I found Hubski by just browsing and reading a article about good sites to learn something. Hubski was part of that linup and I checked it out. I think I lurked occasionally and about half a year later I created an account and submitted my first link and started commenting. Haven't regretted it since.
So how about you? How did you discover Hubski?
I was told there would be cupcakes. I had been a non-coding founder in a web start-up that failed, mostly due to slow development. I had previously programmed for research, but never for a web app. After this frustrating experience, I decided that I would just teach myself, so I could satisfy my own itch to build. I had been on Reddit since 2006, and HN for a couple of years, and had a pretty good feeling for what I liked about those sites, what I didn't, and why; so I decided to start in that neighborhood. Mostly, I wanted to build something that I would value, and to improve my skillset along the way. When I started, I wasn't certain that Hubski would become the primary focus of my efforts. But, I love it, and it now is. I have no intention but to keep working on Hubski, and to continue to improve upon it. I think a lot of people assume that I am looking to build an alternative to Reddit, or even to 'build a better Reddit.' That's not the case. My goal is to make Hubski something that I personally value, and something that enables a kind of interaction that we could use more of. I don't mind if certain aspects of Hubski make people consider it to be an alternative to Reddit or similar sites. But, I am most interested in what Hubski can be if we continue to develop with our own goals. I have plenty of ideas about where we can go, and I plan to keep moving forward on our own path.
@mk, what are your goals? I just came here from http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4784494 It's not immediately clear to me what the site is about, though it is very reddit/HN-like ...what Hubski can be if we continue to develop with our
own goals
Hi throwaway. In its current state, the primary difference from between HN and Reddit is the content curation model. There aren't shared feeds on Hubski, so posts don't compete with each other for eyeballs. You do need to follow a few people to really experience Hubski in action. The way that posts propogate across Hubski is by sharing and resharing. If I share a post, it appears in the feeds of my followers, if they share it, it goes to their followers, etc... There are other differences, but I think the significance of these other differences largely depends on the individual user. As for future goals, I see Hubski as much as a publishing/blogging platform as I do an aggregator. There are a few hubskiers here that have developed a distinctive voice through the what they post and share. This is something that I have an eye towards for future development. This is also something a bit difficult to foster on HN and Reddit. In fact, based on our subscription model of content curation (and also the ability to ignore), we don't mind if users treat Hubski as an outlet for their own content. Users can follow it if they want, or not. I hope that helps. Other users here might offer a perspective more valuable to you. Since I work on Hubski, it's a bit tough for me to separate intent from experience. BTW, if you surround a user's name with @'s it will send an alert to them. Our markup is mostly based on bookending the text with a symbol.
Hubski keeps me coming back for a number of reasons. 1 - learn stuff
2 - discuss stuff
3 - share stuff
4 - share my own stuff 1 - there are some smart people on here that I DON'T agree with. So their intelligently submitted material expands my brain and helps inform my opinions and decisions. I can't be one of the bobble heads who just glues himself to fox noise or slate.com just because they regurgitate the things I already believe 2 - similar to the point above - All of the different points of view here round me out. Ground me. They reduce the amount of "us and them" speak in my mind and in conversation. That may sound a little utopian or something, but it's true. 3 - I don't live near many of my closest friends. Hubski is a great way to metaphorically elbow the guy next to me and say "check this out". And through sharing stuff, I have made some new friends online. It's far more social than I expected it to be, and that's delightful. 4 - Shoot... it's basically what mk said. It is a great platform to share stuff. i have written short stories, shared short films, pictures, and art of my own creation. It's a great place to get good, hard, honest feedback without the false praise, and more importantly, without the mindless trolling. 5 - I forgot about the donuts... I'm still waiting on those donuts. welcome throwaway. Who knows, you might dream up an entirely new use for hubski...
Donuts? But mk talked about cupcakes. Whoever promised you these things seems to be lying... Anyway, throwaway, you might want to consider getting a normal account, but beware. There are no donuts, nor are there any cupcakes (there might be pie tough).
Snoep gezond, eet een appel Meaning "take a healthy snack, eat an apple". I hope you like apples.
I have been using hubski as a "publishing/blogging" platform #tngpodcast as well as a place to share and consume content. It's a unique place in that it allows anonymity and familiarity. For example, I've never met steve, but I feel as though I have because I follow him and we have had a number of really great discussions here on various topics. My favorite function is badges. The "hubwheel" in the upper left corner next to your name populates with more "dots" as you use the site more and eventually it does a full rotation. When this happens you get a badge that you can allocate to any post or comment that you deem worthy. This is a way for Hubskiers to both be appreciated for their time on site and to show appreciation to a fellow hubski users quality content. Currently it is a small but growing community with many interests. I also like going to the "community" page, located on the left of screen under "discover" and checking out the most popular post/comment of the day as well as trending tags. Welcome to Hubski throwaway, see ya around the halls. edit: ps. check out "dark" under "controls" and "style". Once you go dark-ski you never go backski.
For me, Hubksi is about getting access to meaningful content and discussion in a better manner than other aggregator sites. Hubksi's lets you follow posters instead of subjects, with the idea that following posters whose content you enjoy yields consistently better reading than say, following a subreddit and just getting what gets upovoted the most. If I follow someone who posts good articles on tech, I get the approximation of following a 'tech' subreddit (since that is a major interest of that poster), but also gain a bit of serendipitous discovery as I read what other articles that poster sprinkles in. That's been my experience anyway. Every poster has a kind of core subject or two they like to post about, with smaller sattelite subjects. I also like Hubski's stunted upvote system. It gives you a little bit of positive feedback as the hubwheel ticks up as people like your comment or share your post, -but then it stops. Puts an end to all that Reddit nonsense where everybody jumps in to make the first pun they can and have the first half of the page just be an endless stream of puns moving to the right. Cuts down on the crap. mk can offer the best insight, but this is what Hubski is for me. It's a little quiter than other sites at the moment, but based on the people that I follow, I always have good front page reading. I look forward to an ever increasing amount of discussion, and am glad that has been increasing since the site's inception :) I could go on, but that's just a quick overview. You should just lurk a bit!
Badges really are a cool part of the Hubski experience. And just like in real life, giving one is way more fun than receiving one. Welcome throwaway.
Just a bit of Hubksi trivia for you throwaway, -if you toss another '@' symbol on the other side of mk's name, he'll be notified that you mentioned him in a post. So I can type "mk is an Arc god" he'll see I was talking about him in a post and probably begin composing some humble reply. Good way to get somebody's attention or pull them into a convo that they might be interested in or have taken part in.@mk, what are your goals?
Damn cupcakes always lure you in. Funny how scratching your own itch results in something amazing. Keep up the good work and don't forget to read the feedback we give :P
Good question. I was looking for information on the Higgs-Boson and stumbled upon thenewgreen 's song http://hubski.com/pub?id=2516 -- anyone who hasn't heard it should take a listen. I sent the song to a nuclear scientist friend of mine who responded on the page. When I went back to hear the song again, I noticed his response and newgreen's response to him. I figured I'd better introduce myself. Then came a long period of lurking. I tentatively posted one of my blogs and realized that hubski readers were discussing the ideas here - not commenting on the blog itself. THIS AMAZED ME -- and on it goes!
Hubski is a good way to comment on articles because you invite people to discuss things with you. If I share a post, I am basically inviting those who are following me to read and maybe discuss the post with me. The added benefit of Hubski is that you get to know who you will be sharing with via the comments, while at the same time remaining publicly visible. And because of this visibility, new members can join in. I think that this is one of the things that makes this place so amazing. Oh, the song was great :P
publicly visible
in a kind of pseudonymously way I guess
thenewgreen will put the Higgs Boson love song on his next album - right? btw TNG - I found myself humming "bigger than me" from your Elaborate Maps album. --- humming it, yes! Most of the time K'naan sings in my head and I was about to put his new CD on (Country, God, or the Girl), when I listened more closely to the soundtrack of my inner landscape, and heard your song. COOL. anyway, thanks s_s -- did you hear TNG's song when it was first posted, or just now?
Thanks for the compliment on the song speeding_snail and for the #tngpodcast nod. Both appreciated. Lil, I haven't seriously considered putting the Higgs Boson song on the next album but I suppose I should (consider). It's a fun one to play. It makes me happy to read that Bigger than Me was in your head. I had such a great time recording that song. The very end of it we had a group of friends and family come in the studio, stand around a microphone and sing the "I'm bigger than me" lines and the "oh-oh-oh's". Tons of fun and fellowship.
Just now. It was posted about 200 days before I even joined...
mk invited me to become a part of Hubski while out to dinner with our wives at Zingermans Roadhouse in Ann Arbor. I had already been using the site and really enjoying it and as such had a number of ideas. Brainstorming with mk, and others and seeing ideas come to fruition has been extremely gratifying. From the hubwheel as a voting mechanism, shout-outs and even the brief "columns" layout it has been a fantastic time. I've found Hubski to be extremely rewarding and even cathartic. I'm glad he invited me. Oh, and he promised me cupcakes.
mk wrote a blog post in response to one of my first advanced apes blog posts: http://www.theadvancedapes.com/theratchet/2012/10/16/do-we-d... I ended up realizing Hubski was a great place to share and discuss content. There was much more online accountability compared with sharing and discussing content on reddit. Feels like a community.
thanks for saying so. and now theadvancedapes and I have planned a meetup so I can (1) pass on some hubski stickers and a thenewgreen cd and (2) discuss punctuation. I will, however, never forget JakobVirgil's famous statement: If some one comments on your grammar rather then you're reasoning it means you won.
I don't get why one would ban someone for posting their own content. Own content is content all the same, and if you can talk to the one who created it, you can find out more about what their inspiration to create it was. And what they meant with the creation. Also, don't forget #tngpodcast :P
That's one of my biggest pet peeves about the web. People have to go through such weird social contortions in order share something that they created or wrote. IMO it is the content that determines whether or not something has value, not who shared it. If you create something of value, you made the world a better place. You shouldn't have to wait for someone else's validation, especially from those that have contrinbuted less.
It was mentioned on reddit when I was getting really sick of reddit and looking for an alternative. It didn't really do it for me, so I started to use RSS feeds instead. Now I get hubski (and parts of reddit) feeded to my RSS reader. I don't spend much time on the site itself or contributing to it, but I follow along with what's posted.
Is it just me, or is the RSS feed not personalized? I personally like the personalized feed. Removes that which I do not want to see and shows more of what interests me.
Nah, that isn't blasphemy. There is even a hubski subreddit. I don't know how that got there, but its there. Anyway, as lil said, welcome and enjoy your stay. And don't be afraid to comment or submit things.
Hi phree. I do the coding around here. If you have any feedack or questions, feel free to send them along. We've been working on making the new user experience a bit less confusing, and it always helps to get a fresh perspective. I will point out that there is a markup link next to the textboxes that lets you know what the basic text-based functions are. Welcome aboard.
Thanks! I'm always open to suggestions. Actually, you just helped me find something I need to correct. :) When you reply to someone, it sends them an email alert (if they have the alerts on); however, a '@' shout-out sends an alert too. Your shout-out and reply just sent me two alerts, where one would do. Typically, shout-outs are for calling someone into a conversation. I'll remove the redundant shout-out alert in a direct reply.
It was deep in the pages of Hacker News one day.
I'm on 216 days. Time flies when you are having fun? :P
I worked with thenewgreen in A^2. We instantly clicked once we discovered our mutual love for the beat, and the bottle. He recommended I check this place out. Happy I did. I also happened upon mk's for a New Year's party once. Meeting cool strangers on such a special evening is really fun. Was that in '08?
Was that in '08
That sounds about right. We were both introduced to Christina Ricci's that night. Good times. Wish you had cause to go back to Michigan over the holiday. We're going to have a huge Hubski blowout party!
thenewgreen posted a comment on the TED site, so I checked it out. It took me a minute or two to figure out what the site was about. I'd never been on reddit and mostly shunned anything social-media-thing related. I liked the weirdness, though, so I stayed. Almost 500 days now.
Slinked in here after a bout of ennui with Reddit; found some very interesting topics here that I hadn't seen before. Unlike Reddit, I was rewarded for engaging in thought-provoking arguments and expressing cogent viewpoints as opposed to just agreeing with the hivemind or inserting contrived puns. Not to say I dislike Reddit overall -- Hubski was just a nice, breath of fresh air. Hope to continue to see this site evolve and grow. Idn't it great here, everbody? ::Holds hands out for a Kumbaya session around the campfire::
I searched for a Reddit alternative during one of my off-again phases of our on-again-off-again relationship. :) I love hubski!