wits.io
Learning and science
book summaries
SHOW HN2018
How HN took it
6 positive, 24 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 16 critical, out of 46 comments about the project. Thread score -0.21.
Idea: 3 for, 5 againstPricing: 1 for, 3 againstDesign: 2 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 3 againstExecution: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simple, clean design.
From 1 comment
I love the simple design and look of the site. Did you do that yourself?
LukeHoersten on HN
Good selection of books for HN readers.
From 1 comment
Awesome idea! Apparently I hesitated as there was no trial or anything. I have no idea what I can expect or how good the quality is. But really good selection of books for HN.
sebslomski on HN
Passwordless login is a good choice.
From 1 comment
And thank you for using nopassword. It's 2018... why isn't this the standard???
sebslomski on HN
Objections
Payout model is opaque and likely too little to earn from.
From 2 comments
no way i would read an entire book, to write a small summary, and then get only 50% of "profits" (even if it is changed to 85% (still says 50% for me)). On top of that there's no…
masukomi on HNI think it's a mistake to distribute payment based on likes, reading time or engagement. Firstly, the writer is doing all the work only to be paid based on a completely opaque…
asdfman123 on HN
Summaries may encourage shallow reading and signalling.
From 2 comments
If a book's ideas can be absorbed in 15 minutes, was it ever really a book? I've seen these business summaries on offer elsewhere--it always struck me as an approach to…
ordinaryradical on HNIf a book can be summarized in 10-15 minutes and the rest of the book was worthless "filler", I wonder whether or not that's the sort of book worth summarizing in the first place.
Kaveren on HN
Missing terms, privacy and about-us pages.
From 2 comments
No terms of use, privacy statement ? About us ? So who are you and why would anybody trust you ?
Gys on HNI felt the same when i tried to look for an About Us to try to understand more about the page. The website is too minimalist in my opinion. Although the looks are good, the lack…
calferreira on HN
Celebrity images may imply endorsement.
From 2 comments
No. The ideas and the knowledge in the book don't fall under copyright, the concrete expression does. But the more interesting point is how they use the names of well-known…
Tomte on HNI think it gets very close to presenting those people as the authors of summaries/book recommendations on the site. That‘s what I thought on my first visit, anyway. Depending how…
Tomte on HN
Requests
Add a free tier with some books.
From 1 comment
Yeah, I think there should be a few books in a "free tier" section. Maybe very popular books like the 4 Hour Workweek or Lean Startup. Then leave the rare content for membership…
muzani on HN
Show sample summaries.
From 1 comment
I would like to see a sample. I am, also, annoyed a little by the three "Apply to contribute" and the "Write & make money", all on the same page.
davidcollantes on HN
Simplify the three duplicate apply buttons.
From 2 comments
I would like to see a sample. I am, also, annoyed a little by the three "Apply to contribute" and the "Write & make money", all on the same page.
davidcollantes on HNUX comments: 3 buttons on a page which do the same, is very confusing. And then the button in the corner, what does it do? Also, what will you do with this content? Examples? I…
kull on HN
Questions
How does copyright apply to summaries?
From 1 comment
Just curious, how does copyright work in this case? To summarize someone's book (especially if we are selling the summaries), don't we have to get permission from the book's…
justaguyhere on HN
What is the business model?
From 1 comment
"Whenever a wits.io member likes your book summary, you earn money." What is your business model?
rainboiboi on HN
Is the signup count real?
From 1 comment
"1,337 people have signed up so far." Is that just boilerplate or was I really lucky?
tw1010 on HN
Alternatives named
Blinkist
From 1 comment
Have you looked a Blinkist? https://www.blinkist.com/
swozey on HN
Instaread
From 1 comment
I’ve been using [Instaread][https://instaread.co]. I find it to be a pretty good source of high quality book summaries, which you can read or listen to.
orangepeel310 on HN
Derek Sivers book page
From 1 comment
Don't know if this is helpful, but Derek Sivers has a giant review page of all the books he has read. Maybe wits.io competes with this by better reviews, maybe not. In any case,…
dtujmer on HN