biggitybones

I'm currently developing a custom system to track all requests and events on my app that will allow me to map visits and see how users move through the site in addition to specific metrics.

We use google analytics but that doesn't provide the type of segmentation and exact event tracking I'm looking for. It may be possible, but I find the integration of specific event types will provide a lot of insight that google can't. Also I really want some specific data on demo users with the new registration less sign up I integrated.

I agree. Also, sometimes you need that outside perspective to challenge what you think and provide feedback. You can get this without school through meeting with people in the field and seeking out advisers. It'll take more self motivation, but then again you need that to start a company anyway so it'll be a good test.

This is one of those awesome stories of a guy getting a crazy idea and just doing it.

It looks like he's making some great progress, too.

As someone with a blackberry that's been looking for something like this for a while, I vote mobile site since blackberry is usually the last one to get an app :)

But seriously, if you're not looking to spend a lot of time on it I'd go with the mobile site option. It works for everyone right away, is going to be the easiest to implement (basics only, of course) short term, and you can gauge what the demand is like for mobile use.

I struggle with this more than anything. I shrug off simple ideas because I perceive them to be amateurish and unimportant, and instead stress out over something bigger that may be infinitely less successful.

I'm gradually learning to just work on something, as sitting around waiting for some magical idea is a waste of time. Not to mention, you can discover much bigger problems and opportunities from working on anything as opposed to nothing.

This is a great point, and something I struggle with. Although, I think it combines the problem of focus as well.

While waiting for my project to compile and start, I switch to my browser, get lost in HN or e-mail and 5 or 10 min later forget what I was doing in the first place. When this happens several times a day, it becomes a real problem.

The fact is, society would change drastically if this were to happen, so we can speculate all we want :)

People could want kids for a variety of reasons (to pass on their genes, the utility of having children, etc) and you'd have to maintain that you could only have two children max at one point in your life to effectively replace yourselves and not increase the population.

Not to mention if you'd want to have kids 2 or 3 times over, now that they're growth is only a small percentage of your total life.

It's amazing to think that just 500 years ago things were so bad that people awaited death patiently and willingly because they believed life was a punishment rewarded with an afterlife.

Now we're trying to extend the amount of time that we live 10 fold because things are so great right now. I'm not saying either is right, just an observation.

If people lived 10x longer than they do now, the birth rate would have to drop dramatically (my rudimentary math would assume that it would require 10% of the amount of births we have now) or you'd risk overcrowding.

We'd end up with government controlling the number of children, possibly even a lottery system. The overcrowding worries of the 70s and 90s were not because of a 1200% increase, rather a 10-20% increase.

I've now seen this for May 14th (today), 10/10/2010, now 5/31... it's sort of getting old. If you don't want to use it, close your account.

This isn't a crack addiction, I don't think you need a group of 100 people to do it with you for support. Or is it?

Implementing these suggestions would limit the use of the information and thus limit the spread. Zuckerberg doesn't want people to make the choice on whether to share their data because he knows that most will decline, which limits the amount of data that can be shared with the world (and advertisers/3rd party apps).

It's much easier to make it the default and let a few people complain. The problem is, there's a limit that will eventually be reached where a lot of people complain and here we are.

It's exactly why I tell everyone around me about GrooveShark if they mention Pandora or another music service. As soon as they get a BB Storm app I may not need my iPod again.

They just don't care and love to have fun, and I love them for it.

My roommate, out of undying love for them, sent their team a case of Brooklyn lager just because. They responded with a full video of someone dressed as a shark as a thank you, and he just got an awesome Grooveshark t-shirt in the mail yesterday. This is how you build cult followers.

http://help.grooveshark.com/a-special-grooveshark-thanks-to-...

"I think that we really need to begin to look at who's really homeless - not by choice and by misfortune - and who's really homeless by choice, and have a different solution for the two different populations."

And thus in a nutshell describes the moral hazard of such programs. It's just another situation of balancing a program for those in truly in need and those trying to take advantage of the system. Very difficult to define boundaries.

It's a cool product, sort of expensive but I can see the value at design firms possibly.

At the very least, it gave me something to send to the guys I'm working with that are non-technical and inexperienced in the web development/user experience process.

It opened me up to a lot of cool ideas to carry out the customer development and validation process.

Like others have said - the moving background is a bit confusing but you get used to it. Same with the nav - at first I was expecting something to appear and realized it was a small menu in the upper left. It's consistent though, so just a matter of finding it the first time.

That being said, I love the design work you've done. Very impressive.

Pretty cool to see Dropbox's Tell HN post on there.

My personal opinion is that while it may not be something that the "mainstream" notices, it's a bit more comforting on the eyes and appears less cluttered.

Keep in mind, it's just one person's opinion, and I work with a guy who's pretty hardcore about padding and white space so I've grown into his style a bit ;)

Playing around in Firebug, I think it's a bit easier on the eyes without the bold title and the title size a bit smaller. Also, I love the arrow in HN - very simple and unobtrusive. Yours might be fine with a little bit more margin to the right.

Perhaps maybe a bit more white space as well. With those adjustments I think it looks great

While not surprising, I still find it interesting the number of generic, immeasurable, and fantastical goals at the top of the list like "be happy", "stop procrastinating", "fall in love", etc etc.

Perhaps they're the most frequent because it's much more difficult to measure them and thus harder to fully achieve, or perhaps it's telling the same inherent set of goals that's instilled in us as we grow, or maybe it explains the feelings of a large percentage of people.

Any way you look at, data like this aggregated across a population is always interesting. I love the trend of startups publishing things like this now.

I half expected it to be the "Google Airport" instead of just airport.. it felt odd not seeing Google preceding it.

Another vote for Alice.. I had an intro to engineering course freshman year that spent 3-4 weeks with Alice to teach basic programming concepts for non-comp sci people and beginners.

It's the perfect tool for developing basic concepts of programming, but in a fun environment that doesn't "feel" like coding.

This is at it's core the classic government vs. personal responsibility issue.

This is already required in NYC for chains. It's kind of nice to know that the Five Guys burger and fries I'm about to throw down for lunch satisfies all of the calorie and fat limits recommended for the day in just one meal. At the same time, is there a need for government to mandate this?

I think it's a good tool for people who are looking to be a bit smarter about their consumption habits. Most people understand that the food they're eating isn't good, but I think the problem is that few understand just how bad it actually is. High fat/calorie restaurant chains have little incentive to do something like this, so maybe the .gov getting involved is needed.

Sadly I see this mentality with my peers, particularly among those that go to what are considered good private universities and have affluent parents. A sense of entitlement bred throughout their lives from being told things like "you're smart, you'll get a great job and a great family and be happy" continually. It totally leaves out the work and luck parts of the equation.

A few of my friends (more like acquaintances) are going through this type of experience, although unfortunately I doubt they'll learn the lesson that this girl learned because of being propped up by their parents.

This reinforces why places like this community as well as the startup world in general is so great; a sense of entitlement leads to immediate failure. It's a reality check to those who think this way, and they'll either be humbled or get out.

There's nothing I love more than having fun with something most companies try to convolute and make impossible. Great, honest mechanisms that in some cases reverse the negative process.

If you're an incredibly self-motivated and intelligent person when your 17 or 18 and you are passionate about learning and excelling, then sure, skip university if that's what you want.

I'd venture to say it's more rare than not to find someone who could successfully utilize 4 years and $150,000 in an unstructured environment. It's unfortunate that this is the case, but I just don't think it happens very often given the emotional maturity of many high school students.

I "did well" in high school because it wasn't difficult to do well by grading standards. College was when it all clicked and I developed a passion for learning. Obviously this is my experience, but I see this sort of thing in those around me (and many that still, even after college, wouldn't know how to use that money in a truly beneficial manner). University often puts you in the company of some intelligent individuals in a learning environment, as well as the opportunity to meet some great mentors that help mature.

Great questions srik..

1. Mobile is a huge item on our to-do list.

2. Students will always have access to a free version of the site to manage their assignments, courses, files, and other aspects of their classes.

3. This is another big task that we'll be developing in the next iteration.

4. There is no current grade sharing as of right now. Students can only see his or her own grades, and teachers can only see grades for their students in the teacher's respective courses.

5. Working on it

Adding third party login support isn't something we've discussed in detail, but it's a great idea and may be incorporated at some point.

That's a good point and definitely going on the to-do list.

Thanks mrduncan.. all valid points. Probably best to separate into 'advanced settings' and 'basic', with good defaults selected. As the feature-set grows, the amount of settings will probably grow as well but we'll keep this advice in mind. We want to leave the site as simple as possible while giving the flexibility to power users to customize their experience.

Thanks so much for going through the site in so much detail! Can't find your email in your profile, would you mind shooting us an email at jason@mygrademate.com?