Don't let it get to you, Dan. The day I launched Notifo, I got instant backlash on TC, HN, Quora (back in private beta days; had to beg for invite to defend my honor) and even IM. It caught me off guard, but eventually I noticed it happens to everyone.
New and unique ideas are the hardest to gain traction because nobody understands them yet. Improved executions of existing ideas can gain traction a lot faster. There is hardly one version of anything out there... and if there is, there is something wrong about it.
It's funny that the haters usually say some combination of "It's not going to work" and "Someone is already doing it".
As Scott Adams put it: "Can the people saying it won't work please talk to the people who say it's already being done? Work it out and get back to me."
One more vote for "everyone gets this", and I do mean everyone. BCC received the following comment on July 17th, 2006:
Am I the only one who is a little annoyed?
Patrick, you spend 8 days, budget $60, spend most of your time blogging about what you did, and you call yourself a MicroISV? It's more like NanoISV to me. A real MicroISV pour a lot more energy and soul into the software they develop.
If somehow, your blog gets popular and what you did is considered a "MicroISV", I will be very sad. There will be no more pride in being a MicroISV and I will stop calling myself that. Spend a few days, a few bucks, to get a few extra bucks is a MicroISV ? Shame on you man! You give those real MicroISV like Bob Walsh and few others a bad name!
Naw. What they REALLY meant was, "We're adult children who are afraid of life, afraid to take risks, and because we don't bother to know who you really are, daughter, we're going to project our brokenness on you and destroy your dreams like other people destroyed ours."
Thanks for sharing, Amy. It's been very educational watching your transition and hearing about your product success. I'm working on a new product and you've been a great motivator!
Note to self: Stop using the 7-11 argument with your teenagers.
Thanks Chad, I really appreciate it. I'm just trying to have fun with this, and it's really distressing that these people who don't know me are calling me names, hating on me, etc.
Seems like I need to grow a thicker skin and accept that it comes with the territory. :-/
If you check out the profiles of most of the people who are calling you names, etc., you'll see that they have no history. They are probably sock puppets.
New and unique ideas are the hardest to gain traction because nobody understands them yet. Improved executions of existing ideas can gain traction a lot faster. There is hardly one version of anything out there... and if there is, there is something wrong about it.
Haters gonna hate.