7 ms·

How do I say this without incurring the wrath of people here on HN... Is this not what pg was talking about in this article? http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine

by swang 14y ago

How do I say this without incurring the wrath of people here on HN... Is this not what pg was talking about in this article? http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html This entire thing appears to be just a paid advertisement.

jessep 14y ago
Haha. I'm a WorkFlowy founder. A few people have thought this because it is so positive, but it really isn't. The author just contacted me on Twitter saying, "I'm gonna write a story about you, cause I love your product" and then called and did an interview. I guess he really just likes it.
- marquis 14y ago
  As a pro WorkFlowy user, I understand where he is coming from. I've often wondered what you could do improve the product but I haven't been able to think of anything (yet).
  - jessep 14y ago
    Ha, thanks (I work on it). Both for the comment and for upgrading to pro. There's still like a bajillion things we can do to improve it. A few big features, but a bajillion smaller usability improvements that add up to a really big deal.
    - salgernon 14y ago
      My first development job was on MORE, shortly after Dave Winer sold it to Symantec, and your product comes as close as anything I've seen to the feel of that product. As I'm sure you know, it had a fanatical following. Even though I probably won't be able to use it for my day job, I'll buy a license and toast your future development!
      - jessep 14y ago
        :) Thanks so much. Yeah, it's really interesting that after the golden era of outliners, none of them still exist in a big way.
    - tomp 14y ago
      Could you add some simple formatting (markdown)?
- webwanderings 14y ago
  I am a free user of WorkFlowy and I absolutely love it for the work I do on it. I don't use it for the list or a to-do, I use it to take and organize notes for the certification I intend to complete. Although I know that I can use the bullets in MS Word or anywhere but I love how smooth and time-saving it is in Workflowy.
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  I wish I could use it but the company I work for doesn't like us putting our data in external providers' servers. You should make a downloadable version that uses the browser's own backing store, or something. I'd pay for it! (I know this is probably not a high priority request.)
- glenstein 14y ago
  Just curious- was Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico Philosophicus in any way an influence on WorkFlowy?
  - glenstein 14y ago
    I ask because the propositions in the Tractatus are organized exactly like lists are in WorkFlowy.
jmduke 14y ago
PG's article was about sneaky PR for a given company/product that disguises itself as 'news.' This is neither sneaky or disguised. It's literally just an advertisement for a product.
- jessep 14y ago
  It's actually just a normal, genuine review of a product :)
  - pizza 14y ago
    Any positive review is an ad. That's why products that are well-liked are popular.
    - roel_v 14y ago
      Pff, that just depends on the definition of 'ad', but in my experience your definition is not in line with how most people interpret and use the word 'ad'. When I tell my friend how great these sneakers are for wearing, are those words an 'ad' for Nike? No, generally only those messages for which the beneficiary of commercial success of the product under consideration has paid for are defined as 'ads'.
      - tankbot 14y ago
        ad·ver·tise·ment/ˈadvərˌtīzmənt/ Noun: A notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy. An 'ad' doesn't have to be paid for. And connotations are not definitions.
        rm999 14y ago
        The article isn't quite promoting anything. It's saying "I like this product", not "buy this product".
        learc83 14y ago
nostromo 14y ago
Normally I'd agree, but I trust both Slate and Farhad Manjoo.
iamwil 14y ago
Sometimes, there is no conspiracy. HN's become rather cynical now.
epo 14y ago
I believe the phrase is "advertorial", this is nothing more than a product plug padded out to satisfy a word count quota. This is not, in any sense, "Hacker News", there is no product comparison and nothing other than gushing praise. Workflowy must be pleased with themselves.

by swang 14y ago

jessep 14y ago

Haha. I'm a WorkFlowy founder. A few people have thought this because it is so positive, but it really isn't. The author just contacted me on Twitter saying, "I'm gonna write a story about you, cause I love your product" and then called and did an interview. I guess he really just likes it.

marquis 14y ago
As a pro WorkFlowy user, I understand where he is coming from. I've often wondered what you could do improve the product but I haven't been able to think of anything (yet).
- jessep 14y ago
  Ha, thanks (I work on it). Both for the comment and for upgrading to pro. There's still like a bajillion things we can do to improve it. A few big features, but a bajillion smaller usability improvements that add up to a really big deal.
  - salgernon 14y ago
    My first development job was on MORE, shortly after Dave Winer sold it to Symantec, and your product comes as close as anything I've seen to the feel of that product. As I'm sure you know, it had a fanatical following. Even though I probably won't be able to use it for my day job, I'll buy a license and toast your future development!
    - jessep 14y ago
      :) Thanks so much. Yeah, it's really interesting that after the golden era of outliners, none of them still exist in a big way.
  - tomp 14y ago
    Could you add some simple formatting (markdown)?
webwanderings 14y ago
I am a free user of WorkFlowy and I absolutely love it for the work I do on it. I don't use it for the list or a to-do, I use it to take and organize notes for the certification I intend to complete. Although I know that I can use the bullets in MS Word or anywhere but I love how smooth and time-saving it is in Workflowy.
jamesaguilar 14y ago
I wish I could use it but the company I work for doesn't like us putting our data in external providers' servers. You should make a downloadable version that uses the browser's own backing store, or something. I'd pay for it! (I know this is probably not a high priority request.)
glenstein 14y ago
Just curious- was Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico Philosophicus in any way an influence on WorkFlowy?
- glenstein 14y ago
  I ask because the propositions in the Tractatus are organized exactly like lists are in WorkFlowy.

jmduke 14y ago

PG's article was about sneaky PR for a given company/product that disguises itself as 'news.' This is neither sneaky or disguised. It's literally just an advertisement for a product.

jessep 14y ago
It's actually just a normal, genuine review of a product :)
- pizza 14y ago
  Any positive review is an ad. That's why products that are well-liked are popular.
  - roel_v 14y ago
    Pff, that just depends on the definition of 'ad', but in my experience your definition is not in line with how most people interpret and use the word 'ad'. When I tell my friend how great these sneakers are for wearing, are those words an 'ad' for Nike? No, generally only those messages for which the beneficiary of commercial success of the product under consideration has paid for are defined as 'ads'.
    - tankbot 14y ago
      ad·ver·tise·ment/ˈadvərˌtīzmənt/ Noun: A notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy. An 'ad' doesn't have to be paid for. And connotations are not definitions.
      - rm999 14y ago
        The article isn't quite promoting anything. It's saying "I like this product", not "buy this product".
      - learc83 14y ago

nostromo 14y ago

Normally I'd agree, but I trust both Slate and Farhad Manjoo.

iamwil 14y ago

Sometimes, there is no conspiracy. HN's become rather cynical now.

epo 14y ago

I believe the phrase is "advertorial", this is nothing more than a product plug padded out to satisfy a word count quota. This is not, in any sense, "Hacker News", there is no product comparison and nothing other than gushing praise. Workflowy must be pleased with themselves.