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amplification's comments

amplification | 12 years ago | on: We are not normal people

The whole point of the post is that we are different than our users. What we want, or what we think is important, often doesn't match up with what users really need.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: The Recovering Kanban-ers

We've been using a Kanban-like approach for about 36 months. While it's not perfect, it's advantage is that it's actually fairly flexible: you can modify it to fit your needs.

For example: we look at the immediate backlog at the beginning of every week, and then look at what we accomplished on Fridays.

We also do longer range planning at a monthly Product meeting where Engineering, Sales and the Product Manager all look forward to bigger product milestones. We also try to set general launch dates for these.

We use http://sprint.ly to manage the dev process, which has added features for estimating delivery (based on past performance). Everyone in the company can access Sprint.ly, suggest features, and see what items are currently being worked on.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: Snapchat is Intrinsically Worthless

I think if your main source of income is stickers, that's risky. They will (and already are) become commoditized - with MessageMe, Path, etc... all jumping onboard.

I'm guessing that stickers (siloed in each app) are a fad that will eventually go away.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: How much money are you earning from your software products?

After doing a lot of listening in forums, on my email list, etc... I launched http://jfdi.bz as a response to a common pain I kept seeing: there's so many people building products by themselves (alone in their basements). They want a social connection with other folks who are doing the same thing (more here: http://jfdi.bz/guide.pdf)

Did a small launch in August. It's now just over $1,000/month in revenue. I use WPEngine to host the site. It's built mostly on the open source BuddyPress platform.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: Ask HN: Why are you still sharing content as PDFs?

One reason: a PDF feels like a "finished publication". While HTML can be dynamically updated, a PDF is the equivalent of something "going to the press".

Another reason: for whatever reason, if you're selling your content a PDF has more intrinsic value for the end customer. It becomes "a thing" instead of just being "content that should be free". It's very odd. People like the idea of owning digital goods, but only as long as they can download them and store them on their own hard drive.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: How remote work changed my life

I can identify with that completely.

The commute just killed me - added so much stress and load. It affected me at work (I'd come into the office feeling burnt out), and it affected me at home (I'd often arrive home deflated).

amplification | 12 years ago | on: Startup CEOs: Screw Your Strengths

I like the point being made here: building a product is hard. But once you've built it, you have a new mountain to climb: building a business.

In our startup culture, "building the business" is usually delegated to a new CEO, brought in from the outside. I don't think it has to be that way. Managing a business is hard, but it's just a new challenge. Founders don't have to give their business to someone else to manage.

amplification | 12 years ago | on: Data on email opens, clicks, conversions

This line really hits home the key failing I've had with email from startups (especially pre-launch confirmation emails):

"The single biggest problem I see in emails that web products send is that they maintain an undying focus on themselves and their product, rather than on their customers."

If I sign up for your beta, I want to know: "How are you going to make my life easier / better?"

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