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Off-topic: Patrick, you strike me as a geek's geek. And that's a compliment. So why is it that so many of your HN comments have you shrewdly observing the world
by ryanwaggoner 15y ago
Off-topic: Patrick, you strike me as a geek's geek. And that's a compliment. So why is it that so many of your HN comments have you shrewdly observing the world as seen from the vantage point of non-geeks? About 80% of the time, I can tell I'm reading one of your comments because of this penchant you have for telling geeks that the things they're arguing about don't matter to normal people or to businesses. How did you develop your understanding of non-geeks?
Bonus question: what do you think about QR codes :)
- ericflo 15y agoI'm not patio11, but I have noticed something interesting about QR codes. All of the interactions with my tech/geek/entrepreneur friends seem to intimate that they think QR codes are kind of a weird thing that will never catch on with normal people so they don't use it. However, I recently saw my mom get out her phone and take a picture of one. Then independently I saw two more of my non-technical friends do it. Interestingly enough, I think QR codes are one thing that, at least anecdotally, are in the process of "skipping" geeks and going straight into the mainstream.
- patio11 15y agoSo why is it that so many of your HN comments have you shrewdly observing the world as seen from the vantage point of non-geeks? A combination of bloody-minded contrarianism and having my monthly food budget be acutely dependent on my ability to successfully model the thought processes of 48 year old non-technical women. QR codes The US will learn what Japan has learned: QR codes are an inferior way to get people to visit a page compared to an interaction like "Google for 'Old Spice guy'", where 'Old Spice guy' is a keyword purposely chosen to uniquely refer to a page under your control.
- tomjen3 15y agoBut wouldn't that only work if you were certain you could win the seo battle for that particular keyword? On the other hand, you own and control that qr code.
- rmc 15y agoChoose a unique keyword to target. Don't use a popular word with lots of SEO attention as your new brand name.
- patio11 15y agoYes, but given that the keyword isn't a real word but a purpose-created microphrase, you're going to ROFLstomp over everyone else on SEO for it. e.g. This post will win for [ROFLstomp SEO], probably within a day.
- dean 15y agoJust googled ROFLstomp SEO. This post is number one. Only took 6 hours.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- r00fus 15y agoPatrick makes money, and runs a business. What normal users (which I assume form the majority of his customers).. what they want is high on his list of important things. Any geek selling (or wishing to sell) to non-geeks (i.e., the vast majority of people) should likewise endeavor to get wise about non-geek opinions tout de suite.