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Preface: this is going to sound like an advertisement, but I promise I'm not connected in any way. I just like the idea. Have you heard of NanaGram? (https://n

by otras 7y ago

Preface: this is going to sound like an advertisement, but I promise I'm not connected in any way. I just like the idea. Have you heard of NanaGram? (https://nanagram.co/ https://nanagram.co/). It's a service that regularly mails physical copies of photos to someone you choose, and it's one of the most "of course that should be a product" products that I've seen recently.

diminoten 7y ago
It's a winner of an idea, because Facebook lets us work around the real goal of grandparents when they ask us for regular updates; attention. Giving our elderly family members ways of passively observing us defeats their goal of wanting us to talk to them, but a NanaGram is a specific, actionable gift that demonstrates this abstract, "Well they must be thinking of me!" concept that they can then extrapolate however they need.
- aacook 7y ago
  @otras thanks for sharing. It's an honor to be mentioned on HN like this. One of the big goals of the product is to increase interaction between loved ones. I wrote about this a bit more at https://nanagram.co/blog/niche-start https://nanagram.co/blog/niche-start — we have a feature, which allows you to list names and phone numbers of you and your siblings on a cover photo. I get reports all the time of grandparents who go down the list, dialing each grandkid to talk through the photos with them.
- throwanem 7y ago
  Have you tried talking with them?
throwaway123x2 7y ago
Seems pretty expensive, when you can print a photo from your local CVS for 10c and mail it for 50c.
- aacook 7y ago
  We're certainly a convenience service. You can definitely do this cheaper on your own and I wrote a bit more about that here: https://nanagram.co/blog/how-to-mail-photos/ https://nanagram.co/blog/how-to-mail-photos/ I think our prices are pretty solid and often hear that from customers. For $6.99 per month we mail 5 photos and all you have to do is text or email them to us. We also have an annual plan which brings the price down to just under $6 per month. The service also really shines when you have multiple senders (siblings, cousins, etc) using it as we curate photos from the group via reminders. We recently had the 5-photo plan set to $7.99 but unlocked savings on the fulfillment side, passing those on to customers. Pricing has been a challenge for sure, as on one hand I've always firmly believed the product should be accessible to people from all walks of life, and on the other there is a reality of paying the bills.

by otras 7y ago

diminoten 7y ago

It's a winner of an idea, because Facebook lets us work around the real goal of grandparents when they ask us for regular updates; attention. Giving our elderly family members ways of passively observing us defeats their goal of wanting us to talk to them, but a NanaGram is a specific, actionable gift that demonstrates this abstract, "Well they must be thinking of me!" concept that they can then extrapolate however they need.

aacook 7y ago
@otras thanks for sharing. It's an honor to be mentioned on HN like this. One of the big goals of the product is to increase interaction between loved ones. I wrote about this a bit more at https://nanagram.co/blog/niche-start https://nanagram.co/blog/niche-start — we have a feature, which allows you to list names and phone numbers of you and your siblings on a cover photo. I get reports all the time of grandparents who go down the list, dialing each grandkid to talk through the photos with them.
throwanem 7y ago
Have you tried talking with them?

throwaway123x2 7y ago

Seems pretty expensive, when you can print a photo from your local CVS for 10c and mail it for 50c.

aacook 7y ago
We're certainly a convenience service. You can definitely do this cheaper on your own and I wrote a bit more about that here: https://nanagram.co/blog/how-to-mail-photos/ https://nanagram.co/blog/how-to-mail-photos/ I think our prices are pretty solid and often hear that from customers. For $6.99 per month we mail 5 photos and all you have to do is text or email them to us. We also have an annual plan which brings the price down to just under $6 per month. The service also really shines when you have multiple senders (siblings, cousins, etc) using it as we curate photos from the group via reminders. We recently had the 5-photo plan set to $7.99 but unlocked savings on the fulfillment side, passing those on to customers. Pricing has been a challenge for sure, as on one hand I've always firmly believed the product should be accessible to people from all walks of life, and on the other there is a reality of paying the bills.