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The active readers counter is a trip. I’ve read and viewed graphs depicting how much traffic HN can bring to a web page, but to see it in real time is something

The active readers counter is a trip. I’ve read and viewed graphs depicting how much traffic HN can bring to a web page, but to see it in real time is something else.

stopachka 1y ago
Author here: It's powered by Instant, the company I helped found. The counter is pretty easy to set up. Here's how it works on the blog: 1. You set up a schema: https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/instant.schema.ts#L39-L43 https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/instant.s... 2. And then use `presence` to write an ActiveCounter: https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/app/ActiveCounter.tsx https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/app/Activ...
- jonplackett 1y ago
  Your product placement link to instantdb totally worked btw (as in the one in your allowed websites not this one here)
  - stopachka 1y ago
    Heck yeah : ).
pimlottc 1y ago
TBH, it's kind of hard to square "I locked down my phone to have less distractions in my life" with "I put a counter on my page that changes 10 times a second while you're trying to read"
- stopachka 1y ago
  Fair point! I guess I count that as a "positive" distraction. It isn't every day that the active number there is so 'active'. As you read the post it should disappear with the scroll.
  - tolerance 1y ago
    My charitable suspicion is that this blog post is all some sort of esoteric way for you to show off your nifty technology. If it wasn’t for your robust catalog of previous writing I’d be more confident in this. But whatever the case is, you hit on something right here!
    - stopachka 1y ago
      Thank you for the kind words about the nifty technology and the essay : ) You know you touch on something interesting. I feel like the best 'marketing' or 'networking' happens over decades. Of course this implies that best 'marketing' and 'networking' are often done for a different goal entirely. I noticed this in my career. I've always been interested in programming and writing, and it would bring me to ask people random questions over email. I'd find myself connecting with the same person 10 years later, and we'd help each other out in some way.
- Hamuko 1y ago
  I didn't even notice that there was a counter before I opened the HN comments.

The active readers counter is a trip. I’ve read and viewed graphs depicting how much traffic HN can bring to a web page, but to see it in real time is something else.

stopachka 1y ago

Author here: It's powered by Instant, the company I helped found. The counter is pretty easy to set up. Here's how it works on the blog: 1. You set up a schema: https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/instant.schema.ts#L39-L43 https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/instant.s... 2. And then use `presence` to write an ActiveCounter: https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/app/ActiveCounter.tsx https://github.com/stopachka/stopaio/blob/main/src/app/Activ...

jonplackett 1y ago
Your product placement link to instantdb totally worked btw (as in the one in your allowed websites not this one here)
- stopachka 1y ago
  Heck yeah : ).

pimlottc 1y ago

TBH, it's kind of hard to square "I locked down my phone to have less distractions in my life" with "I put a counter on my page that changes 10 times a second while you're trying to read"

stopachka 1y ago
Fair point! I guess I count that as a "positive" distraction. It isn't every day that the active number there is so 'active'. As you read the post it should disappear with the scroll.
- tolerance 1y ago
  My charitable suspicion is that this blog post is all some sort of esoteric way for you to show off your nifty technology. If it wasn’t for your robust catalog of previous writing I’d be more confident in this. But whatever the case is, you hit on something right here!
  - stopachka 1y ago
    Thank you for the kind words about the nifty technology and the essay : ) You know you touch on something interesting. I feel like the best 'marketing' or 'networking' happens over decades. Of course this implies that best 'marketing' and 'networking' are often done for a different goal entirely. I noticed this in my career. I've always been interested in programming and writing, and it would bring me to ask people random questions over email. I'd find myself connecting with the same person 10 years later, and we'd help each other out in some way.
Hamuko 1y ago
I didn't even notice that there was a counter before I opened the HN comments.