Alias
Productivity
content alerts
SHOW HN2021
How HN took it
18 positive, 19 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 19 critical, out of 56 comments about the project. Thread score -0.07.
Idea: 9 for, 8 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 5 againstExecution: 1 for, 4 againstDesign: 3 for, 1 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
Useful for following favorite creators and getting alerts only for their own content.
From 2 comments
It actually works! I've found Google Alerts to be extremely noisy and alert me for content about certain people. Alias only notifies you if the person actually…
iMuzz on HNThis is epic! Just subscribed to a few of my faves!
sydneyliu on HN
Nice design and execution.
From 2 comments
I really like this website design especially on mobile - how did you make it?
apurvak on HNLooks amazing, great job!
vertoc on HN
Objections
Feels like stalking; aggregating creators' content without opt-in raises privacy concerns.
From 3 comments
I have mixed feelings about this as someone that creates a bunch of content across different platforms. I intentionally spread it out across platforms as different platforms have…
xena on HNSeems a bit stalkerish. Why not just use standard tooling and check at healthy levels instead of feeling the need to be notified of everything they do.
encryptluks2 on HNStalking, but pretty!
notananthem on HN
Biased toward Silicon Valley figures and lacks diversity.
From 2 comments
Seems to be heavily biased in favor of silicon valley personalities.
clircle on HNThis looks super useful! I was curious who I might be able to follow on Alias, so I checked out the list. I saw that an overwhelming majority of the people are white. I know this…
cardamomo on HN
Many lesser-known people are missing from the index.
From 3 comments
I wanted to follow two people who are not super-famous. They have written blog articles and been interviewed on podcasts. But I could not find them in your search. The folks who…
rahimnathwani on HNI just looked up 5 of the "people I care about", only to find that none of them had entries. They were fairly popular podcasters too, so I guess I don't know what your target is…
smoldesu on HN"For your favourite people" For some of my favourite people. There are many, maybe niche, personalities I can't see listed. I was hoping that I could put anyone's name in there,…
0xdeadb00f on HN
Name overlaps with Google Alerts, which commenters find noisy.
From 2 comments
Neat, but "Google Alerts for famous people" already exists. It is called..Google Alerts. Maybe sell it as "a better Google Alerts" or something.
paxys on HNHow is it different from, well, Google Alerts?
Nowado on HN
Requests
Opt-in or opt-out for creators.
From 1 comment
I have mixed feelings about this as someone that creates a bunch of content across different platforms. I intentionally spread it out across platforms as different platforms have…
xena on HN
Import followers from Twitter during onboarding.
From 2 comments
I like the concept. But I found myself thinking "who that I follow is prominent enough to be listed". I'd love to say "this is my Twitter account, tell me who of the people I…
JoshTriplett on HNYep, we do need to improve our onboarding flow a bit. We plan to include that Twitter followers list integration, and also suggest you people based on your interests. Thanks for…
jonathancai on HN
Broader topic coverage beyond tech and finance.
From 2 comments
We are definitely looking to expand beyond the tech/silicon valley scene. We only started in this space because it's the kind of stuff we read, but we're looking into which…
jonathancai on HNSo I followed over 1,000 people on Twitter because I valued them for "some field" or other, but that may have been years ago. And I did a terrible job organizing my follows into…
ghostbrainalpha on HN
Recommendations of related creators.
From 1 comment
This looks amazing, probably features like discoverability and recommendation of creators is in the list? If I follow n of these people, this person x would be a good creator to…
mandliya on HN
Questions
How is content indexed and kept up to date?
From 1 comment
I had a little scare that I wouldn't find Peter Thiel in the list, but I did and now I am subscribed ;) The concept is awesome actually, for the exact reasons you are mentioning:…
lionhead on HN
Which types of people get indexed?
From 1 comment
> Like will this be useful for someone who is following thought leaders in MMA fighting, Pornstars, DIY Guns and Drugs? We haven't quite been considering the latter folk for…
jonathancai on HN
Alternatives named
Google Alerts
From 2 comments
How is it different from, well, Google Alerts?
Nowado on HNNeat, but "Google Alerts for famous people" already exists. It is called..Google Alerts. Maybe sell it as "a better Google Alerts" or something.
paxys on HN
Courier
From 1 comment
cool service! you might want to checkout courier.com, would be a great service to offer alerts across different channels
worldsoup on HN
Twitter following lists
From 1 comment
I like the concept. But I found myself thinking "who that I follow is prominent enough to be listed". I'd love to say "this is my Twitter account, tell me who of the people I…
JoshTriplett on HN