dig247
We are all often times simply trying to learn and share. There is no one single, authoritative source. Millions of people have probably felt the same way after posting or researching an answer. It is really sad. It could have been great.
HN can get a little tight at times but all in all it is 100x better in terms of takeaway for the user.
I guess my only gripe with HN is it has a touch of that "uppity, d*ck, unwelcoming vibe" due to calculation of points. I feel like if an individual has honestly tried to engage/add value and posts/comments 45 times and has a score of 12 they will give up with a bad taste in their mouth. Not everyone fairs well with that kind of thing. It is hard to navigate the world let alone coming into a space like this and getting crushed by a bunch of anonymous handles.
All in all it has a similar impact on a user/readers reaction to their early engagement with the community.
Obviously some of us have thicker skin and some truly believe they are snowflakes...Can't win 'em all.
Bringing production closer to the point of consumption/end user does indeed make sense. All the inputs in an indoor growing environment definitely twist things up once you really do the math. Vertical outdoor would make more sense. As soon as you incorporate HVAC, lighting, growing media, hydro set up, rent in urban areas, cost of human labor, nutrients, water purification/recycling, genetics, dehumidification if required, pesticides, air filtration, opex, and on it goes...it becomes rather messy and impractical in the short term.
Between all the environmental and construction related variables it would seem that it would take a 3rd party to develop something that could integrate with the various residential systems you can have installed with a reasonable warranty attached. Without having a bunch of automated dampers, properly insulated homes/duct work it seems a bit premature to try and market this as a product that makes sense for the average human.
At times I think putting money up should be a requirement. It is easy for people to write off "time invested" if they have the stability of a full time job. Even if you simply pay back the initial investment/money they put in after 6-12 months. A modified vesting schedule in some way.
I think many are just feeling a bit hollow due to the day job vamping their inspiration (sense of fulfillment) and then as soon as the shiny new project starts to seem like real work their motivation fades.
I think a searchable "dead project" codebase or repository would be more beneficial than another one of these "find help here" type of platforms. Along with a wiki style (open source/collaborative) handbook of all the potential issues you may encounter along the way. Everything from marketing/sales to engineering issues.
Talk about bad optics, regardless of how deeply embedded Equifax is with the government that was just a bad decision. Obviously they got enough pressure that they were forced to suspend it, but the whole thing should have been squashed and never hit the press.
I think like many things, its primary use will be tied to consumer goods initially. As a great many projects that seem to raise(or make) billions are these days. FB or Google banking billions on advertising, ML/AI used to save corporations money, track customers, create more robust profiles on users/customers to sell them MORE "stuff". I see great value in all these technologies that can truly have a positive impact on the planet but most of it is tied to non-essential consumer goods.
I see some pain ahead for some of these companies and technologies that are tied to non-essential goods/services. Interactive experiences, movies, games, touch your phone on a package and watch magic happen. Really neat tech, but most of it is tied to surplus whether that be time, money or otherwise.
Consumer fatigue will catch up at some point. The cognitive load required to make it through a day is extreme and not necessarily being reduced.
Many companies are doing a great job raising capital but I am just not seeing a positive short term outcome. Part of my argument is tied to the fact that there will be another correction in most markets. When they pull back and billions get pulled out of the consumer slush fund on a weekly basis how important is AR/VR? How lucrative is leveraging ML/AI to sell more consumer goods if the capital isn't there to purchase said goods? At what point do people become numb or blind to the newest "buy my goods/services" technology.
I think some people fail to see that it is the global top 1% of earners building products for the same group and then attempting to convince the lay folk they should buy into all. Maybe the next version of Juicero is simply someone selling an AR organic veggie farming experience to someone who can't afford to pay for their food delivery courtesy of Amazon...I am just struggling with seeing how this story has a good ending.
The first time I saw ML's site I said, "This is some super cool sh*t" and over time I began to try and wrap my brain around where it fits...I am obviously still struggling with that.
Tags on the "recent startups" that associated it with market/category/region to allow me to scan quicker without having to read the description for each company would be a huge plus.
I would include region on the top menu bar. Once I land on the region page I would like a map that broke it down into zones/continents/ clickable grid. It would help eliminate scroll fatigue.
I would move the email signup and get those "recent start ups" above the fold. I feel like you are more worried about me signing up vs. actually using the site.