Wow, that actually sounds like a fantastic idea. I can see this being very useful, especially if you add the ability to pre-purchase prints in discounted packages.
Good Job! Execution is everything, and shipping a Product in 2 Weeks is AWESOME! It sounds like you are on the right path, executing fast and getting traction. Keep it up! Make sure to check back in with the customers and use their feedback (I think you know that already after reading your Blog)
OP, if you chose the current title for your HN submission you should be aware that in some countries "Fuck Ya" will be read as "Fuck You". I think you mean "Fuck Yeah"?
I didn’t appreciate the use of expletives at all. I appreciated the blog post and I think there’s a market for the service, I just don’t think the profanity added value.
It may be unlikely for the target audience of the service to read this blog post, but I can only guess what they would think of it.
So I got to the page, and read the overall blog title, and thought the article was going to go a different way.
Was pleased that it turned out so well, sounds like a great idea -- I know there are companies (for example the one that recently was on the shark tank tv show) that are looking in this space, and I think the process that you've just pointed out is way easier than what they offer
Small nitpick - Twilio does offer MMS, but you have to have a shortcode in US: https://www.twilio.com/mms
It's a hefty monetary commitment, so for the purposes of this story Twilio does not offer something compelling, but if you have the $$$ it's a solid service.
The blog date was 9/14, and the groundwork was done presumably at least 2 weeks before (seeing the title of the post). Twilio announced MMS on 9/18 at TwilioCon.
According to their website, you can get MMS via regular phone #s.
Send and receive pictures over both phone numbers and short codes with Twilio Picture Messaging.
Semi-related, but if you want to print a lot of pics, it's probably just worth it to buy a printer. I just bought this one: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PRO-100-Professional-Inkjet-Prin... and I'm pretty happy with it. It supports Apple's AirPrint so you can print from iPhone/iPad on your local LAN/WiFi. Good quality prints and a bunch of rebates on this one if you dig around.
You're suggesting he buy a printer and print the photos, then address and stuff envelopes himself instead of using the service he found (lob.com)? I can't see that being cost- or time-effective.
Unless I have a high-volume business need for a printer I will never own one again. They are space hogs and money pits. Ink/toner is outrageous, buying paper in small quantities is expensive, and the consumer grade printers are slow and flimsy. The few times a year I actually need to print something I just go to kinkos or break the rules and print it at work. Maybe I'll look at using lob.com or a service like it though.
How about you just press a button on your phone and 30 seconds later hand a photo to somebody? There's immediate value in that for me, and I personally would rather do that than use a service (which I did do for years with the online vendors, and I had a crappy experience with all of them).
Plus I can tweak the print in Photoshop before and print direct from there. Each has it's place.
I like it! It seems similar to an idea pitched on Shark Tank recently.
I wanted to mention a hiccup in the sign up experience. After signing up, I received an SMS which said to reply "Y" to receive messages from Pigeon. Upon replying "Y", in addition to the 2-part welcome message, I received a 2-part message saying that Pigeon couldn't recognize the receiver for a picture.
I'd like to offer an observation about the copy at http://www.pigeonpic.com. The larger slogan, "Never lose touch with friends and family", is vague. The smaller one, "Send photographs through the mail with just a text message", is specific. It makes clear what you offer and also that there is a concrete service here instead of just another smarmy social site. If I were you, I'd drop the first one and put the second in its place. Then the clear copy and the sentimental photo would complement each other nicely.
I'd also make the one-two-three diagram much larger, i.e. make it the width of the banner. It does a good job of explaining what the original line means. To judge by all the sites out there that can't seem to state simply what they do, that is nothing to sneeze at. If you can get users to read that far until it clicks, you'll be way ahead of most.
Of course you can test all of this.
p.s. One thing remains unclear: how do you get the address to mail the printed photos to?
I'd argue that it's impossible to read the first sentence without reading the second, but maybe that's just my "read the small print" instinct kicking in.
>The larger slogan, "Never lose touch with friends and family", is vague. The smaller one, "Send photographs through the mail with just a text message", is specific. It makes clear what you offer and also that there is a concrete service here instead of just another smarmy social site.
This is an excellent point. However, I don't agree with your second bit of advice to drop the first line and just use the "clear" copy. Instead, I suggest coming up with a better tag line that maybe even ties in nicely with the name Pigeon (love that name, btw). Maybe something like, "Send photographs to anyone on the wings of a text." OK, that's probably lame, but I think you get my point.
Nice app. However, slow development time is not necessarily a bad thing. If you can develop an app in 2 weeks, it most likely means someone else can easily clone the same app. Whereas if you need 1+ years to develop it, it's likely not as likely to be duplicated (ie. there are actual technical barriers)
The image on the homepage makes me think this family is running for their lives from a horde of zombies, but seem fairly happy about it. Gotta love stock photography.
> So after I launched this product I had more orders in the first 24 hours than I did in total with my startup that took over a year to develop.
Can you please elaborate on what you did to get orders? I would think it would be many times harder to get a first order from someone you don't know, than writing the app.
since specific numbers aren't provided, he could have had 2 orders in his pigeon app and 1 from his prior effort and his claim would be true.
The "boomer age" people I know who want to print pictures and send them to someone go to a kiosk at the drugstore or a copy shop, where they also pick up a greeting card in which they typically like to handwrite a note to the recipient, that was the sort of thing people used to consider courteous.
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[ 5.1 ms ] story [ 110 ms ] threadIt may be unlikely for the target audience of the service to read this blog post, but I can only guess what they would think of it.
Was pleased that it turned out so well, sounds like a great idea -- I know there are companies (for example the one that recently was on the shark tank tv show) that are looking in this space, and I think the process that you've just pointed out is way easier than what they offer
Small nitpick - Twilio does offer MMS, but you have to have a shortcode in US: https://www.twilio.com/mms
It's a hefty monetary commitment, so for the purposes of this story Twilio does not offer something compelling, but if you have the $$$ it's a solid service.
According to their website, you can get MMS via regular phone #s.
Send and receive pictures over both phone numbers and short codes with Twilio Picture Messaging.
However, this service was recently launched
(yes I've seen the international shipping, but domestic for us is probably faster and cheaper)
Unless I have a high-volume business need for a printer I will never own one again. They are space hogs and money pits. Ink/toner is outrageous, buying paper in small quantities is expensive, and the consumer grade printers are slow and flimsy. The few times a year I actually need to print something I just go to kinkos or break the rules and print it at work. Maybe I'll look at using lob.com or a service like it though.
Plus I can tweak the print in Photoshop before and print direct from there. Each has it's place.
built it 3 years ago after I had quit my job and came to SF
I keep hoping I'll have an idea like yours that just pops into my head and I run with it.
I wanted to mention a hiccup in the sign up experience. After signing up, I received an SMS which said to reply "Y" to receive messages from Pigeon. Upon replying "Y", in addition to the 2-part welcome message, I received a 2-part message saying that Pigeon couldn't recognize the receiver for a picture.
I'd also make the one-two-three diagram much larger, i.e. make it the width of the banner. It does a good job of explaining what the original line means. To judge by all the sites out there that can't seem to state simply what they do, that is nothing to sneeze at. If you can get users to read that far until it clicks, you'll be way ahead of most.
Of course you can test all of this.
p.s. One thing remains unclear: how do you get the address to mail the printed photos to?
This is an excellent point. However, I don't agree with your second bit of advice to drop the first line and just use the "clear" copy. Instead, I suggest coming up with a better tag line that maybe even ties in nicely with the name Pigeon (love that name, btw). Maybe something like, "Send photographs to anyone on the wings of a text." OK, that's probably lame, but I think you get my point.
Can you please elaborate on what you did to get orders? I would think it would be many times harder to get a first order from someone you don't know, than writing the app.
The "boomer age" people I know who want to print pictures and send them to someone go to a kiosk at the drugstore or a copy shop, where they also pick up a greeting card in which they typically like to handwrite a note to the recipient, that was the sort of thing people used to consider courteous.