So are they going to do any kind of end-user communication in the near future?
Their credibility is at stake here, and your squelching of the discussion does not help matters imho.
edit: And the only reason people get to play pretending they're wakemate is because wakemate does not communicate regularly in the first place.
edit2: wakemate really sets themselves up for trouble, this part of their blog especially is troublesome:
"In the coming weeks, we’re going to be more active on the blog, publishing photos, screenshots, and videos of what we’ve been working on. Hopefully this will help assuage some fears that the product is “vaporware” and get our pre-order customers as excited for the next wave of shipments as we are."
And that was on the 26th of April, total radiosilence since then. If you promise activity in 'the coming weeks' then you should show some. I'm really not surprised by the posting that was originally done, and in fact I think that person should be commended for their restraint rather than to see their post deleted.
Man, I like a lot of your comments, but sometimes it seems to me that you cross the line into being a busybody.
I'd like to be more communicative about my startup too. The reason I don't is that I'm spending all my energy working on the product. These things are hard. We are finite.
Wakemate don't owe anybody anything who hasn't given them money, and if anyone who has is unhappy, I'd be shocked if Wakemate wouldn't be eager to give them their money back. Sometimes it seems like what people are really buying with their 5 bucks or 50 or whatever is the feeling that they have the right to kick up a stink.
> but sometimes it seems to me that you cross the line into being a busybody
Possibly. But I'm not going to fall over and roll on my back just because it is PG that does something.
Wakemate has a great chance to manage their image here and PG has essentially thrown that away.
> I'd like to be more communicative about my startup too. The reason I don't is that I'm spending all my energy working on the product.
I've worked for enough start-ups to know that you need to do everything right, not just work on your product. If you spend all your energy on that - and you've signed up customers for pre-order - I suggest you do something about it before you copy wakemates mistakes. It's really a pity, I've seen them go from having a ton of goodwill to essentially being damaged goods.
That's wasteful.
And to see PG squelch discussion about a YC company when he's fine with us discussing everything else under the sun is for want of a better description less than elegant, especially if HN has been used as a venue to get initial customers. Another reason why it is bad to do so is because we can all learn from each others mistakes and to see bad stuff discussed in public is a learning experience for all, not just for the company involved.
You simply can't launch off HN and rely on us to do our bit with passing word of mouth to friends if there is an interesting new YC start-up and hit the mute button if there is a legitimate concern by a HN member regarding non-performance by said company. That's what causes the stink.
People that put their $5 or $50 down have a reasonably expectation of in order:
- a product
- failing that to be kept in the loop
- if all else fails their money back or an explanation
Less simply won't do, and even if it was free you'd still be morally obliged to keep people informed. Stonewalling is the dumbest thing you could possibly do.
The OP wasn't trying to kick up a stink, he was simply a concerned customer. And given the way PG handled it now he probably went from 'disappointed' to something a few steps lower than that.
Their credibility is at stake here, and your squelching of the discussion does not help matters imho.
edit: And the only reason people get to play pretending they're wakemate is because wakemate does not communicate regularly in the first place.
edit2: wakemate really sets themselves up for trouble, this part of their blog especially is troublesome:
"In the coming weeks, we’re going to be more active on the blog, publishing photos, screenshots, and videos of what we’ve been working on. Hopefully this will help assuage some fears that the product is “vaporware” and get our pre-order customers as excited for the next wave of shipments as we are."
And that was on the 26th of April, total radiosilence since then. If you promise activity in 'the coming weeks' then you should show some. I'm really not surprised by the posting that was originally done, and in fact I think that person should be commended for their restraint rather than to see their post deleted.
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