C
Carsonified
carsonified.com · Company blog · on HN since 2007
Carsonified, a web design and events company, published talks and advice on launching and growing web apps.
What HN saysHN links it for talk write-ups on startup growth and metrics, such as Kevin Rose on reaching a million users and FreshBooks on marketing metrics.
81HN people shared it
17linked it in comments
94stories submitted
1.3Kstory points
16 years agolast shared
2007people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Your Web App has Launched – Now What?3 people · 99 points · first shared 2010 · 10 comments on HN
- 2Steve Huffman on Lessons Learned at Reddit2 people · 202 points · first shared 2010 · 31 comments on HN
- 3Kevin Rose: How to Take Your Site from One to One Million Users2 people · 65 points · first shared 2009 · 28 comments on HN
- 4John Resig on Advanced Javascript to Improve Your Webapp2 people · 50 points · first shared 2010 · 1 comments on HN
- 5Web App Marketing Metrics by FreshBooks CEO2 people · 33 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 6Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk2 people · 12 points · first shared 2009 · 1 comments on HN
- 7Aaron Patzer on How to Take your Start-Up to the Next Level2 people · 8 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 8DropSend Acquired by MakeMyComputerFaster.com2 people · 5 points · first shared 2008 · 3 comments on HN
- 9Emotional Interface Design2 people · 4 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 10Free is the Future of Failure2 people · 3 points · first shared 2009 · 1 comments on HN
- 11Start-up Metrics that Matter2 people · 3 points · first shared 2009 · 1 comments on HN
- 12Essential Developer Networks - HN Should have been there!2 people · 2 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 13Cheat Sheet: Web App Billing2 people · 2 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 14How to Choose a Business Model - Think Vitamin2 people · 2 points · first shared 2009 · discussion on HN
- 15Homepage2 people · first shared 2008
What HN people wrote when they linked it
mikegreenberg · 2011-01-03
Love a little humor. Companies that are honest about who they are and what they look for. A good example of this is the hiring page from Stackoverflow (http://stackoverflow.com/about/hiring) and Carsonified (http://carsonified.com/jobs/).
It's also important to identify the culture and energy within the company. Employees should get a good feel for how they will interact with other coworkers and what their day-to-day activities might include. (Mustache Mondays anyone?)
bdickason · 2010-06-23
web analytics 2.0 is amazing.
Also watch this (GREAT) talk on the metrics you should be tracking off the bat:
http://carsonified.com/blog/business/mike-mcderment-of-freshbooks-on-w…
He suggests that you build an internal tracking system to compliment something like Google Analytics.
Also if there's one thing you learn first in Google analytics, it's "Custom Segments." Build a segment for your paid users or return users vs. new users. USA vs. World. 3:00 on site vs. <1 minute on site. etc. Comparing differences between these groups is invaluable.
alabut · 2009-11-25
Awesome, glad I could help.
Whitney's got a great sense of community and really does her homework when writing. She interviewed me and a bunch of other designers to put together an article on process vs portfolio.
The book I've been referencing lately to programmers and just non-designers in general is The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams. It's an overview of the concepts of c.r.a.p. - contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.
http://carsonified.com/blog/features/design/how-crap-is-your-site-desi…
jmtame · 2009-10-25
i think there are patterns for this as well. AFAIC, kevin rose has given one of the best summaries of patterns to follow for growth: http://carsonified.com/blog/web-apps/9-ways-to-take-your-site-from-one…
the zappos talk given yesterday at startup school seems like a much longer-term solution to growth and repeat customers.
BigCanOfTuna · 2009-10-13
Here is the video of this presentation. Excellent, actually. http://carsonified.com/blog/web-apps/now-is-the-time-to-cash-in-on-you…
kakooljay · 2009-10-08
Slides are here (PG warning in effect lol)
http://carsonified.com/blog/web-apps/start-up-metrics-that-matter/#the…
11 & 12 explain the AARRR / pirate model...
Great references (slide 20) too - thx
keanemachine · 2009-08-10
Wired Top Stories
Lifehacker
http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/
PG Essays
http://www.techstars.org/
Seth's Blog - some brilliant marketing nuggets in there
Dilbert - of course
http://www.startbreakingfree.com/ - takes you through step by step as this guy built several sites from the ground up.
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/
Mashable
Smashing Magazine
http://www.collegemogul.com
http://carsonified.com/
TED Videos http://www.ted.com/talks/browse
The Register (El Reg) http://www.theregister.co.uk/
http://wealthpilgrim.com/
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/
http://www.chubbybrain.com/blog/
webwright · 2008-06-22
I believe Ryan Carson outsourced at least some of his product dev... http://carsonified.com/
He's not wildly successful (from a product POV) but I think he's making a few bucks.
ericb · 2008-03-29
I can't say for sure what he's referring to, but maybe it's Dale Carnegie's philosophy that you can never "win" an argument because even when you "win" an argument, you haven't usually accomplished your objective of persuading the person. I looked for an excerpt and didn't see one. There's a small summary here, but the book says it best:
http://www.carsonified.com/biz-tips/how-to-win-an-argument
On a personal level, a relative of mine has alienated enough people that I have trouble bringing him out because he continually needs to be "right."
What good have you accomplished if you're "right", alone, and you've convinced no one.
The dynamic is different in a public debate, however, where you might be trying to persuade people other than the person you're debating, but Mr. Carnegie's ideas are still useful to remember.
blehn · 2010-07-28
I think the author makes a valid point re: emotional design, but he also seems to confuse "pleasurable" design with his own personal taste (which appears to be bright and bubbly with heavy illustration). I'd say that sites like Reddit (and HN), Basecamp, Craigslist, Teuxdeux have their own visual personality (that their users enjoy) despite lacking animated cartoon birds. Pleasurable is subjective and will vary widely depending on audience.
I like the modified Maslow's Hierarchy, but I think he's overemphasizing the top piece in this article. Businesses have enough trouble achieving the bottom three pieces (Functional, Reliable, Usable), and often skip them to aim for Pleasurable. http://carsonified.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/maslow-hierarchy-int…
fdb · 2010-05-18
These slides are from the talk found here: http://carsonified.com/blog/dev/steve-huffman-on-lessons-learned-at-re…
fareita · 2010-04-08
The whole point of having an Iphone app is the userbility. Please have a look at this article.
http://carsonified.com/blog/mobile/make-your-site-mobile-friendly/
Fareita @ Moreover Technologies Ltd.
And yes we have an iphone App for live global sports news!
pxlpshr · 2009-10-29
Carsonified had a good post on this back in 2007, and so did Kevin Rose and Tim Ferris.
http://carsonified.com/blog/business/how-to-name-your-company/
http://vimeo.com/3934635
When it comes to consumer goods and services, short, sweet, and memorable should be your 3 primary objectives IMO. Be careful not to be to descriptive with the name or logo design, it can be problematic if/when you try to expand into other markets or grow new products that are different from your existing focus.
swdesignguy · 2008-10-29
They declined to say: http://www.carsonified.com/dropsend/carsonified-sells-dropsend
litepost · 2007-06-27
This was one of (at least!) 2 good talks on web apps at SXSW, both of which have online sources I've put previously on ycnews:
- http://www.carsonified.com/sxsw.pdf - http://particletree.com/sxsw/autopsy.zip
danw · 2007-04-10
http://www.carsonified.com/misc/survey-how-much-cash-for-small-busines… might be of interest.