A template for getting on the front page:
"X that no one uses, now written in Go"
"X that no one uses, now written in Go"
Also ghost lists a number of users including NASA, mailgun, and coinbase. https://ghost.org
Before that "I wrote a thing in Haskell", before that "I wrote a thing in Common Lisp".
It doesn't really matter how novel, interesting, or well-constructed the project is, if it's implemented in whatever language is popular at the time, it has a good chance of making it to the front page.
It's better for the emotional aspect of technical work to be out in the open, instead of rationalizing itself surreptitiously, as it usually has to—leading to such unproductive phenomena as (a) the sober engineering analysis that just happens to conclude that the best choice for X is programmer's favorite; and (b) the intellectual depression that comes from prolonged working with tools that give one no pleasure. "There is no play in them," as Thoreau said.
The need for play is deep and should be accommodated, since it affects things whether we want it to or not. I think if one revises one's model of software economics to include this factor then the yet-another projects you're criticizing come out looking pretty different. Also the HN connection is clear—this is a site where gratifying curiosity and creative impulses is celebrated. No justification required.
But I'm glad you've registered anyhow. Hopefully you'll discuss some of the things that gratify you!