OP here: I spent a few days working with ssong last week to create papersync.co -- a service where we scan paper notebooks and turn them into .pdf’s.
We both carry notebooks around to jot down ideas in pen & ink.
After doing this for some odd years, the downside is that they take up physical space, and we have no digital backup.
We were frustrated that the best solution out there was to spend a few hours scanning them ourselves - we couldn’t find any service that would save time & do this for us.
In typical HN style, we built a fast, hi-res, scanning setup that uses DSLR’s and some other neat hardware & software. We built a simple website in 3 days to offer this as a service to all the beautiful people of the world.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this service and how well we are presenting it on our site. What could we be doing better?
The site itself looks alright, its obvious what you are trying to sell. Ironically the first selling point is also a reason why someone would not want to use your service
"[...] A million-dollar idea? Maybe the first sentence of the next NYTimes bestseller.[...]"
What is your guarantee on keeping these secrets a secret? Why should we ship off our ideas and thoughts off to some company to scan them when we could do it ourselves on our own scanner?
On the "About" page:
We make our best effort to maintain the security and confidentiality of your content, and we will never share, publish, or otherwise distribute your content to anyone besides you. In the event of an inadvertent leak or loss of content, we assume no liability, so please use your best judgment when deciding what to send.
Comments
OP here: I spent a few days working with ssong last week to create papersync.co -- a service where we scan paper notebooks and turn them into .pdf’s.
We both carry notebooks around to jot down ideas in pen & ink.
After doing this for some odd years, the downside is that they take up physical space, and we have no digital backup.
We were frustrated that the best solution out there was to spend a few hours scanning them ourselves - we couldn’t find any service that would save time & do this for us.
In typical HN style, we built a fast, hi-res, scanning setup that uses DSLR’s and some other neat hardware & software. We built a simple website in 3 days to offer this as a service to all the beautiful people of the world.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this service and how well we are presenting it on our site. What could we be doing better?
"offer this as a service to all the beautiful people of the world."
No, you don't do this. But please let me know once people from outside the US can use this, interested in trying it out.
The site itself looks alright, its obvious what you are trying to sell. Ironically the first selling point is also a reason why someone would not want to use your service
"[...] A million-dollar idea? Maybe the first sentence of the next NYTimes bestseller.[...]"
What is your guarantee on keeping these secrets a secret? Why should we ship off our ideas and thoughts off to some company to scan them when we could do it ourselves on our own scanner?
On the "About" page: We make our best effort to maintain the security and confidentiality of your content, and we will never share, publish, or otherwise distribute your content to anyone besides you. In the event of an inadvertent leak or loss of content, we assume no liability, so please use your best judgment when deciding what to send.