shanecleveland

I'm going for a similar visualization with my "year-in-pixels" project aimed primarily at spotting trends in mood and/or health symptoms, but I wanted it to be adaptable. Hence the name: https://howsyourblank.com

I recently joined Facebook for the first time after learning the most active forum for a hobby I have been into for a long time – and went deeper into recently – is on there.

I had hoped to never join Facebook, but it is pretty much a must to get the sort of information I need for my hobby (restoring a Boston Whaler boat). I am only using it on the web and I have only joined that group, no friends, etc.

There are two long-standing web forums on the topic, and they have vast amounts of information, but in terms of engagement and up-to-date advice, they pale in comparison to the Facebook group.

Funny thing is, searching for information within the Facebook group is terrible. It is hard to narrow down specific searches. And none of the posts or info shows up in web searches, which explains why I didn't know about it.

The Facebook format is nice for posting a new question/topic and getting engagement on it, but it is not as good as the traditional forums at building up knowledge for later discovery, in my limited experience.

Agreed. Sure seems that way. Though that may actually make it less likely to be a violation than if one was paying the other for the links. Not within the spirit of the terms, but may not be a violation either.

This is a valid question. Though, I would argue in this case that they have found a loophole more than anything, if they are not in violation of the TOS.

As others have pointed out and the author acknowledges, he is technically injecting links when his users embed their scoreboard on their website through an auto-included link-back to his site.

Now, I don't frown upon this. It is not deceptive and its placement is more than relevant.

The same cannot be said for the scheme the author uncovered. But whether it is violating Google's TOS is another question. I'm not sure of the answer.

Clearly. But I guess it is not outright proven that they are technically buying links. Though they would likely fall under some form of bad behavior in Google's eyes.

And, buying or otherwise, I am not sure what the mechanism is for bringing this to Googles attention.

I doubt there is another acquisition channel for a project like this that would compare to SEO (and not just Google).

Could it be that Scorecounter is paying for their links to be embedded, as opposed to them being the owner/developer of both sites? If so, and provable, can they be flagged in some way?

Doesn't say much for Google's ability to determine relevancy in linking or recognizing suspicious link growth. Or perhaps it just takes some time ...

I think this is where you start. Something that interests you, something you have knowledge around, something you will actually find useful yourself in your life or career.

Second, and more challenging, is getting traffic to it. The best product with not traffic is worthless.

Over the longterm, content and SEO are one channel. This takes time and is hard work. But it can be outsourced some.

Be involved in communities and forums around it.

Buy advertising.

More than anything, build and product content. If something is working, double down on it.

I would definitely recommend. The price is right. There are definitely some limitations, but I think that comes with the territory with what they are doing around privacy and simplicity.

I primarily build in python/flask with mysql.

How's Your Blank is a javascript app with https://userbase.com serving as the backend to keep the user data encrypted and out of my hands.

Thanks! I hope it works for you.

I have had a chronic health issue, and I was needing to "rank" my daily symptoms. Most solutions I found were overly complex for my needs and without much of a focus on privacy. So I have taken those two tracks.

I would like to build it out more, while maintaining the simplicity, but want to wait on some feedback. So please do let me know what you think.

Scratched my own itch on a few things recently ...

Simple mood/symptom tracker: https://howsyourblank.com

I have almost six months of data in it myself, and I am excited to see what my "year-n-pixels" looks like at the end of the year.

Leaderboard app: https://leaderboardhq.com

My family plays a card game that includes 9 rounds with a cumulative score. This app is tailored for that, but I made it generic enough with a few basic settings so that it can be pretty universally applicable.

Blog by sms/text: https://textpost.me

Saw another project like this, but built it out the way I wanted to see it work for me. Pretty much the only blogging/journaling practice that allows me to remain consistent.

Close. Check the image in this article: https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20027122/vanmoof-tv-on-box-d...

HN Link with article and previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19008470

Not sure about "imported" boxes, as I believe this is for domestic US shipments.

I hadn't thought about that aspect. I don't believe they sold through Amazon, and I am not sure what the return address would have said, but I assume that wasn't a major issue for them if it was worth the effort.

This made me think of the bike manufacturer that printed images of flat-screen TVs on the outside of their boxes to reduce damage during shipping. It worked better than actually printing warnings like "Fragile" or "Handle with Care."

Just a more creative solution to a problem instead of a more technical one.

I'd say that honest, thorough and helpful articles like this as a function of marketing lead to word-of-mouth, organic growth.

This had a huge influence on me. I still have projects running on web.py that stemmed from it.

I suspect most people's attitudes towards ads are more nuanced than either "I am fine with ads" vs. "I am not fine with ads." And, frankly, most web users probably just don't understand how ad tracking works, rather than being Laissez-faire.

I understand it pretty well. I pay for a variety of services for the value they provide me and to ensure they remain viable. I use a lot of free, ad-supported tools without an ad-blocker.

I make a small amount of money from ad-supported sites. I make more money from user-supported sites.

I tend to be more concerned with the user experience. I don't mind ads that don't get in the way of my intent for using a tool or site. I have backed out of many sites that show me more ads than content, especially if presented in a way that make them more likely to be clicked accidentally than out of actual interest. They loose me as a user. That's a choice I get to make.

I enjoy physical magazines (or digital versions of physical magazines). I pay for several subscriptions, but I know they are making much more money from advertising. I wouldn't pay more for a version without ads. I like many of the ads. They are well-targeted and visually appealing. But I am free to ignore them and I am free to stop subscribing if the advertising diminishes the value I get from it.

Ad-supported sites are important to the ecosystem. Can they be done better? Yes! Can we make choices as consumers as to whether or not we patronize a site based on their advertising behavior? Yes! Ad blockers may play a role in that. Perhaps both will help push the industry in a more privacy-centric direction.

Privacy is more commonly seen as a feature these days. I have a few services I promote as both free and privacy-focused; no ads, no or minimal analytics, etc. And with enough interest I would hope to eventually charge for them to make them sustainable without ads.

You can just send a text to my project: https://textpost.me

Zapier, hosting, domains

Local SEO discovery made easy.

Came here to say the same. Winters are typically a string of constant runny noses and a stomach bug or two usually makes its way through the entire family each year.

Literally nothing.

While it is nice, I would definitely trade it for my kids to have normal social lives again.

Edit: And just put this one up today: https://leaderboardhq.com

I love that site's like this exist. I wish I had enough focus to love one thing this much. Another one I like: https://liftblog.com

I also wish I could focus on one thing more. I think most of my ideas are viable, but rarely get the attention I know is necessary for "success." And I often do the irresponsible thing and start new projects.

Too many! I get distracted by shiny new ideas all of the time. In the last few months I have gone live with several small apps [1,2], and I have several ideas in the hopper. No shortage of ideas here, let me know if you need one! :)

These are mostly MVPs, that I consider side projects. While jumping from one idea to the other certainly diminishes the likelihood that any one of them gets traction or the marketing and promotion necessary to grow, I also like the idea of putting in effort where I have the most interest at the time and seeing if I get lucky with one of them.

[1] https://howsyourblank.com [2] https://textpost.me

Some people love containers: https://www.prefixlist.com

Well, that's hard to say. In order to have, say, made different choices as an adolescent, I would have had to have the insight I have now.

Did I try to fit in, and do I still spend too much effort on worrying about others' perception of me? Yes!

I think it is OK to look to "fit in," but don't do it at the expense of what makes you unique. That is what resonated with me about this particular bit of advice.

I have seen in myself where I left some things on the table to have certain kinds of friends or to be seen (or avoid being seen) in a certain light. And I see where these conditions I have manufactured for myself don't have the staying power and are not as fulfilling as more natural relationships and experiences.

Wow. What an inspiration!

You raise a great example, as well. No one should be solely defined by their ability or inability to perform a single variation of a task or lesson.

Saw this posted not too long ago: https://oneitem.store