prototype.

For example:

username, prototype link, brief prototype description

[mattjaynes]

Good idea. A definite benefit for the guys taking time to add value to the site.

[dawie]

I'd like that. It will also build that all important pagerank

[danw]

Just use the about field.

[kf]

seconded