Their economic measurement is pure B.S. $300 / month? Ok, so - 1) how many people buy, due to HN, that they can't directly attribute to a HN follow-through cl

Their economic measurement is pure B.S. $300 / month? Ok, so - 1) how many people buy, due to HN, that they can't directly attribute to a HN follow-through click? 2) what has the exposure been worth, for literally everything they do (from pushing books to all their services)? Particularly given the rather high value group that they reach through HN. Try putting a price on the massive branding and credibility they've acquired through reaching the HN audience, and then the follow-on value. I'd argue that their exposure on HN is worth radically more than advertising; for the same reason your friend sharing a link directly with you is worth a zillion times more than a block ad on facebook. Spanning several years, I'd peg the value into the millions of dollars given the size of their business and how hard it actually is to get traction and exposure in their market.