Show HN: Daybook – A new take on personal journaling(daybook.io)
daybook.io
Show HN: Daybook – A new take on personal journaling
http://www.daybook.io
10 comments
You need a landing page, not a signup form. I'm not going to blindly input my name and email address in a form without any sort of context about the service.
SSL is needed, too. Transmitting passwords via plaintext is a gaping security problem.
This is beautifully designed, but otherwise I don't see how it differentiates from other personal journaling apps (e.g. 750words, or even Evernote, or even Notepad), and I'm not about to sign up to find out.
I think you should wait until things are further along and then share this again with HN. I imagine you have a significant vision for this thing, but that's still opaque at this point.
Also:
> Daybook was built with the idea of providing a foundation where people can write about their lives and save it for days to come, for generations to see.
I'd be wary of putting any writing that I wanted to preserve "for generations" on a website that--no offense--might disappear in two months.
I think you should wait until things are further along and then share this again with HN. I imagine you have a significant vision for this thing, but that's still opaque at this point.
Also:
> Daybook was built with the idea of providing a foundation where people can write about their lives and save it for days to come, for generations to see.
I'd be wary of putting any writing that I wanted to preserve "for generations" on a website that--no offense--might disappear in two months.
Thanks for the feedback. As of right now the main difference would be the writing experience, and the way platform transforms the post into book-like form. There are still a few key features which I have yet to implement, but I thought it would be a good idea to show HN the site early so I could grow the platform from the outside in.
> way platform transforms the post into book-like form
OK, well... there's a reason mice have wheels now.
If you're committed to a page-turning UX, you might want to think about this as an iPad app.
OK, well... there's a reason mice have wheels now.
If you're committed to a page-turning UX, you might want to think about this as an iPad app.
I suggest if showing something off, don't force user registration to be able to see what it is. It's shallow, but I don't want to spend time to register and possibly be subscribed to emails to see what it is.
I don't think it's shallow to not want to give my e-mail address out as a favor to someone I do not know.
I would love to see something like this in the HN guidelines (not that anybody reads those, but...)
I would love to see something like this in the HN guidelines (not that anybody reads those, but...)
It is already. From the Show HN Guidelines[0]:
> Show HN is for something you've made that other people can play with. HN users can try it out, give you feedback, and ask questions in the thread.
> A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. HN users are comfortable with work that's at an early stage.
> If your work isn't ready for people to try out yet, please don't put "Show HN" in the title. Once it's ready, come back and share it then.
> For example, blog posts, email signups, and fundraisers can't be tried out, so they don't count as Show HNs.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html
> Show HN is for something you've made that other people can play with. HN users can try it out, give you feedback, and ask questions in the thread.
> A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. HN users are comfortable with work that's at an early stage.
> If your work isn't ready for people to try out yet, please don't put "Show HN" in the title. Once it's ready, come back and share it then.
> For example, blog posts, email signups, and fundraisers can't be tried out, so they don't count as Show HNs.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html
It doesn't sound like that's proscribing user registration (account creation), more just stuff like e-mail newsletters.
This is side project I undertook this past winter-break. It's far from finished, but I though it would be great to show HN what I am currently working on. The app was more of scratching personal itch, rather than trying to bring order to the dozen blogging platforms. The app is just an attempt to give a different take on what could be if the intimacy of journaling and the power of the web where to come together.
I just spend a couple minutes on the site - and I have no idea what it does.
After reading the FAQ I kinda get it...but it would be EXTREMELY helpful to show some sort of example.
That said, I totally get that it's a work in progress - I'm guessing you already know what I'm telling you :)
After reading the FAQ I kinda get it...but it would be EXTREMELY helpful to show some sort of example.
That said, I totally get that it's a work in progress - I'm guessing you already know what I'm telling you :)
Yeah, it's something I've been meaning to get too. To be honest I just keep putting it off, as I've been more worried about tackling the writing experience. Anyway thanks for the feedback, Ill be sure to make this quick fix soon.
By the way, you can check out privacy.daybook.io for an example of what daybook does.
Nice, thanks for the example. A couple issues I noticed - in Chrome, on my laptop, I cannot scroll down on overflow text pages...also, the hamburger menu isn't clickable - it triggers a page turn.
The design is slick as hell though.
The design is slick as hell though.
The app was more of scratching personal itch
By the way, the green button says "Publish post", reaffirming my intuition... that it's just a blog, all along?
the intimacy of a book
It rankles me a little that you want to be a trusted voice in journaling, but can't be bothered to proofread or spell-check the very first descriptive paragraph anyone sees.
He's showing his project, it's best to keep condescending comments about the person to yourself. Just focus on what is needed to make the project better.
@Daybooks - Kudos for actually launching something. Done is better than perfect. Now on with comments that actually help the project.
Writing copy is always a pain - I still have issues with grammar and spelling, however my code is flawless :) It's a pain to proofread when you're heavily invested in the code.
The presentation is neat and clean. Until you get buzz that will do the explaining for you, it's best to put something on the front page for those who don't get what you have already. It feels intimate because you have to be in the know to have a good gist of what it does. However, it's all about your audience.
I like UI but for users with IE or older browsers, your dependence on HTML5 and CSS3 might pose a problem with adoption. Always have graceful fallback.
The images you're loading are sized way too large and take time to load. Kill the image sizes at 1080P and let responsive CSS do the rest. Faster load times and better presentation.
On the landing page or about page - show an actual example of what the daybook entry looks like. Is there a link or a screenshot?
It looks promising - is this public or private posting?
@Daybooks - Kudos for actually launching something. Done is better than perfect. Now on with comments that actually help the project.
Writing copy is always a pain - I still have issues with grammar and spelling, however my code is flawless :) It's a pain to proofread when you're heavily invested in the code.
The presentation is neat and clean. Until you get buzz that will do the explaining for you, it's best to put something on the front page for those who don't get what you have already. It feels intimate because you have to be in the know to have a good gist of what it does. However, it's all about your audience.
I like UI but for users with IE or older browsers, your dependence on HTML5 and CSS3 might pose a problem with adoption. Always have graceful fallback.
The images you're loading are sized way too large and take time to load. Kill the image sizes at 1080P and let responsive CSS do the rest. Faster load times and better presentation.
On the landing page or about page - show an actual example of what the daybook entry looks like. Is there a link or a screenshot?
It looks promising - is this public or private posting?
Thanks for your suggestions, I have been working on making the images smaller and load faster. In reply to your question if the post is public or private, the answer is up to you. Initially your daybook page is private, this can be changed under settings, a published post is public and a private post is hidden from the site. I get this can be confusing and I'm working on adding clarity throughout.
In response to everyone else who commented, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I will be sure to update the page accordingly, i.e (copy, landing page, ssl, clearer publish button, demo, etc). I apologize for not commenting earlier, but being HN was not allowing me to comment at my usual speed, that and I was taking a history exam. Anyway, thanks for looking at the site, I hope in the next update will shed more insight as to what daybook can do.
In response to everyone else who commented, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I will be sure to update the page accordingly, i.e (copy, landing page, ssl, clearer publish button, demo, etc). I apologize for not commenting earlier, but being HN was not allowing me to comment at my usual speed, that and I was taking a history exam. Anyway, thanks for looking at the site, I hope in the next update will shed more insight as to what daybook can do.
I apologize for any errors made in the copy of the website, please understand that these were made unintentionally and will be corrected promptly. That being said, I do want to clarify that my goal with daybook is not to be a voice in journaling, but to provide consumers with a platform where they can log their lives just as they would with a diary.
Are you using Daybook?
Ever considered the possibility that not everyone who writes on the Internet had the fate to be born Anglophone? To some, believe it or not, English might even be their tertiary language. A quick Whois lookup might have made you reconsider your phrasing on that one. And while we're at it, how is your French?
c'est terrible. Mais, je ne producer un anglais web site du journaling pas. If I ever do the converse, I promise I'll make sure my French copy is comprehensible.
I see a lot of care in the site.
But I had to be curious enough about why Daybook was a highly rated Show HN to get past my first reaction. The
Why would I use it? If Daybook is for writers sell it that way. If it's more social media then pitch it that way. If it's a journal then pitch that. If it's all these things then come up with some sensible stories illustrating why a social media mavens would want an intimate journal.
Big suggestion. Make the writing/journaling tool standalone and make the product social media tooling and hosting. This better addresses the issue of what happens if Daybook becomes abandonware. Let me run the basis without shooting my intimate thoughts onto your server...unless I see a benefit from it.
Giving away the tool and monetizing the platform means the tool has to be good for writing and journaling But if it isn't a pure SaaS is dead anyway.
Good luck.
But I had to be curious enough about why Daybook was a highly rated Show HN to get past my first reaction. The
All your email are belong to us.
Why would I use it? If Daybook is for writers sell it that way. If it's more social media then pitch it that way. If it's a journal then pitch that. If it's all these things then come up with some sensible stories illustrating why a social media mavens would want an intimate journal.
Big suggestion. Make the writing/journaling tool standalone and make the product social media tooling and hosting. This better addresses the issue of what happens if Daybook becomes abandonware. Let me run the basis without shooting my intimate thoughts onto your server...unless I see a benefit from it.
Giving away the tool and monetizing the platform means the tool has to be good for writing and journaling But if it isn't a pure SaaS is dead anyway.
Good luck.
I signed up blindly out of curiosity! Agree that some context on the service needs to be added. I love the simplicity and feel. Reminds me a lot of medium and I've actually often caught myself journaling on medium by accident because it's so easy to do.
- The publish post button is weird though because I don't know what you mean by publish, is it being published to the public? Published as in like it's a finished entry?
- The publish post button is weird though because I don't know what you mean by publish, is it being published to the public? Published as in like it's a finished entry?
From your site I couldn't readily figure out what this offers that a private blog on an established site like wordpress.com or blogspot.com doesn't. At least we know that these players will not vanish anytime soon, and if they do, they're likely to do so "responsibly". I recall another attempt in this space called ohlife.com which has shut down apparently.
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Check your typos (http://testtest.daybook.io/). Otherwise, its very pretty and easy to use. I like the pop-up profile editor.
I think it might've been worth a bit more time before showing it off. The front page tells me nothing and the About page is waffly. Put in some screenshots of a nice example - that wouldn't take long. Saves me reading the text.
I tried the privacy.daybook.io link you provided, but that had a fancy pageturn, then two incomplete page promos (little point providing the first three words - not enough) and a burger menu that didn't do anything.
I clicked through to the Privacy Policy, then tried to use my back button and the page didn't change. The pageturning swipe introduced earlier doesn't seem to do anything here, but I can click the burger menu now.
There are also loads of typos in the copy. In some places it's "daybook", others it's "Daybook". Get a friend to proofread for you and standardise your product name.
Where's your Daybook? Make that one great and use that as the demo.