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I'm running a profitable productized service called LinkPeek (https://linkpeek.com https://linkpeek.com) Web page screen shots as a service. My biggest take a

by foxhop 10y ago

I'm running a profitable productized service called LinkPeek (https://linkpeek.com https://linkpeek.com) Web page screen shots as a service. My biggest take away is that Hacker News is typically not my target market. I don't think I have ever converted HN user into a paying customer.

mattnewton 10y ago
Probably because we all think it's easier than it is to roll our own webdriver-based solution. Source: rolled my own screenshot-diffing webdriver service
- sixtypoundhound 10y ago
  That's the blind spot of being technically competent. You would be amazed at what the average person considers hard. For example, the idea of converting a repeatable calculation into an Excel worksheet is regarded as arcane black magic by a fraction of the professional population. Automating a repetitive task with Excel macros? Whoa there, cowboy... Gonna have to get IT involved...
Nadya 10y ago
>My biggest take away is that Hacker News is typically not my target market. I don't think I have ever converted HN user into a paying customer. While "Capture full-size or full-height screenshots" is likely a large selling point for less-technical users, I would initially close the tab right after thinking it was yet-another-make-screenshotting-fullpage-websites-easier-tool for less technical users. The thinking for Firefox users probably goes "Why would I pay for `screenshot --fullpage`" or for many others, "Why would I pay for what is essentially Sharex?" They likely ignore the automation parts of the service, because they aren't making it that far into your marketing: >store them, serve them, and make sure they stay fresh and updated. Just my $0.02 for why you probably don't get any HN users. I think your marketing is better as-is catering to either the less-technical crowds or the technical-crowds that make it far enough in your marketing than if you changed it to market towards technical people who make assumptions after reading one feature. :)

by foxhop 10y ago

mattnewton 10y ago

Probably because we all think it's easier than it is to roll our own webdriver-based solution. Source: rolled my own screenshot-diffing webdriver service

sixtypoundhound 10y ago
That's the blind spot of being technically competent. You would be amazed at what the average person considers hard. For example, the idea of converting a repeatable calculation into an Excel worksheet is regarded as arcane black magic by a fraction of the professional population. Automating a repetitive task with Excel macros? Whoa there, cowboy... Gonna have to get IT involved...

Nadya 10y ago

>My biggest take away is that Hacker News is typically not my target market. I don't think I have ever converted HN user into a paying customer. While "Capture full-size or full-height screenshots" is likely a large selling point for less-technical users, I would initially close the tab right after thinking it was yet-another-make-screenshotting-fullpage-websites-easier-tool for less technical users. The thinking for Firefox users probably goes "Why would I pay for `screenshot --fullpage`" or for many others, "Why would I pay for what is essentially Sharex?" They likely ignore the automation parts of the service, because they aren't making it that far into your marketing: >store them, serve them, and make sure they stay fresh and updated. Just my $0.02 for why you probably don't get any HN users. I think your marketing is better as-is catering to either the less-technical crowds or the technical-crowds that make it far enough in your marketing than if you changed it to market towards technical people who make assumptions after reading one feature. :)