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Yes, my intention was not to imply HN isn't successful. It's incredibly successful imo; it's the best example that a good, quality community can be built and no
by jokermatt999 16y ago
Yes, my intention was not to imply HN isn't successful. It's incredibly successful imo; it's the best example that a good, quality community can be built and not lose focus. However, it is currently not economically successful. It could be monetized, maybe. However, subscriptions would drastically lower the number of commenters (better? Worse? Not sure.). Ads might be a good solution, because they could be very targetted, since this is a niche community.
- eru 16y agoA freemium model might work. Free will be as it is like now. Premium might offer some neat and personalized features---like mixing your own HN from the votes of people you select. Comments and submissions by free and premium users will be treated the same. So premium buys you a more interesting presentation, but not a bigger say in any debate.
- RickHull 16y ago> However, it is currently not economically successful. It could be monetized, maybe. Au contraire. It may be a "cost center", but I have no doubt that it has been enormously beneficial for YCombinator's bottom line, as a marketing effort.
- rmk 16y agoI agree with this. Also, I have seen many of the yc companies post job ads here. Have they been successful in recruiting? If so, that is another way HN has helped yc.
- duck 16y agoMarketing plus creating better entrepreneurs and thus in the end making better ideas/companies for YC to invest in.