5 ms·

Show HN: AskAlexis, an SMS advice service for guys

minimaxir 12y ago
I'm not entirely sure why this is explicitly gender-specific, given the unisex example questions.
- gk1 12y ago
  I think it's based on columns from men's magazines where readers send questions to a relationship, sex, or dating expert, and get them answered in the next issue. The premise is this: "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl and I have a modern + sexy + feminine name like Alexis."
  - minimaxir 12y ago
    This is an interesting comment because Alexis is historically a gender-neutral name: http://www.behindthename.com/name/alexis http://www.behindthename.com/name/alexis
    - gk1 12y ago
      You're right. But can we still agree that it's modern and sexy? /s Main point is that it's all based off the "takes one to know one" idea, in which one woman answers questions from men about all other women.
      - msellout 12y ago
        In the thread below she quickly introduces herself as Lexi, which is not only a more feminine name, but also perhaps an allusion to a lex-er, as in lex and yacc?
    - proveanegative 12y ago
      It may be a deliberate move to allow one later to expand into advice about men for women without charging the brand name.
  - stephenboyd 12y ago
    I suppose AskAlexis is a catchier name than AskAdamKochanowicz.
  - bch 12y ago
    I upvoted the GP. I had the same puzzlement. > "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl..." That doesn't follow (that you need a girl to answer, or that any girl is qualified), and in fact is insulting.
jonlucc 12y ago
I don't see an about page, is this entirely automated on the Alexis end? Could I send a picture of two outfits and ask which looks better? Does it have location-aware suggestions?
- minimaxir 12y ago
  This appears to be a copy of Magic (apparently "Magic for X" is now a market category?), so it is likely unautomated. There's also a reason you haven't heard about Magic in weeks.
  - jonlucc 12y ago
    Thanks. I'm not really in the loop; why haven't we heard about Magic in weeks?
    - minimaxir 12y ago
      From what I've heard, people gave up at the waitlist. The unit economics do not make sense either: the CEO said that they break even overall, which is unsustainable when you consider cost of human capital/oppertunity cost. http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/catch-a-tiger-by-the-toe/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/catch-a-tiger-by-the-toe/ However, from their Twitter account, Magic is apparently not dead. https://twitter.com/tweetmagicnow https://twitter.com/tweetmagicnow
      - mooreds 12y ago
        Following that link, I found an ad for customer service reps for $20/hour in Mountain View. http://www.higherme.com/jobs/135 http://www.higherme.com/jobs/135 Is that a livable wage?
        CleanCoder 12y ago
        From their site: "Initial hires start at $15/hour, with the opportunity to move up to $20/hour quickly!"
chinathrow 12y ago
No imprint, no privacy policy, nothing. But I should submit my cell number? Seriously?
- minimaxir 12y ago
  Magic had a barebones page with no privacy policy too (and still does, surprisingly), yet thousands of people gave them their cell number. That's not a good thing, but still.
  - eranation 12y ago
    Sorry for being so outdated, but what is this "Magic"?
    - xoqem 12y ago
      It is a text message service that purports to handle just about any request you make (food delivery, whatever), they just tack on a fee to the price. They had to limit to a wait list, as the demand exploded. Site: http://getmagicnow.com http://getmagicnow.com HN Dicussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9087819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9087819
  - chinathrow 12y ago
    How do you now, that thousands of people provided their cell number? Did they make those figures public?
hiharryhere 12y ago
Is it free? No hint of pricing
captn3m0 12y ago
Wasn't the Amazon Echo service also voiced as "Ask Alexis" (the phrase used to activate it, like "OK Google", or "Siri")
- morley 12y ago
  Echo used "Alexa" as the activation word.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
sleepyhead 12y ago
Cool story bro.
RIMR 12y ago
Oh, an automated SMS chat number? How very original... If it were the early 2000's.
- petercooper 12y ago
  Y'know, I heard this sort of comment when I got into email newsletters back in 2010. Now every damn site seems to have email newsletter signup boxes, lol.
rikkus 12y ago
I had a go. Alexis: Hey, I’m Alexis. I’m here with the answers you need to level up your lifestyle. Send me questions anytime about dating, style, food/wine, entertainment… all of it. I’m your secret weapon! 08:42 Me: I'm stuck in the cockpit of the fighter jet I was flying. I've crashed on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. I only speak English. How should I proceed? 08:46 Alexis: Okay, this is a new one. 08:46 Alexis: Give me a couple minutes to think about that. By the way, you can call me Lexi, what can I call you? 08:46 Me: You can call me James. 08:56 Me: I would ask you to send for help, but my mission is secret. I have rations for a couple of days, but it's hard to drink while hanging upside down by straps. 09:00 Alexis: Bummer. 09:01 Alexis: Undo the straps. 09:02 Me: Also I don't want to ruin my tuxedo. 09:02 Me: The mechanism seems to have jammed. 09:03 Alexis: Sweet, you have a tux too? Your life is exciting. 09:05 Alexis: Er, was up until now. 09:05 Alexis: Have you tried your pen? It's also a scaffolding hook and ultra high powered laser. 09:06 Me: I've tried using the laser in my watch to cut the straps, but it seems to have been broken in the crash. 09:08 Alexis: James how did you get this far with such bad luck? 09:08 Me: Ah, the pen... Great, the straps are cut. I can hear footsteps. I'll have to be quiet for a minute. 09:09 Alexis: Should I stop texting you? It might ding. 09:09 Alexis: Oops 09:09 Alexis: Are you dead? 09:10 Me: They must have heard me tumbling out of the straps onto the cockpit roof. I've been apprehended and am in the back of a van. 09:10 Alexis: It's weird that they didn't take your phone away. 09:11 Me: I distracted them with my bonhomie. 09:11 Alexis: Use one of your gadgets. 09:12 Me: It sounds like Hungarian they're speaking. I think they said they're taking me to 'the palace'. Is there a palace near here? 09:12 Alexis: Idk. Where are you? 09:13 Me: Somewhere on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. 09:13 Alexis: You're in luck! They're taking you to the Four Seasons https://www.google.com/maps/place/Four+Seasons+Hotel+Gresham+Palace+Budapest Me: Will I be in time for dinner, and if so, what wine should I order? 09:17 Alexis: How much are you looking to spend? Red? 09:20 Me: Red, of course, I'm sure they're not savages! I'm sure cost won't be an issue. 09:25 Alexis: Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan 2004 09:27 Alexis: classic aromas of scorched earth, sweet black currants, cherries, and a hint of pain grille. Light on its feet, but substantially flavored 09:27 Me: Thank you, I knocked on the cab and (in my best Hungarian) asked the driver to telephone ahead and check it's in the cellar. You've been a great help! 09:30 Alexis: You got it. Don't forget to explode something and walk away from it slowly without looking back. 09:31 Me: Yippee ki yay, good sir, as I believe you say over the pond. 09:39
upofadown 12y ago
Well this makes sense because women are strange alien creatures that are impossible to understand. But how can I know that I will have my question answered by an actual woman? If a guy responds to my question it might seem reasonable to me but I would risk causing the woman to become angry or confused...
neilellis 12y ago
For middlebrow comments, please see below:
eranation 12y ago
Great idea. my 2 cents: 1 - you HAVE to say something on whether this is a bot or a human. when I was single I would have happily paid for unbiased professional advice from a real person of the opposite sex on what to say / behave in a date. Once married, I think the notion of my wife finding me texting a woman named Alexis is going to have the opposite effect ;) 2 - no validation on the form. I just pressed the button and saw a yellow banner saying "Finding Alexis...". It still does that. (no timeout handling either) 3 - no about, no FAQ, no address, no phone number, no company name, no support email. I'm not going to give you my phone number, sorry Again, this is a great idea, but a little too Minimal to be a Viable Product in my humble opinion... (fast forward 3 months, this is a YC company with a valuation of 1 billion and I look like an idiot... but I think the above 3 will help it get there sooner...) EDIT: favicon - this is silly, but everyone has it...

I'm not entirely sure why this is explicitly gender-specific, given the unisex example questions.

gk1 12y ago
I think it's based on columns from men's magazines where readers send questions to a relationship, sex, or dating expert, and get them answered in the next issue. The premise is this: "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl and I have a modern + sexy + feminine name like Alexis."
- minimaxir 12y ago
  This is an interesting comment because Alexis is historically a gender-neutral name: http://www.behindthename.com/name/alexis http://www.behindthename.com/name/alexis
  - gk1 12y ago
    You're right. But can we still agree that it's modern and sexy? /s Main point is that it's all based off the "takes one to know one" idea, in which one woman answers questions from men about all other women.
    - msellout 12y ago
      In the thread below she quickly introduces herself as Lexi, which is not only a more feminine name, but also perhaps an allusion to a lex-er, as in lex and yacc?
  - proveanegative 12y ago
    It may be a deliberate move to allow one later to expand into advice about men for women without charging the brand name.
- stephenboyd 12y ago
  I suppose AskAlexis is a catchier name than AskAdamKochanowicz.
- bch 12y ago
  I upvoted the GP. I had the same puzzlement. > "Hey, you're a clueless _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. You have questions about girls, and I am obviously qualified to answer them because I am also a girl..." That doesn't follow (that you need a girl to answer, or that any girl is qualified), and in fact is insulting.

I don't see an about page, is this entirely automated on the Alexis end? Could I send a picture of two outfits and ask which looks better? Does it have location-aware suggestions?

minimaxir 12y ago
This appears to be a copy of Magic (apparently "Magic for X" is now a market category?), so it is likely unautomated. There's also a reason you haven't heard about Magic in weeks.
- jonlucc 12y ago
  Thanks. I'm not really in the loop; why haven't we heard about Magic in weeks?
  - minimaxir 12y ago
    From what I've heard, people gave up at the waitlist. The unit economics do not make sense either: the CEO said that they break even overall, which is unsustainable when you consider cost of human capital/oppertunity cost. http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/catch-a-tiger-by-the-toe/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/catch-a-tiger-by-the-toe/ However, from their Twitter account, Magic is apparently not dead. https://twitter.com/tweetmagicnow https://twitter.com/tweetmagicnow
    - mooreds 12y ago
      Following that link, I found an ad for customer service reps for $20/hour in Mountain View. http://www.higherme.com/jobs/135 http://www.higherme.com/jobs/135 Is that a livable wage?
      - CleanCoder 12y ago
        From their site: "Initial hires start at $15/hour, with the opportunity to move up to $20/hour quickly!"

chinathrow 12y ago

No imprint, no privacy policy, nothing. But I should submit my cell number? Seriously?

minimaxir 12y ago
Magic had a barebones page with no privacy policy too (and still does, surprisingly), yet thousands of people gave them their cell number. That's not a good thing, but still.
- eranation 12y ago
  Sorry for being so outdated, but what is this "Magic"?
  - xoqem 12y ago
    It is a text message service that purports to handle just about any request you make (food delivery, whatever), they just tack on a fee to the price. They had to limit to a wait list, as the demand exploded. Site: http://getmagicnow.com http://getmagicnow.com HN Dicussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9087819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9087819
- chinathrow 12y ago
  How do you now, that thousands of people provided their cell number? Did they make those figures public?

hiharryhere 12y ago

Is it free? No hint of pricing

captn3m0 12y ago

Wasn't the Amazon Echo service also voiced as "Ask Alexis" (the phrase used to activate it, like "OK Google", or "Siri")

morley 12y ago
Echo used "Alexa" as the activation word.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

sleepyhead 12y ago

Cool story bro.

RIMR 12y ago

Oh, an automated SMS chat number? How very original... If it were the early 2000's.

petercooper 12y ago
Y'know, I heard this sort of comment when I got into email newsletters back in 2010. Now every damn site seems to have email newsletter signup boxes, lol.

rikkus 12y ago

I had a go. Alexis: Hey, I’m Alexis. I’m here with the answers you need to level up your lifestyle. Send me questions anytime about dating, style, food/wine, entertainment… all of it. I’m your secret weapon! 08:42 Me: I'm stuck in the cockpit of the fighter jet I was flying. I've crashed on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. I only speak English. How should I proceed? 08:46 Alexis: Okay, this is a new one. 08:46 Alexis: Give me a couple minutes to think about that. By the way, you can call me Lexi, what can I call you? 08:46 Me: You can call me James. 08:56 Me: I would ask you to send for help, but my mission is secret. I have rations for a couple of days, but it's hard to drink while hanging upside down by straps. 09:00 Alexis: Bummer. 09:01 Alexis: Undo the straps. 09:02 Me: Also I don't want to ruin my tuxedo. 09:02 Me: The mechanism seems to have jammed. 09:03 Alexis: Sweet, you have a tux too? Your life is exciting. 09:05 Alexis: Er, was up until now. 09:05 Alexis: Have you tried your pen? It's also a scaffolding hook and ultra high powered laser. 09:06 Me: I've tried using the laser in my watch to cut the straps, but it seems to have been broken in the crash. 09:08 Alexis: James how did you get this far with such bad luck? 09:08 Me: Ah, the pen... Great, the straps are cut. I can hear footsteps. I'll have to be quiet for a minute. 09:09 Alexis: Should I stop texting you? It might ding. 09:09 Alexis: Oops 09:09 Alexis: Are you dead? 09:10 Me: They must have heard me tumbling out of the straps onto the cockpit roof. I've been apprehended and am in the back of a van. 09:10 Alexis: It's weird that they didn't take your phone away. 09:11 Me: I distracted them with my bonhomie. 09:11 Alexis: Use one of your gadgets. 09:12 Me: It sounds like Hungarian they're speaking. I think they said they're taking me to 'the palace'. Is there a palace near here? 09:12 Alexis: Idk. Where are you? 09:13 Me: Somewhere on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. 09:13 Alexis: You're in luck! They're taking you to the Four Seasons https://www.google.com/maps/place/Four+Seasons+Hotel+Gresham+Palace+Budapest Me: Will I be in time for dinner, and if so, what wine should I order? 09:17 Alexis: How much are you looking to spend? Red? 09:20 Me: Red, of course, I'm sure they're not savages! I'm sure cost won't be an issue. 09:25 Alexis: Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan 2004 09:27 Alexis: classic aromas of scorched earth, sweet black currants, cherries, and a hint of pain grille. Light on its feet, but substantially flavored 09:27 Me: Thank you, I knocked on the cab and (in my best Hungarian) asked the driver to telephone ahead and check it's in the cellar. You've been a great help! 09:30 Alexis: You got it. Don't forget to explode something and walk away from it slowly without looking back. 09:31 Me: Yippee ki yay, good sir, as I believe you say over the pond. 09:39

upofadown 12y ago

Well this makes sense because women are strange alien creatures that are impossible to understand. But how can I know that I will have my question answered by an actual woman? If a guy responds to my question it might seem reasonable to me but I would risk causing the woman to become angry or confused...

neilellis 12y ago

For middlebrow comments, please see below:

eranation 12y ago

Great idea. my 2 cents: 1 - you HAVE to say something on whether this is a bot or a human. when I was single I would have happily paid for unbiased professional advice from a real person of the opposite sex on what to say / behave in a date. Once married, I think the notion of my wife finding me texting a woman named Alexis is going to have the opposite effect ;) 2 - no validation on the form. I just pressed the button and saw a yellow banner saying "Finding Alexis...". It still does that. (no timeout handling either) 3 - no about, no FAQ, no address, no phone number, no company name, no support email. I'm not going to give you my phone number, sorry Again, this is a great idea, but a little too Minimal to be a Viable Product in my humble opinion... (fast forward 3 months, this is a YC company with a valuation of 1 billion and I look like an idiot... but I think the above 3 will help it get there sooner...) EDIT: favicon - this is silly, but everyone has it...