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Ask HN: Should I use “we” or “I” in product communication?
Hi HN,
I'm Robbert, creator of fast JavaScript data table library DataGridXL. You might have seen the Hacker News post a few days ago where I introduced v2 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30919257).
The product is a solo effort (and ideally it should stay that way).
My question is: should I write as "I" on my website or "we"?
I chose to communicate using "we" on my website. The main reason for this is that I am afraid that (larger) companies would not take my product seriously when they find out that it's a one man project. I would miss out on sales.
However, it would be nice to not have to pretend. I know other creators (Pieter Levels of Nomadlist comes to mind) that do not pretend to be a company of people.
Are there any people on this forum that have dealt with this for their own product? Or perhaps have a strong opinion on this topic? I am very much open to suggestions.
- georgia_peach 5y agoIlleism. georgia_peach thinks the power move is to go full Elmo.
- robbiejs 5y ago"We" have not heard of that term before, thanks for your input!
- uberman 5y agoAre you an LLC or sole proprietor perhaps DBA Vanilla Components?
- robbiejs 5y agoHi HN, I'm Robbert, creator of fast JavaScript data table library DataGridXL. You might have seen the Hacker News post a few days ago where I introduced v2 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30919257 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30919257). The product is a solo effort (and ideally it should stay that way). My question is: should I write as "I" on my website or "we"? I chose to communicate using "we" on my website. The main reason for this is that I am afraid that (larger) companies would not take my product seriously when they find out that it's a one man project. I would miss out on sales. However, it would be nice to not have to pretend. I know other creators (Pieter Levels of Nomadlist comes to mind) that do not pretend to be a company of people. Are there any people on this forum that have dealt with this for their own product? Or perhaps have a strong opinion on this topic? I am very much open to suggestions.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 5y agoThe Royal we. Every we is “you and I” the reader and the writer (you) so you can comfortably use we even though you mean I and potential clients will see what they want.
- robbiejs 5y agoThanks, that makes sense! :-)