Show HN: A simple 'lost & found' side project

7 points by helen842000 13y ago ↗ HN

I started foundcamera.com as a basic weekend project a little while back.

I hoped to help a few people out and potentially facilitate some great success stories.

I thought it improved upon what's out there already as it's super simple (no signup) and it puts the geographic element at the centre of helping people to find & return treasured photographs to their owners.

It's recently picked up in popularity and I'm adding more lost and found items and seeing several hundred visitors each day. No successes as of yet.

Any suggestions for getting more people to play detective and help return items? I want to get some green pins on the map!

Are there any non-intrusive ways I could monetize it? Not to make a profit but at least to break even.

How could I improve it for v1.1?

Thanks

2 comments

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tommy_ 13y ago ↗

Allow people to put bounties on their lost items. The finder gets a reward and you take a cut.

helen842000 13y ago ↗

I do like the idea of making it into a game somehow!

A few people have already posted that they will pay a high reward, however I've not included the $ figure they mentioned.

Part of me thinks people should help out, out of generosity - plus I wonder if putting such a high reward for returning treasured photographs, it makes stealing cameras all the more lucrative.