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Show HN: The platform used for the TechCrunch interview with Sam Altman
Last week, I published a conversation on TechCrunch with Sam Altman using ReplyAll http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/09/ycombinate/
I've personally used ReplyAll to interview Mark Cuban http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/a-conversation-with-mark-cuban/ discuss depression with Brad Feld https://blog.replyall.me/a-conversation-about-depression-with-brad-feld/and debate David Frum on marijuana legalization http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/is-legalizing-pot-a-bad-idea-a-published-email-exchange-with-david-frum/
Our homepage is www.replyall.me
Why we built ReplyAll: my cofounder & I used to exchange lengthy emails every day about important topics, and we lamented the fact that we didn't have an easy way to publish these conversations. Then we saw some of our favorite writers like Sam Harris & Glenn Greendwald doing just that: publishing their email exchanges as content.
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/dear-fellow-liberal2
So we built ReplyAll to make it easy to publish this content (no manual cutting and pasting out of emails) and allow readers to follow along like a fly-on-the-wall as the conversation unfolds. Participation is asynchronous, so no one has to coordinate schedules. It is an easier, better way to create interviews & debates, and ReplyAll conversations get great engagement in both time on page (10 minutes plus) and repeat visitors (2.3 page views per unique).
Happy to answer questions about the platform, business model or failing to close the deal at our YC interview in April.
- compsciphd 11y agoso why did your YC interview not work out?
- zabramow 11y agoIt's a good question, and I'm not sure we have a good answer. We did show that we had built a product that people want, use and even love, but I don't we think did a good job of showing that we were building a $10B business.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- aharonovich 11y agoCool project, does it support RTL languages like Arabic or Hebrew?
- zabramow 11y agoYes. We actually added that because one of the campaigns in the last Israeli election asked us to add it in. They didn't use it then, but we actually just white labeled a version for the group running their campaign.
- aharonovich 11y agoCool project, does it support RTL languages like Arabic or Hebrew?
- trathus 11y agoHi, great platform! What is the business model??
- zabramow 11y agoThanks. Right now, we have the basic free version plus we've white labeled the platform for a few sites. Debates.eu is an example, they are launching soon. We also consult for a few non-profits and help them get the most out of their use of ReplyAll. Ultimately, we'll build those services in, but it's been a good way to keep cash coming in at an early stage, plus we helped one non-profit use ReplyAll to secure two grants. But what we're experimenting with now (with one big publisher) is the software for free, but they pay us for repeat visitors and/or we advertise inside the emails that go out to people who subscribe to the conversations and split that revenue with the publishers (this is the Outbrain model).
- captn3m0 11y agoClickable: https://www.replyall.me/ https://www.replyall.me/
- zabramow 11y agothanks for that!
- zabramow 11y agoPS here are the links other than the homepage that I mentioned in the post, now clickable The conversation with Sam http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/09/ycombinate/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/09/ycombinate/ An interview Mark Cuban http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/a-conversation-with-mark-cuban/ http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/a-conversation-with-mark-cuba... A discussion about depression with Brad Feld https://blog.replyall.me/a-conversation-about-depression-with-brad-feld/and https://blog.replyall.me/a-conversation-about-depression-wit... Debate with David Frum on marijuana legalization http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/is-legalizing-pot-a-bad-idea-a-published-email-exchange-with-david-frum/ http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/is-legalizing-pot-a-bad-idea-... Sam Harris & Glenn Greenwald's debate (not done with ReplyAll) http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/dear-fellow-liberal2 http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/dear-fellow-liberal2
- coda322 11y agoInterested to see if you will have a featured conversations list where you showcase conversations between notable people in different verticals. Would be particularly interesting for controversial debates. Would be a bit more thought out than tweetstorms, but lower friction than back-and-forth blog posts.
- regold 11y agoAbsolutely. Love the way you think. It's in early development now, but that's exactly where we're headed. A hub to read and follow the greatest conversations going on around the world.
- Trojatticus 11y agoWhat have you found that makes a successful conversation on the platform? What makes a convo bomb?
- zabramow 11y agoSo far bombs include situations where people use ReplyAll as a replacement for live chat around an event or simply include too many people. Our best conversations usually take place over an extended period of time and between a small group of people 2-4
- Trojatticus 11y agoWhat makes a successful conversation on the platform? More importantly, what makes a conversation bomb on the platform?
- jtower420 11y agovery cool, makes total sense. Great article with the shark himself, Mr. Cuban
- Trojatticus 11y agoWhat makes a convo unsuccessful on the platform? What makes a successful convo on the platform? Any strategies?
- kapland 11y agoCan you explain a bit about why a conversation on Replyall is different or in your opinion better than an interview or guest blog post?
- zabramow 11y agoSure. Interviews in general are better than a guest post because it requires less work from your guest and you get to ask follow up questions and get answers that you think your audience will find interesting. Late night hosts interview their guests, they don't usually invite guests on and have them monologue. ReplyAll is better than the standard way of doing interviews because the questions are not predetermined, there is active back and forth and the readers get to follow the conversation as it unfolds.
- rahulshiv 11y agoThis is a neat idea. Do you guys have any numbers that show that your interface is more engaging than say a blog post with quotes from a conversation? (I know it makes it easier for the publisher but do readers enjoy reading this format? I sure as hell do!). Great job!
- zabramow 11y agoThanks! And we do. The average engagement on any ReplyAll conversation is between ten and eleven minutes. The publishers who use is to publish live conversations will typically see between 2 and 3 page views per unique reader. Plus, we are currently building better ways to follow the conversations. Right now you can subscribe to the final version of the conversation, but we're adding in subscribe to follow by email, Twitter, Chrome plug-in etc
- regold 11y agoAnd readers enjoy reading this format just as you do. Some of our favorite comments from readers on various sites: "I love this format! Definitely like it over the regular Q and A style and even better than podcasts" "Love the format. Easy to read." "More fun than the usual five questions and way more interesting" "ReplyAll, you're my new favorite platform." And one of my personal favorites: "This is voyeuristically fun. If that's a word. And I'll creep back where I came from."
- kapland 11y agoDo you have the capability to widen the conversation to include more than two people? Have it take on a feel of a conversation rather than an interview? What about live interactions?
- regold 11y agoYeah, you can definitely include more than two people. Here are a couple of roundtable examples with multiple voices: - http://dannybrown.me/2015/03/16/the-future-of-content-part-4-the-return-to-pure-blogging/ http://dannybrown.me/2015/03/16/the-future-of-content-part-4... - http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/5/7/8565733/be-roundtable-assessing-the-ufcs-reebok-sponsorship-payout-system http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/5/7/8565733/be-roundtable-as...
- dkroy 11y agoReally cool, and I thought Reply All was just a podcast. If I am understanding this platform correctly this allows each person involved in the conversation to send email responses, and replyall publishes the conversation in an embeddable widget. I haven't used it before so I could be way off.
- zabramow 11y agoActually, that's exactly how it works and in many ways ReplyAll is a much easier way to publish a conversation than a podcast. Which is why btw, I told the guys from Reply All that they were infringing on our TM. But that's another story...
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- burritofanatic 11y agoI did a conversation with Zach on ReplyAll some months ago: http://abovethelaw.com/2015/06/should-you-leave-law-and-learn-to-code-a-conversation-with-lawyer-turned-programmer-will-ha/ http://abovethelaw.com/2015/06/should-you-leave-law-and-lear... The experience was pretty awesome. The sign up was easy, and I was up and running doing posts/replies to questions. Watching the reaction to the conversation was pretty cool. The next interview/conversation I have on my personal blog, I'd like to use ReplyAll simply because it helps in creating the most insightful comments/responses. If you were to do a conversation real time (podcast/phone/live), a lot of thought is lost while thinking on your feet (you can be really good, but it's likely inchoate relative to the true potential while you're writing and thinking). On the other hand, if you're doing an "email interview" where you just have a long set of questions, there's no freedom to let the conversation go as it should without some heavy editing. Cool product, well done Zach, et al!
- zabramow 11y agoThanks!
- zabramow 11y agoBtw if you want to see a version of a live conversation, here's one in doing right now http://abovethelaw.com/?p=386196 http://abovethelaw.com/?p=386196