3 ms·

'Show HN' bombed, but this got me on the front page

12 points by jawns 16y ago

On 3/18, I posted this, with the title "Show HN: Correlated - Help us discover surprising correlations": http://news.ycombinator.org/item?id=2340921 It got 3 up votes, and they were all from my friends. Then, a day later, I posted this, with the title "Explained: The MySQL query that powers Correlated": http://news.ycombinator.org/item?id=2342664 That made it to the HN front page. Part of it was probably the timing (Thursday afternoon versus Friday evening). And part of it was probably the teaser headline. But I'm curious what others think: Could it be that many HN readers are tuning out "Show HN" submissions?

atgm 16y ago
I had the same problem -- I posted a "Tell HN" that bombed, but that was probably because I posted it on Saturday morning on St. Patrick's Day weekend without realizing it. There are definitely ways to game the system and post at times that will get you the biggest, most active audience... but in your case, I feel like the topic titles also made a difference: the first title asks for participation, but the second title says "Hey, look at this!"
- rgbrgb 16y ago
  When do you think is the best time to post?
  - atgm 16y ago
    I wish I knew. I'd guess late afternoon from Monday to Thursday, but I don't know which time zone the majority of the upvoting users are in.
revorad 16y ago
Timing is everything. If you don't get noticed once, post again at a different time. Correlated is an interesting idea. Have you considered hooking into the various social networks' APIs like Hunch, Twitter, FB, 4sq etc? There is a wealth of data to be explored. Make your signup even easier. Get rid of First name, ask me later when you get to know me better :-). For now, just let me in. I think you don't even need to explain why I have to sign up, just ask for email and pwd and click sign up. Reduce clutter. Also, you've got a branding and mission problem with "Help us discover surprising correlations". It's not about you, it's about me me me. Change it to "Discover surprising correlations." See http://headrush.typepad.com/ http://headrush.typepad.com/
- akkartik 16y ago
  Is it really ok to repost? What about tools to manage and automate reposts, would people care for a tweetlater for hacker news? There's a banning offence some way down this slippery slope, but I don't know where that line is drawn.
  - revorad 16y ago
    I've seen lots of people repost Ask HNs. If you are genuinely looking for help and just got the timing wrong the first time, why not? I wouldn't go near autoposts, that's a recipe for spam.

12 points by jawns 16y ago

atgm 16y ago

I had the same problem -- I posted a "Tell HN" that bombed, but that was probably because I posted it on Saturday morning on St. Patrick's Day weekend without realizing it. There are definitely ways to game the system and post at times that will get you the biggest, most active audience... but in your case, I feel like the topic titles also made a difference: the first title asks for participation, but the second title says "Hey, look at this!"

rgbrgb 16y ago
When do you think is the best time to post?
- atgm 16y ago
  I wish I knew. I'd guess late afternoon from Monday to Thursday, but I don't know which time zone the majority of the upvoting users are in.

revorad 16y ago

Timing is everything. If you don't get noticed once, post again at a different time. Correlated is an interesting idea. Have you considered hooking into the various social networks' APIs like Hunch, Twitter, FB, 4sq etc? There is a wealth of data to be explored. Make your signup even easier. Get rid of First name, ask me later when you get to know me better :-). For now, just let me in. I think you don't even need to explain why I have to sign up, just ask for email and pwd and click sign up. Reduce clutter. Also, you've got a branding and mission problem with "Help us discover surprising correlations". It's not about you, it's about me me me. Change it to "Discover surprising correlations." See http://headrush.typepad.com/ http://headrush.typepad.com/

akkartik 16y ago
Is it really ok to repost? What about tools to manage and automate reposts, would people care for a tweetlater for hacker news? There's a banning offence some way down this slippery slope, but I don't know where that line is drawn.
- revorad 16y ago
  I've seen lots of people repost Ask HNs. If you are genuinely looking for help and just got the timing wrong the first time, why not? I wouldn't go near autoposts, that's a recipe for spam.