Hacker News Reader

byamiton How Google sets goals: OKRs

The article mentions (and I agree) that OKRs aren't meant to be used for employee evaluation but rather provide a user focus on what they need to work on.

It's easy to lose sight of what your goals are when you're knee deep in a problem, so OKRs are helpful to remind you what you originally set out to accomplish.

byamiton A Visual Introduction to Machine Learning

I got excited because I thought Part 2 had finally come out. Definitely a great visualization for folks new to the area.

byamiton Effective A/B Testing

http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/features.html#controlchart

A couple useful shortcuts there depending on what you're trying to do.

byamiton Show HN: I built this app to share photos at weddings and other social events

+1. An additional interface would be great. Looked at doing something similar a while back and quickly realized I would need multiple endpoints. One endpoint would be for trusted users who could automatically add to the stream, while a 2nd endpoint would require manual approvals. It would help prevent awkward moments when friends decide to have "fun" after a couple drinks.

byamiton So you wanna start a conference...: In Da Beginning

I've been involved with a couple conferences before and agree with wholeheartedly with the post.

  As a conference chair, you’re responsible for delivering on every promise to the attendees and sponsors! Stop and reread that line.

This is key. I've seen situations where teams bring on too many volunteers who promise all sorts of things. The chair is optimistic at the beginning since they have a large team. Eventually, about 1/3rd of the team will flake and the chair is left holding the bag. The remaining volunteers are pushed to uphold all the promises and the stress collects.

It'd be great if you write a follow up post going into more details about your experience.

byamiton Show HN: Get the best inspirational content to your inbox

Yeah - have to say this is the most amount of work I've had to do just to sign up for a newsletter.

byamiton Free Screenshot tools

I recently discovered http://www.cockos.com/licecap/ which lets me take screen captures and save them as gifs. Definitely helpful when trying to capture CSS animation bugs.

byamiton So I sold my first business and here’s what I learned

Good read - I'm actually putting together something with a partner so definitely agree on making sure the agreement has a buyout clause.

byamiton Countdown.js — super simple countdowns.

It's interesting but how does it handle the case where the user navigates away before the counter hits 0?

byamiton Product Strategy Means Saying No

If a feature request doesn't align with the product's vision, it's perfectly fine saying no. If the vision itself is flawed, then the product is not likely to succeed.

byamiton Show HN: Weekend Hack - Abstract Recipes

clickable link: http://www.abstractrecipes.com

byamiton Ghost: Just a Blogging Platform

If you're going to be a non-profit, wouldn't it be better to establish the non-profit and then do a fundraising drive? Assuming it's a tax-deductible non-profit, you have an additional benefit to the donation.

Best of luck with the project!

byamiton Never Say WordPress When Selling a Web Design Project

Welcome to the wonderful world of "solution selling"!

byamiton Just Landed

Would you be willing to write a post about how costs broke down? It'd be awesome to learn more about what it really costs for a side project.

byamiton Why Use Nginx?

yeah but you can't ask Product X to tell you about Product Y because they honestly don't know Product Y well enough to speak to it.

byamiton Show HN: Purchase Consumer Service Contracts in 1 Minute

Initial reaction was...huh? But now I think I get it. I can order three services through your company: Lawn Mowing, Snow Removal, and Leaf removal. I just tell you I need it and you'll find someone to do it for me.

But your website is full of words/phrases not relatable to a consumer in this space, the biggest culprit being 'contracts' or 'service contracts'. I trust that the work you're doing behind the scenes is innovative and impactful, but keep the pitch simple.

Get Maid (http://getmaid.com) is an example where I feel the pitch is simpler.

Edit: Sorry one more thing, I know you want to be global, but it's infuriating when I search for a provider and get back no results. If you're only available in a limited area today, be honest and tell me on the search page. And let me know you're planning to expand.

byamiton Netflix releases House of Cards

Ok - only had time to watch the first 5 minutes this morning, but I'm hooked. I wonder if this will end up having an anti-sorkinization effect - http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/04/aaron-sorkin-west...

byamiton Should I post a newsletter on a week-end?

What's your newsletter about?

byamiton I Lost a Client Yesterday

Good approach to the situation (i.e. not blaming/chiding the customer). I wonder what specifically scared him? Is the guy relatively fresh in the business world? Also, what was he expecting?

It would be nice to get that insight so you're not left guessing what might have scared him.

byamiton From Basecamp to Blimp in three clicks

It's an aside, but can product blogs please include links to their actual product? It's minor annoyance but still frustrating.