5 ms·

There is no need to force me to create an account to use this service. Have a list of supported news sites and let me pick the ones I want to see, then save a b

by chimi 14y ago

There is no need to force me to create an account to use this service. Have a list of supported news sites and let me pick the ones I want to see, then save a bookmark to the page. Requiring an account is a back button.

cristinacordova 14y ago
We require accounts on web for things like news source recommendations and notifications for when we release new features. If you create an account, your sources will also sync across platforms like Android, iPad, iPhone, etc. Our mobile apps do not require sign-in, however, so feel free to download those from our homepage: http://www.pulse.me/ http://www.pulse.me/
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  > notifications for when we release new features The real reason. This should be explained on the site.
  - cristinacordova 14y ago
    We don't send frequent emails - we haven't emailed our user base in months - until today about this launch. If users don't have an account, they can't have a consistent experience across platforms. A good user experience is our top priority here.
    - shurane 14y ago
      What about being able to at least preview the service without needing an account? We can do that already on the app version, before we decide to sign up with Pulse. Signing up is an extra step, and a little too much, for a product that I want to field test before I decide I want to use it.
      - cristinacordova 14y ago
        Fair point. As you said, you can test the mobile app without signing up. We found that many of our users didn't know about our account syncing feature (because they didn't sign up). They then told us that it was difficult to switch between devices when they downloaded our apps as they had different news sources on different devices. This is an effort to remedy that confusion by keeping one single consistent account across platforms. Trying to get users to sign up later when they want to sync (which we've tried on mobile) has proved to be difficult for most users.
    - chimi 14y ago
      Look, it's your app, you can do what you want with it, but you're losing potential users with this requirement -- end of story.
      - cristinacordova 14y ago
        Yes, we agree that there will be some drop-off, but we're taking that chance in order to provide the best experience across platforms.
        deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
    - yajoe 14y ago
      Congrats on shipping, and thank you for being part of the community. I would also second the feedback that requiring an email is undesirable. I know you are doing it so you can count reach and demographics easier and eventually sell those eyeballs or market research. We all need to eat. I get it. However! There is fatigue from needing to log into free services, especially when there are alternatives racing to the bottom with less friction. You may grow your userbase faster by encouraging early adopters like those who visit this site to use the product. I also believe that the sign-up stopped >50% of the CTRs. I would recommend removing the requirement to sign-up now. Just $0.02 from yet another joe on the internet... :)
      - cristinacordova 14y ago
        Thank you. You can test the mobile app without signing up. We found that many of our users didn't know about our account syncing feature (because they didn't sign up). They then told us that it was difficult to switch between devices when they downloaded our apps as they had different news sources on different devices. This is an effort to remedy that confusion by keeping one single consistent account across platforms. Trying to get users to sign up later when they want to sync (which we've tried on mobile) has proved to be difficult for most users.
  - tuhin 14y ago
    The biggest reason of all, it lets you sync sources across all devices. Sync saved stories. Notification and communication take a backseat when you can easily send push notification to a much larger audience that is your entire userbase. Just thought it was important to mention that.
gankit 14y ago
The only way to reliably save your subscriptions (so that you can open pulse and see them instantly) is the have an account and save it on our servers.
bicknergseng 14y ago
Tell that to Fab or Gilt or Facebook...
abuddy 14y ago
Requiring an account might be okay if you can delete your account later. Pulse.me doesn't provide such functionality. At least I didn't find it. I've signed up and then I don't want to use it anymore, why can't I just remove my account?
- chimi 14y ago
  u r the product

by chimi 14y ago

cristinacordova 14y ago

We require accounts on web for things like news source recommendations and notifications for when we release new features. If you create an account, your sources will also sync across platforms like Android, iPad, iPhone, etc. Our mobile apps do not require sign-in, however, so feel free to download those from our homepage: http://www.pulse.me/ http://www.pulse.me/

MatthewPhillips 14y ago
> notifications for when we release new features The real reason. This should be explained on the site.
- cristinacordova 14y ago
  We don't send frequent emails - we haven't emailed our user base in months - until today about this launch. If users don't have an account, they can't have a consistent experience across platforms. A good user experience is our top priority here.
  - shurane 14y ago
    What about being able to at least preview the service without needing an account? We can do that already on the app version, before we decide to sign up with Pulse. Signing up is an extra step, and a little too much, for a product that I want to field test before I decide I want to use it.
    - cristinacordova 14y ago
      Fair point. As you said, you can test the mobile app without signing up. We found that many of our users didn't know about our account syncing feature (because they didn't sign up). They then told us that it was difficult to switch between devices when they downloaded our apps as they had different news sources on different devices. This is an effort to remedy that confusion by keeping one single consistent account across platforms. Trying to get users to sign up later when they want to sync (which we've tried on mobile) has proved to be difficult for most users.
  - chimi 14y ago
    Look, it's your app, you can do what you want with it, but you're losing potential users with this requirement -- end of story.
    - cristinacordova 14y ago
      Yes, we agree that there will be some drop-off, but we're taking that chance in order to provide the best experience across platforms.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
  - yajoe 14y ago
    Congrats on shipping, and thank you for being part of the community. I would also second the feedback that requiring an email is undesirable. I know you are doing it so you can count reach and demographics easier and eventually sell those eyeballs or market research. We all need to eat. I get it. However! There is fatigue from needing to log into free services, especially when there are alternatives racing to the bottom with less friction. You may grow your userbase faster by encouraging early adopters like those who visit this site to use the product. I also believe that the sign-up stopped >50% of the CTRs. I would recommend removing the requirement to sign-up now. Just $0.02 from yet another joe on the internet... :)
    - cristinacordova 14y ago
      Thank you. You can test the mobile app without signing up. We found that many of our users didn't know about our account syncing feature (because they didn't sign up). They then told us that it was difficult to switch between devices when they downloaded our apps as they had different news sources on different devices. This is an effort to remedy that confusion by keeping one single consistent account across platforms. Trying to get users to sign up later when they want to sync (which we've tried on mobile) has proved to be difficult for most users.
- tuhin 14y ago
  The biggest reason of all, it lets you sync sources across all devices. Sync saved stories. Notification and communication take a backseat when you can easily send push notification to a much larger audience that is your entire userbase. Just thought it was important to mention that.

gankit 14y ago

The only way to reliably save your subscriptions (so that you can open pulse and see them instantly) is the have an account and save it on our servers.

bicknergseng 14y ago

Tell that to Fab or Gilt or Facebook...

abuddy 14y ago

Requiring an account might be okay if you can delete your account later. Pulse.me doesn't provide such functionality. At least I didn't find it. I've signed up and then I don't want to use it anymore, why can't I just remove my account?

chimi 14y ago
u r the product