Ask HN: feedback on my startup?(elephinoinc.com)
elephinoinc.com
Ask HN: feedback on my startup?
http://www.elephinoinc.com
27 comments
I spent half an hour going through the main links and the "how it works". I still have no clue what this site does and why should I use it.
The only opinion I could form was "It looks nice, but I have no clue what it is."
And I have to disagree with this, I think it looks nicely bad. It's bland and each link takes up too much screen real estate.
Is this like an openly paid Digg or something? Needs more explanation.
yes. all the analytics are open to everyone. you can submit content for free or pay for it to be placed higher up in the list.
advice as to specifics for the explanation?
advice as to specifics for the explanation?
I went to your site. I saw a list of links. I saw buttons that say 'buy' and 'adjust'. The price is 0. The CPMs are 0.
I am confused.
I am confused.
Why would I pay to have my site linked to on your site? Do you have enough traffic?
How is it sustainable? After a while, all the top sites would be paid and thus of no interest to users who visit your site.
How is it sustainable? After a while, all the top sites would be paid and thus of no interest to users who visit your site.
And on top of that, why would I visit your site to see who is paying the most for my attention? That's called advertising and this is a site devoted to mixing in paid placement with the voting public.
Why does this make it better than Digg / Reddit / Mixx / HN? I just don't get it and have no inclination to try hard to understand it.
Why does this make it better than Digg / Reddit / Mixx / HN? I just don't get it and have no inclination to try hard to understand it.
Sounds like a new take on the million dollar homepage to me.
I think it's a pretty cool idea, good luck with it.
Likes: I like when you X out of something it replaces the content, pretty smooth.
Dislikes: the wording of the yep nope buttons, while it made me laugh because a yep nope is a mullet reference, but your site seems to be fun but still serious site(analytics) Maybe: Yea / Nay | Yes / No | Advertiser / Visitor
Likes: I like when you X out of something it replaces the content, pretty smooth.
Dislikes: the wording of the yep nope buttons, while it made me laugh because a yep nope is a mullet reference, but your site seems to be fun but still serious site(analytics) Maybe: Yea / Nay | Yes / No | Advertiser / Visitor
I went to your site and have no idea what it is. Some short "about" page would be really helpful. Why is there a "buy now" button (that btw does nothing at the moment - too much traffic?)
edit: I found how it works - link at the bottom. Would be very good idea to link it on the top of the page somewhere.
I don't understand the concept for the visitor, why would I want to visit a social news site that has easily manipulated voting system?
edit: I found how it works - link at the bottom. Would be very good idea to link it on the top of the page somewhere.
I don't understand the concept for the visitor, why would I want to visit a social news site that has easily manipulated voting system?
I've no idea what the site does. I think it needs a big (1.5-2") banner with 2-3 sentences/graphics at the top explaining the purpose and process of the site. I just don't understand what it means to buy the xkcd:sleet story?
From reading the comments here it does sound interesting but such a new/different/unusual site that it needs a lot of explanation.
From reading the comments here it does sound interesting but such a new/different/unusual site that it needs a lot of explanation.
It looks nice and behaves well, very clean. I couldn't immediately tell what value I would derive from using your service -- eventually found 'How it works' at the bottom. Maybe there's a way to make it painfully obvious for people like me.
Using ul/li for your central list, instead of nested faceless spans, will make it a little more accessible too.
Using ul/li for your central list, instead of nested faceless spans, will make it a little more accessible too.
I'm surprised that people are confused by this. It's seems straightforward to me.
I purchased the top spot for my site for $5, but afterward I did some clicking around and couldn't find it. After taking about 10 mins to write this post, I went back to the site and it is there, however the logo didn't come through (It was there in steps 3 and 4 of the adding process while in "preview" mode). Could you look into that?
Overall, it could work, if it becomes a way for startups to show off their webapp or blog and doesn't get infiltrated by garbage. However the downfall might be the quality of the content. To get on the front page of digg, the content has to be interesting; to get on the front page of your site, all you need is $, which makes it easier on the publisher, but will make the content less interesting to the viewer (which = less viewers).
I purchased the top spot for my site for $5, but afterward I did some clicking around and couldn't find it. After taking about 10 mins to write this post, I went back to the site and it is there, however the logo didn't come through (It was there in steps 3 and 4 of the adding process while in "preview" mode). Could you look into that?
Overall, it could work, if it becomes a way for startups to show off their webapp or blog and doesn't get infiltrated by garbage. However the downfall might be the quality of the content. To get on the front page of digg, the content has to be interesting; to get on the front page of your site, all you need is $, which makes it easier on the publisher, but will make the content less interesting to the viewer (which = less viewers).
This site is broken. You had an idea for a business model for Digg -- a better way to sell eyeballs, perhaps. But you don't have any eyeballs, and you don't seem to have any way of attracting them.
Side note: I think the title of this site is a reference to a joke I've enjoyed since I was 5: "What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino?"
Side note: I think the title of this site is a reference to a joke I've enjoyed since I was 5: "What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino?"
Cool, that's exactly what I need, yet, even after skimming "how it works" page I'm still not sure.
It looks good and I bet it's very useful... but i don't understand it either.
you should move the "how it works" link up top, because right now the whole thing is very confusing and the how it works link is way on the bottom, in a neutral color which you can barely see
It looks nice. That's a good start.
I can't figure out what it is or why I should be interested. That's not good. But at least you've got the aesthetic look down.
I can't figure out what it is or why I should be interested. That's not good. But at least you've got the aesthetic look down.
Not sure I understand either. Is this website supposed to be a destination where users go to find good content / entertainment?
What is the meaning of "Current" and "Previous" in the Statistics section? Previous to what? Today? I'm kind of confused.
so it's analytics for a single page of content? why wouldn't i just use my regular analytics?
i dont get it
i dont get it
the 'current' analytics are for the current content. the 'previous' analytics are the sums for the spot (e.g. page 1, spot 1; page 1, spot 2; etc.) - per the faq.
you have statistics to base your submission decision on before spending any money.
you have statistics to base your submission decision on before spending any money.
What's this? I can't figure out.
I like the idea, just needs to be refined
I like the model of mixing fully disclosed/transparent paid placement with another default noneconomic ranking. Goto.com won big with that and more recently Stumbleupon.
The name Elephino is somewhat weak but might work if you had the domain 'elephino.com'. I have a hard time imagining people telling their friends that they visit 'el-eph-in-o-inc-dot-com', especially since all the Elephino syllables have multiple plausible alternate spellings.
The name Elephino is somewhat weak but might work if you had the domain 'elephino.com'. I have a hard time imagining people telling their friends that they visit 'el-eph-in-o-inc-dot-com', especially since all the Elephino syllables have multiple plausible alternate spellings.
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