Neither does this article, or the linked site, for me at least - the article uses the word product 41 times, but I'm still not sure what is meant by 'product'.
Honest question, is there some particular criteria for being a 'product' or is it just the hot catch-all lingo for app / site / tool / service?
Perhaps the incredible similarities between many of those 'products' is adding to my confusion - I thought I was seeing some sort of design competition / template collection for a while.
Since the community is largely startup folks (founders, investors, marketers, designers, engineers, etc.), you see a mix of products that generally appeal to that audience.
Curious (potentially obvious) question - is PH itself actually a startup? Or is it a side project that could turn into a startup type of thing? Do you plan to monetize (outside of the email sponsorships that I think you do already)?
Many are tech/web/mobile based, but physical products that impress (new backpack designs, mattresses, etc) and other forms find their way into the mix and are some of my favorite finds.
We have hundreds of HN'ers spending days, weeks, and months working on projects. It sure would be nice if they could be featured prominently and given a real audience for feedback.
Just my 2 cents!
They have different audiences and longer term they will look much different from one another.
I recognize the frustration some people have in not being able to contribute but the product as it's designed right now, will not scale if it's completely open to the public. We're implementing some changes in the coming weeks to prepare for this.
Again, I don't want anyone to feel "excluded" and are making a concerted effort to grow the community carefully. In the meantime, please add your name here and we'll send you a note once it's opened up: http://bit.ly/ph-contributor :)
I love Show HN posts so I should be one of your biggest fans. I want to be. I love reading about new products and I love discussing them. But every time I visit your site I feel like I'm treated like a second class user. I wonder how many others feel the same.
EDIT: I do think Product Hunt will be a successful venture for you. It's a decent idea but more importantly you're hustling hard to build a community, which is no easy task. Most developers tend to put in a lot of hours building something scalable but are too far outside their comfort zone when it comes time to find and engage with users. That's something you're excelling at and I think it's the reason Product Hunt will ultimately succeed. I just think you're making a mistake with some of your earliest adopters. You should be treating us as if we're special, because we are. Instead you're asking us to be a part of your community but barring our ability to communicate.
This is tremendously valuable for the technology community.
There's a huge opportunity for you to do that, but only if you open up participation. Because submissions and comments are limited to a few users, the kid with a cool product will only get eyes on it if she gets the right person's attention, which defeats the purpose.
Can you explain this? I've looked at the site a long time ago and again today, and I still don't see any way to sign up (for an account, not the newsletter) or suggest products.
(1) control the quality of submissions (if everyone had access it would be all self-promotion and
(2) reduce the number of products posted (with its current design, the feed wouldn't scale if 100+ products were submitted each day)
Please add your name here if you're interested and we'll drop you a note once it's opened up further: http://bit.ly/ph-contributor
We're in the process of making changes to the product to scale the community and will be opening it up slowing afterward. Please add your name here if you'd like to be notified: http://bit.ly/ph-contributor
Compare that with a more lasting ranking of the best old and proven products: http://5000best.com/tools
Looking forward to the direction of Product Hunt now that Ryan Hoover is working full time on it.
EG: a friend of mine created MicroMuff, a windmuff for DSLRs. I have no connection with that, apart from knowing him. Is that a product welcome on product hunt?
I do like the idea of product hunt and I look forward to reading it.
Do they have an "AskProductHunt" feature? I'm looking for "contextual mapping of large organisations" - the user enters a bunch of stuff about an organisation and then other people can interrogate it to generate diagrams of the organisation. This would prevent similar information being used many times to create similar but slightly different charts. (If it helps: imagine an NHS health trust. There are exec and non-exec directors and then managers under them and under those people; and a bunch of different services; and a bunch of different staff; and a bunch of different patients. So a chart could be "management structure", or it could be "you are here, and in future we'd like you to progress to there but if things get worse you'll move to there" etc.)
Micromuff: http://www.micromuff.com/
It seems like you guys did not make it this time, which is unfortunate and surprising given PH's great traction and the impressive community you've built.
If that's the case, I was wondering if you had gotten any feedback on why PH wasn't accepted. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Ryan- I'd be curious to know what the click through rate on the 'Show More Products' link at the end of each day is?
HZ
