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Letter to hackers frm a non-hacker: Quit your "wow" app and build us something useful.

7 points by rokhayakebe 19y ago

First of I am not a hacker, so I can clearly see things you guys can't (vis versa). Stop building cool things and build something useful for the 95% of us who don't know how to. Your web (yes the one you help build) is unstructured and there is so much data that I am sure we will never be able to organize it. But what we can organize is our individual data. BUILD (us) MY OWN API. I don't want to go to 20 different sites a day to do the 20 things I want. Facebook's, Digg's and all this other APIs don't really matter, what matters is mine. Let me rephrase this, APIs are great, but you guys have been going the wrong way about this. It should be the other way around. Services shouldn't have an API (ok they should) but I should be able to gather all my data into one place and let services I want plug into it and do the work. I am tired of supplying similar infos to one million different startups. I want to simply click "ADD" (the Facebook way) and give the service an access level. That is it. I dont even want to know your URL. And when I click delete, give me back my data collected. I want a place where it all comes together. And please do not tell me (us) about your webOS project. I (we) want something helpful not a copy of the desktop. That's it. Sorry if I offended you guys, don't take it personally.

corentin 19y ago
I'm sorry to say that but what you're looking for is called the desktop (not that it's a bad idea). Unless you really like ads, privacy issues, slow applications and inconsistent user interfaces.
- rokhayakebe 19y ago
  I am sorry to say that but I want mobility. I dont want to drag a laptop or PC around.
henning 19y ago
I have no idea what you're talking about so I don't even understand what itch you want to have scratched.
gibsonf1 19y ago
I see what you're getting at - the user owns the data and access permissions (stored on the web), and the services work from that. With S3, this is a much more realistic idea. The problem is that many services will not allow your information out, such as facebook. The question is, is this something alot of people want? I know what I would like is to be able to always export my data out into a common format (like xml) so I can use it somewhere else. If there were big demand for this kind of service, a startup could launch that became MyWebApps.com - a place where your data is stored and which has interfaces to the key other apps that you use and allow data to come out and possibly synchronizes etc. Your portal to the web where you always go first. This is a pretty ambitious idea with countless lines of code involved for getting all the different systems to speak the same language, but if it were pulled off, it could be big.
dhbradshaw 19y ago
I like it. It sounds like you want to center the data on individuals, not on the applications they use.
dyu 19y ago
I think a problem is that either all the APIs have to agree, so new sites can be added without manual coding, or every startup has to agree on something, which could get hard. Also, the sites without APIs will not be included in this app?
plinkplonk 19y ago
"First of I am not a hacker, so I can clearly see things you guys can't (vis versa). Stop building cool things and build something useful for the 95% of us who don't know how to." I am a hacker. I am also an adult and therefore I actively choose what to do with my time and what to build, and whether to build something cool, useful, both or neither. What I really don't need is inarticulate people who haven't demonstrated any particular expertise in anything giving me advice on what to build and how I should spend <b>my</b> time and resources. Now go away and do something useful. As you said, "Sorry if I offended you .. , don't take it personally."
- rokhayakebe 19y ago
  Listen "adult" the way I see it is very simple. If you are offended you are probably one of those hackers I am talking about. If I made a similar statement and said that NBA players need to play better, I am sure Steve Nash wouldn't feel offended, the ones who will (like you) are probably the other 80% who quite frankly are just above mediocre. Now, Prove me wrong and show us what you have that is sooooo useful.
  - pg 19y ago
    I'm offended. Not by what you say (which would take some effort to decipher) but by your tone. You only need one O in "so."
    - rokhayakebe 19y ago
      I didn't intend to insult anyone. Seriously. Sometimes we must call the cat by its name. Ok saying "do something useful" may have been a little harsh. Sometimes we need a mean voice to sparkle the energy, not some nice/sweet talk. Think "Hitler" he did a lot of bad, but sparkle lots of Good ( from people who wanted to prove us that Good still exist) around us. That is not to say we need the bad, but sometimes I takes a mouth like mine. I didn't point to anyone in particular. When people post comments like "You are crazy to build your startup around Facebook" I understand it and do not take it badly. All I do is go back to the lab and tell my team " Hey guys, noone is happy Let's build something good, something that adds value". We all say we like feedback, but we want to dissect it. No. Take it all the same. Now If my team had the expertise to solve this issue, I would not ask for action here. We have Mobile expertise and we do not ask for help here. That's all guys. And remember I am not a hacker so maybe you can simply say " He doesn't know what he is talking about. After all I am still unproven" (until I launch, then yo will love it. Something actually useful)
joshwa 19y ago
http://oauth.net/ http://oauth.net/
- rokhayakebe 19y ago
  Thank you. Now we are getting somewhere.
adrianwaj 19y ago
You don't get it, Cool is Useful.
- deleted 19y ago
  [deleted]
myoung8 19y ago
No one cares what YOU want, we care about creating something useful, be it for ourselves or for a larger group of people. Further, utility can, in fact, be derived from "wow" apps. You wouldn't understand because, as you've said, you're not a hacker. You should try it though, because building something yourself is a lot of fun and very rewarding. Regarding the "personal API," I think it's a good idea if properly implemented (read: incredibly easy to use). Obvioulsy you haven't done much research because there are people working on this already. Someone below mentioned OAuth, and OpenID is another effort in this direction. You'd get a lot farther if you simply just asked the community if someone was working on this and/or pointed out that it's a good, useful idea.
staunch 19y ago
Your post is as disoriented and unfocused as the kinds of work you're railing against. If you can't even discuss the idea in a succinct and compelling way how can you condemn others for not creating it? Fear not though, the problem your discussing is probably the trendiest of all trendy ideas anyone is working on right now. It will be solved, by people who can articulate it in terms users can understand and create it.
- rokhayakebe 19y ago
  staunch. Blaming the way I express myself is not gonna get us anywhere today. The fact of the matter is you understood it, now let's do something useful plz.
  - jkush 19y ago
    Blaming entrepreneurs and hackers for how they express themselves through what they build isn't going to help either.
blader 19y ago
You make great points. I think good hackers who are interested in doing a startup really should pay attention - what we think is interesting is useful is often not anything people want. Great if you're just hacking, but not so much if you want to build a business.

7 points by rokhayakebe 19y ago

corentin 19y ago

I'm sorry to say that but what you're looking for is called the desktop (not that it's a bad idea). Unless you really like ads, privacy issues, slow applications and inconsistent user interfaces.

rokhayakebe 19y ago
I am sorry to say that but I want mobility. I dont want to drag a laptop or PC around.

henning 19y ago

I have no idea what you're talking about so I don't even understand what itch you want to have scratched.

gibsonf1 19y ago

I see what you're getting at - the user owns the data and access permissions (stored on the web), and the services work from that. With S3, this is a much more realistic idea. The problem is that many services will not allow your information out, such as facebook. The question is, is this something alot of people want? I know what I would like is to be able to always export my data out into a common format (like xml) so I can use it somewhere else. If there were big demand for this kind of service, a startup could launch that became MyWebApps.com - a place where your data is stored and which has interfaces to the key other apps that you use and allow data to come out and possibly synchronizes etc. Your portal to the web where you always go first. This is a pretty ambitious idea with countless lines of code involved for getting all the different systems to speak the same language, but if it were pulled off, it could be big.

dhbradshaw 19y ago

I like it. It sounds like you want to center the data on individuals, not on the applications they use.

dyu 19y ago

I think a problem is that either all the APIs have to agree, so new sites can be added without manual coding, or every startup has to agree on something, which could get hard. Also, the sites without APIs will not be included in this app?

plinkplonk 19y ago

"First of I am not a hacker, so I can clearly see things you guys can't (vis versa). Stop building cool things and build something useful for the 95% of us who don't know how to." I am a hacker. I am also an adult and therefore I actively choose what to do with my time and what to build, and whether to build something cool, useful, both or neither. What I really don't need is inarticulate people who haven't demonstrated any particular expertise in anything giving me advice on what to build and how I should spend <b>my</b> time and resources. Now go away and do something useful. As you said, "Sorry if I offended you .. , don't take it personally."

rokhayakebe 19y ago
Listen "adult" the way I see it is very simple. If you are offended you are probably one of those hackers I am talking about. If I made a similar statement and said that NBA players need to play better, I am sure Steve Nash wouldn't feel offended, the ones who will (like you) are probably the other 80% who quite frankly are just above mediocre. Now, Prove me wrong and show us what you have that is sooooo useful.
- pg 19y ago
  I'm offended. Not by what you say (which would take some effort to decipher) but by your tone. You only need one O in "so."
  - rokhayakebe 19y ago
    I didn't intend to insult anyone. Seriously. Sometimes we must call the cat by its name. Ok saying "do something useful" may have been a little harsh. Sometimes we need a mean voice to sparkle the energy, not some nice/sweet talk. Think "Hitler" he did a lot of bad, but sparkle lots of Good ( from people who wanted to prove us that Good still exist) around us. That is not to say we need the bad, but sometimes I takes a mouth like mine. I didn't point to anyone in particular. When people post comments like "You are crazy to build your startup around Facebook" I understand it and do not take it badly. All I do is go back to the lab and tell my team " Hey guys, noone is happy Let's build something good, something that adds value". We all say we like feedback, but we want to dissect it. No. Take it all the same. Now If my team had the expertise to solve this issue, I would not ask for action here. We have Mobile expertise and we do not ask for help here. That's all guys. And remember I am not a hacker so maybe you can simply say " He doesn't know what he is talking about. After all I am still unproven" (until I launch, then yo will love it. Something actually useful)

joshwa 19y ago

http://oauth.net/ http://oauth.net/

rokhayakebe 19y ago
Thank you. Now we are getting somewhere.

adrianwaj 19y ago

You don't get it, Cool is Useful.

deleted 19y ago
[deleted]

myoung8 19y ago

No one cares what YOU want, we care about creating something useful, be it for ourselves or for a larger group of people. Further, utility can, in fact, be derived from "wow" apps. You wouldn't understand because, as you've said, you're not a hacker. You should try it though, because building something yourself is a lot of fun and very rewarding. Regarding the "personal API," I think it's a good idea if properly implemented (read: incredibly easy to use). Obvioulsy you haven't done much research because there are people working on this already. Someone below mentioned OAuth, and OpenID is another effort in this direction. You'd get a lot farther if you simply just asked the community if someone was working on this and/or pointed out that it's a good, useful idea.

staunch 19y ago

Your post is as disoriented and unfocused as the kinds of work you're railing against. If you can't even discuss the idea in a succinct and compelling way how can you condemn others for not creating it? Fear not though, the problem your discussing is probably the trendiest of all trendy ideas anyone is working on right now. It will be solved, by people who can articulate it in terms users can understand and create it.

rokhayakebe 19y ago
staunch. Blaming the way I express myself is not gonna get us anywhere today. The fact of the matter is you understood it, now let's do something useful plz.
- jkush 19y ago
  Blaming entrepreneurs and hackers for how they express themselves through what they build isn't going to help either.

blader 19y ago

You make great points. I think good hackers who are interested in doing a startup really should pay attention - what we think is interesting is useful is often not anything people want. Great if you're just hacking, but not so much if you want to build a business.