From what I see, Show HN could be the best place to get the first few users for your product. Im trying to find ways to market apps and i found a few: - paid ads (problem if you dont have money) - posting self made ads on social media (you need to be an expert in short form) - Reddit (50 to 100 karma points to even post something about your app)

All of these seem bad for people wanting to find the first few users.

Just so we are clear, i havent posted anything here with Show HN because i cant yet, I have a new account and it doesnt let me. But it just seems like this is the best place left to find users.

But if you know places where i could find the first few users for new apps right now without having to get karma points please tell me.

You said it well.

I like the idea of this Shipyard.

I would think the missing elements would be to concentrate on things that HN is not doing, and nobody else either. Provide a complementary resource providing links purely to honest projects rather than news items. But there's no way everything can be on the front page at once so he's going to have to sort them in some creative ways ;)

I always got the idea that HN was not intended as a very good place to actually "launch" things.

I thought it started out more like YC founders posting their recommended "current" readings and findings from the web, and showing occasional progress to others as they worked their way up toward launch. And welcoming like minded others who were not in YC who might just be in the same boat themselves.

Not really with the primary intention of self-promotion, at the same time it can be good to show pride in a worthwhile accomplishment.

It's good for people to show progress or share all kinds of things, but if it's tech there may be more numerous interesting tech submissions on HN any particular hour to compete for peoples' attention. Like anything else sooner or later something may go "viral", especially compared to nothing, but it would be more like a miracle than something anybody should have any expectation of. And the statistics in this blog really bear this out.

I see YC companies announce their launch and non-YC too have been warmly welcomed, but it's usually for a long-anticipated product where lots of work has been done building interest and there is a link to take you to where it's been getting so interesting. What I'm seeing is documentation of their major milestone, not really anything of the launch itself. In a way that fits in quite well with this website, which really is standing by for them any time.

They can be very busy with all hands conducting as well-orchestrated a launch as they can, in more directions every day. So it can be good when they take the time to stop by and fill people in on progress and availability, plus answer questions which some people are going to have more of than others. It can add up to a lot of interest for one HN submission.

But it's still gone in no time at all and that's what makes front page news front page news :)