Tweets

@dohertyjf @mattwensing @earthlingworks I’m watching Jurassic World with my kids, eating Doritos, drinking… tequila?

@DerreckStratton @adamwathan @paulsingh @lkr Slack wasn’t bootstrapped.

Stewart convinced investors to let him use $6m (leftover from Glitch) to develop Slack.

https://www.failory.com/cemetery/glitch

@DerreckStratton @adamwathan @paulsingh @lkr But this (literally) happens all the time.

ICQ, Campfire, Yammer, Hipchat, Skype Chat...

All came before Slack. The customer demand for "group chat" had been building for decades.

When Microsoft bought Yammer (2012), it had 5 million users.

Slack still raised lots of money.

@p_millerd Hey Paul! 👋

Love the work you're doing around "designing a life worth living." 💯

(My inspiration for what we're doing with Transistor came from these folks: https://justinjackson.ca/the-good-life)

Happy to answer any questions you have about Transistor/podcasting. 👍

@nicolasmerouze Yup, that’s my point. “It all depends on the market.” 💯

@adamwathan I feel the same way: just love our little @TransistorFM crew.

This contest ends tomorrow. RT the tweet below for a chance to win a Shure MV7!

(And tell your podcaster friends they can build a free website with @PodcastSites 🙏) https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1536453188747808768

@petecodes @shl @IndieHackers I bought our car in 2020. That year there wasn’t a lot of choice: Chevy Bolt, Nissan Lead, or Model 3.

Since we’ve bought it, Elon has acted more erratically, has been distracted, and hasn’t taken Tesla Autopilot crashes seriously.

These days, there’s lots more choice in EVs.

@iamneuni @shl @IndieHackers Not exactly sure how political this question is.

(I don’t live in the US either)

This is more a question about Elon’s influence, actions, and his failure to take responsibility.

There’s no need to admire someone who conducts himself the way Elon does. (There are better models)

@RaulOnRails @JackEllis @shl @IndieHackers My meta point is that we, subconsciously, mimic the people we admire. They have more of an impact than we realize.

I’m calling on people to fill their minds and feeds with better stuff.

(This means following people with integrity, who can also challenge our thinking)

@JackEllis @shl @IndieHackers Let’s chat about this on a call sometime.

I think there’s still a crucial element of responsibility for folks with influence.

@JamesCridland @jappleby @jacobtender @Podnews Again, I was working in the industry when this legislation passed. I'm quite certain they don't meet the criteria here.

Regardless, I'm filing a complaint. 😉

https://fightspam.gc.ca/

Also, will be adding the phrase: "Do not send cold email, spam, to this address" in the XML.

@earthlingworks @arvidkahl Yeah. I will say that the "success stories" that were helpful to me were the ones where I was DMing with friends who had succeeded, and I was really able to get a full picture of the dynamics at play.

(Also, there are a few honest indie podcasts that share honest stories)

@coreyhainesco Yeah, I think this is a really good approach.

This is likely more true than we’d like to admit.

It’s not clear if any of the financial lessons we teach kids have a measurable effect: “lemonade stand,” “summer job,” “allowance,” “3 jar system.”

The truth is kids won’t really get it until they leave the nest. https://twitter.com/sambreed/status/1535708118255951873

Bonus question: *how* do you know these are good strategies?

(What proof do you have that they work, long-term?)

@TophatQuest This art looks great!

@taylorotwell Whoa! Nice!!! 🎉

@cgenco congrats on getting engaged! Just heard about it here: https://overcast.fm/+lW8SHjxeI

@petersuhm @bjornlindholmdk @ProductHunt @heyreform Nice! Upvoted. 👍

@MelisOnCheddar @hnshah Yes!! 🎯

@BryanBarletta @ogrover 🤣

Reminder: Andreessen Horowitz invested at least $100M in Clubhouse.

@justinvincent ICQ, Campfire, Yammer, Hipchat, Skype Chat...

All came before Slack. The customer demand for "group chat" had been building for decades.

When Microsoft bought Yammer (2012), it had 5 million users.

Butterfield's whole "we don't sell saddles" didn't help him win against MSFT.

@AdamModulate I talked about that in the “building fundamentals” section of this post:

https://justinjackson.ca/surfing

Related: https://twitter.com/sweatystartup/status/1345855694440960000

@earthlingworks @TheOmarZenhom @Patticus I have to run, but here's a quick video response:

https://share.descript.com/view/Yp7EL2mSzG3

@earthlingworks @JackEllis @TheOmarZenhom @Patticus 🤣

@tdinh_me Umm. Yes please!

@MichaelJNovotny Thanks for sharing it!

Here’s an example of one of the website themes, designed by @dr for the @nomoremondaysfm podcast:

https://nomoremondays.fm/

@nicolascava @TransistorFM @PodcastSites @ProductHunt Thanks! We hope a lot folks use it. 👍

@lynnntropy Yup!

And also: sometimes having a big incumbent "clearing trail" for you is a good thing.

@stephenrobles Curious: why? 😄

@dominicstpierre $10k is still a nice first milestone.

I say celebrate $10k, $20k, $30k, etc.

$30k is where things really changed for Jon and I:

http://justinjackson.ca/30k

@TheElsieEscobar One challenge we have at Transistor: we still get some search traffic for people looking for "how to get my podcast on iTunes."

@nbashaw I'm curious why smaller SaaS companies would need financing if the cash flows are good?

I suppose you could take on investment/debt for growth, but I wonder if investing in ads/acquisition is the best play in a recession?

@mholt6 hey! We have a @caddyserver question (for use on Transistor). What's the best way to message you?

Do I know anyone at PayPal who could help Derrick? https://twitter.com/derrickreimer/status/1526957623718854657

@sankalpdomore @Swizec @dvassallo Here’s the blog post:

https://justinjackson.ca/beach

@TransistorFM @csallen @ChanningAllen I think this is one of my favorite episodes of @IndieHackers yet.

Loved hearing all of your mom's stories! She definitely has the indie hacker spirit. 💯

@MeysamSafari Loved Prince of Persia. Just maddening to play and get the controls right, but so fun once you got the flow.

@dohertyjf Helpful thread! One challenge I’ve found with a smaller team is that balancing days off is a lot harder.

Even going from 2 people to 4, I noticed it was a lot easier to take time off. 👍

@SachaGreif Lots more lame video. Way less petty photos. 🙃

@matteing Yup. It’s surprising how quickly sentiment shifts!

@r00k @ashugeo WOW! 😍

This looks amazing! 🙌

@ryanstrickler Upvoted it!

@nbashaw Not sure if you've seen @cheriehu42's analysis on Music NFTS:

"Music NFT revenue spiked early in 2021 with celebrity-driven mega drops, cooled down through the summer, and rose slightly in the fourth quarter."

https://www.waterandmusic.com/music-nft-sales-in-2021-what-we-learned/

Bonus idea #1

Search "[your product] alternatives".

If review sites are the top results, make sure your listing is up to date!

(And ask your best customers to leave you a review)

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1522232891396173824

@iChris @DescriptApp Lol.

1. Open Descript
2. Descript tells you to re-open Descript

@aarondfrancis @TransistorFM @ProductHunt Hahahaha. (You never know!)

I've been thinking a lot about the taxi drivers I saw protesting Uber in 2015.

At the time I was a "startup guy," and was excited to see Uber disrupt the taxi industry.

Now, it makes me sad. Uber came in without any licensing and disrupted a lot of livelihoods.

@housecor Lots of other electric cars on the market now: Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, etc

And lots of reasons to have serious concerns about Tesla’s leadership.

(I have a Tesla and like the car)

@philipyoungg @stayinsession It really depends!

If you're already at a level of financial freedom that's working for you, you enjoy the work, and growth is still outrunning churn, that could be a good fit. 👍

But if it's not giving you the life you desire, it might be time to look at other opportunities.

@mbuckbee @tylertringas Yes! The moment I really knew @TransistorFM was working was when the people who were signing up didn't know who Jon or I was.

"People you don't know signing up for your product in sufficient numbers" is the sign you're looking for. 💯

@tatfig Yes! I've seen this with @megamaker as well.

One of the most gratifying things was taking time off and seeing members just naturally taking care of each other, leading conversations, welcoming new members...

What were some of your favorite syndicated comics as a kid?

For me:
Calvin & Hobbes
Far side
Bizzaro

I've just written my Member of Parliament (@MelArnoldMP) this email:

"I didn't vote for @JustinTrudeau, but I support the current government's plan."

Also: I haven't voted Conservative since early 2000s, but I've purchased a membership and will vote for @JeanCharest_ as leader

One example of a decentralized/distributed discovery mechanism that actually worked was torrents.

The number of "seeders and leechers" for a given piece of content helped surface its popularity.

You could also search by topic/keyword.

Anyone you know who’s built an audience, built it off some form of centralized distribution.

For many in my crowd it was Hacker News initially, then Medium, Designer News for a while, Product Hunt, Reddit. (And we’ve used Twitter the whole time)

Can we imagine another way?

@TransistorFM I presented some ideas on making your podcast stand out at @podsummit:

@chrisachard Thanks for listening! This @taylorotwell episode was really fun.

People make their purchasing decisions emotionally, and then try to justify them rationally.

This means we, as makers, can appeal to their desires.

But I'm conflicted about this information. I want to make things that matter, and have people buy them based on their merits.

@joshuaanderton I’ve got lots of ideas for @meepsapp ☺️

@BilalArarou I talked about using consulting as a source for SaaS ideas in my 2018 @microconf talk:

https://youtu.be/F-q3PLqMOoc?t=1357

It was energizing for me to chat with some indie hackers about our products: @mariordev and @alanb

Lots of challenges: validating a market, launching, getting early users.

https://overcast.fm/+v-uHvTQT0

@NotechAna @thisiskp_ I look at demand from multiple angles.

Looking at market forces is one way to look at it; JTBD is another.

I’ve written quite a bit about JTBD as well:

https://justinjackson.ca/what-is-jobs-to-be-done

These days, a common response to critical thinking/questioning is to accuse that person of propagating "FUD" (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).

The more we ignore uncomfortable topics, the more fragile we become.

@cuhpajo Hahaha

@tylertringas My argument is that never *really* happens; there’s always existing flows that help form the momentum.

Flip phones + MP3 players + digital cameras + camera phones + palm pilots + blackberries all flows into the river that made the iPhone possible.

Steve Jobs was riding that.

@arvidkahl I've got a new metaphor I'm working on for tomorrow's newsletter.

I'll DM you a sneak peek. 😉

@matthlavacka Idea:

Search “how to do linkedin outreach” on YouTube and either:

a) sponsor the YouTubers with the top videos
b) make your own video that competes with those results
c) create ads that match those results

@mohitmamoria Idea:

Send an automate email asking customers about their experience with Mailman.

In the PS: “Would you be willing to share @Mailman_HQ on Twitter? As a small team, referrals from users like you really help us.” (Link to a share link that pre-populates a tweet)

@TangiaRenee This page looks great!

Curious, how are people finding you right now?

If you have time, it'd be great to set up Google Search Console and DM me the top search keywords it mentions.

https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome

I might be able to give you more specific recommendations. 👍

@DomVacchiano I think your social image could be improved.

(Look at @tylerswartz's for inspiration)

Use https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator to validate it!

@scott_bair Show, don't tell!

Show me, right near the top of the page, what a Timewell memory looks like! Let me play it, hear it, see it.

@darentsmith @ivanbrezakbrkan @arvidkahl @TransistorFM @SpaceDownloadr Sweet! I like this idea. We have an API here: https://developers.transistor.fm/

Here’s what our integration with Descript looks like (this would likely look similar): https://transistor.fm/changelog/descript/

@DanielZarick @jasoncwarner I would! (For ad-free Twitter)

@kylefox @spencerfry @LenMarkidan @Everyone 🎯 pro move™

@oktuned @craigzingerline @jlogic @Nick_Franklin @yongfook @0zne @mynameis_davis @PierreDeWulf @linuz90 @roshanpateI @alelepd @kiwicopple @vivianmshen @MarkoSaric Glad it’s helpful! 🙌

@MargReffell @typeoneerror @mariepoulin @mjwhansen Hahaha. I kind of looked like that in high school?

(Frosted tips 😅)

@mariepoulin @mjwhansen If y’all have good cereal I’m going to find it and make myself a bowl. 😄

Mindshare is a function of:

1. How often do users and fans recommend your product
2. How often your product shows up when folks search "best [your category]"
3. How often your product is mentioned in newsletters, podcasts, etc
4. How aware people are of your story/brand

@SimonHoiberg Love the the way you to tell the story here: acting out all those scenes, playing all those roles. Well done! 👏

@hapsize @TransistorFM We use @crisp_im; highly recommend it. 👍

@r00k It’s true!

A lot of these ideas are awesome. 🤙

But some of these questions would definitely be “too strong” for certain contexts. 😅

@ryanstrickler I think Twitter could be great for connecting with Rails devs!

@tylertringas @laravelphp I think what’s being presented in the podcast is that (especially when working for larger companies) the stack is getting increasingly complex and more specialized.

The lens is particularly interesting in a “indie vs bigger company” way.

@SimonMinton @Tobsch @taylorotwell Here's the transcript version:

https://share.descript.com/view/MhYSxJj7Ge5

In the past few days @sherrywalling has gained 133 new Twitter followers. 🎉

That's 64% of her way to her goal of 5,000 followers. 👍

███████▓░░░░ 64%

@mattwensing Yes. The “rules of the game” are very strange.

It’s all so sad.

Help Marie hit 5k! https://twitter.com/threehourcoffee/status/1501334516920557575

Colleen Schnettler: @leenyburger

It was so fun to hear Colleen's story of building Simple File Upload, and growing MRR, on the @SoftwareSocPod.

If you're interested in learning to build a SaaS from a software developer's perspective, follow Colleen!

Katelyn Bourgoin: @KateBour

I'm subscribed to Katelyn's marketing newsletter (Why We Buy) which is consistently awesome.

If you're trying to figure out the psychology of your customers, and why they pick certain products over others, she's a must-follow. 👍

This will be especially helpful for Sherry right now as she's getting ready to launch a new book. 🙏

(For better or worse, publishers seem to care about "follower" counts)

Follow her here: @sherrywalling

She's 62% of her way to her goal of 5,000!
████████░░░░░

There are seasons of life where trying lots of things is a good idea. (Especially if you’re trying one thing at a time).

What’s not healthy is adding more to your plate so you can get ahead.

Group check-ins 💚💛🔴

One the @megamaker Slack, I'll post this question:

“Checking in. How's everyone doing?”

Having a group where you can express how you're feeling (whether it's just an emoji reaction, or commenting in the thread) is incredibly cathartic.

Breathe. 🧘‍♂️

When I get stressed, I tighten up and I forget to breathe.

Taking a moment to ground yourself, and focusing on your breath, can help reduce any built-up tension.

Sherry’s technique here really works! https://twitter.com/sherrywalling/status/1349726725077299202

In science, you can't just amplify an unproven idea.

You do your research.

Then, you share your research with colleagues, and get them to review your data, poke holes in it.

It doesn't get published until it's gone through a long process of scrutiny.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1432068592246444035

@heyjoshwood NICE!

I hope this is next on your checklist. 🙏