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Accidentally Killed Porn and Politics in my college...what next?

GatsbyMag

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As many of you have shared within the forum, once in awhile I get something to the equivalent of a 'writer's block'.....but for business. Which is basically when I've done all my tasks for the day and I have some free time to review the work done so far.

One particular day, instead of reviewing the work I had done, I decided to have a 15 min break and scroll through Twitter.
Usually my Twitter feed consists of a mix of startup tips and comedic memes, however because I follow a couple of hometown friends and due to political agendas being pushed by the network, I was also bombarded with a bunch of annoying and slightly inappropriate videos and political ads on my timeline. In response, I 'muted' most of the accounts sharing such content, knowing that this would probably re-occur the next time I visit Twitter (as it always does).

I decided to jump onto YouTube and kill the remaining 7-8 mins watching promos for the UFC fight this Saturday. Again my home page showed me a bunch of videos which I had ZERO interest in watching.

As I watched one of the fight promos of Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa, I scrolled through the comment section and surprise surprise, there was a race debate in almost every comment thread. The next thing I know, I somehow end up arguing in my head with points made by the commenters. To make it worse, I fall into a spiral of watching religious debates on Youtube

This small activity cost me about 45 mins of time which I could've used to improve my life.

WHAT DID I DO ABOUT THIS?
Long story short.....I created a quick chrome extension that allowed me to hide divisive content on all of the social networks I used.
For example, on my recent break, I watched more UFC promos. The difference this time is that I was in and out of there within 10 mins, because my extension allowed me to hide and avoid content relating to the keywords 'race', 'religion', 'politics' etc. This meant that if there were any comments or recommended video with the word 'political debate' or 'politics', my extension would cover that content with a funny picture - preventing me from seeing it.

This way I could still have a break without being bombarded with negativity or falling into the addictive cycle of absorbing content that would drain my energy & time.

I shared this with some of my mates in college, who also shared it with their mates and the next thing you know I got about 500 users within 3 weeks of the extension being up (I didn't even notice it until yesterday evening).

However due to numerous technical issues which I can't fix on my own, I've had to take it down temporarily and am now working on a better version.

SO WHAT?
Well I've made a landing page for the extension so those who are interested can sign up and be alerted when I release the new extension. I've already received 7 sign-ups which has blown my mind because I've gotten more traction on this 30-60 min project than I have on a SaaS I've been building for almost a year.

Do you think I should give up on my SaaS and follow the market or do I keep focus on SaaS and work on this new project a bit?

If you're interested, this is the website. (Please only sign-up if you genuinely want it, my form can only take 100 per day lol)
 
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DarrellTreyTrey

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this is a thread to watch for sure. I, for the life of me, cannot believe that you would open up so much about your product. I'm def rooting for you. The functionality of the extension seems that it can work across a ton of different niches. Execution is key.

edit: I'm not really one to give advice but it seems that you have a lot of things cooking right now. As long as you can handle everything, do as much as you can.
 

Jasper S

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I think you may get more people to sign up if your website was secure.

Seems like an awesome idea though! Definitely something I would use.
 

GatsbyMag

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I think you may get more people to sign up if your website was secure.

Seems like an awesome idea though! Definitely something I would use.
Thanks for the feedback. What do you mean by 'secure'? As in the domain name?
 
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GatsbyMag

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this is a thread to watch for sure. I, for the life of me, cannot believe that you would open up so much about your product. I'm def rooting for you. The functionality of the extension seems that it can work across a ton of different niches. Execution is key.

edit: I'm not really one to give advice but it seems that you have a lot of things cooking right now. As long as you can handle everything, do as much as you can.
I've failed so many businesses that I've become jaded to the thought of someone stealing my idea, at the end of the day it comes down to execution (i've learned the hardy way lol).

Thank you so much for the support, I do have a lot cooking and i'm going to invest a lot of time rethinking and changing things up in the coming days and nights.
 

Jasper S

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Thanks for the feedback. What do you mean by 'secure'? As in the domain name?
HTTPS instead of just HTTP. It would make the data sent over your website less vulnerable to being intercepted by others. It may not be necessary to have, but it might put some people off.

I could be mistaken, but it looks like your website is Wordpress? If so, I'm sure there is a ton of information on how to make it happen (relatively easily).
 

rickmurray09

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I like your thought/ idea, I believe there is a lot of potential making a web app in this niche. Like ResuceTime that tracks time wasted on unproductive activity. Like a digital detox helper because people want to detox but the internet is integrated into their lives and have to use it for a way of life. This solves the needs of helping filter out the garbage that gets thrown at you on a daily basis.
 
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ElleMg

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I LOVE this idea. I only pay any attention to politics when I need to decide who to vote for in the next couple of weeks :rofl: Signed up!
 

abcdefgh

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As many of you have shared within the forum, once in awhile I get something to the equivalent of a 'writer's block'.....but for business. Which is basically when I've done all my tasks for the day and I have some free time to review the work done so far.

One particular day, instead of reviewing the work I had done, I decided to have a 15 min break and scroll through Twitter.
Usually my Twitter feed consists of a mix of startup tips and comedic memes, however because I follow a couple of hometown friends and due to political agendas being pushed by the network, I was also bombarded with a bunch of annoying and slightly inappropriate videos and political ads on my timeline. In response, I 'muted' most of the accounts sharing such content, knowing that this would probably re-occur the next time I visit Twitter (as it always does).

I decided to jump onto YouTube and kill the remaining 7-8 mins watching promos for the UFC fight this Saturday. Again my home page showed me a bunch of videos which I had ZERO interest in watching.

As I watched one of the fight promos of Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa, I scrolled through the comment section and surprise surprise, there was a race debate in almost every comment thread. The next thing I know, I somehow end up arguing in my head with points made by the commenters. To make it worse, I fall into a spiral of watching religious debates on Youtube

This small activity cost me about 45 mins of time which I could've used to improve my life.

WHAT DID I DO ABOUT THIS?
Long story short.....I created a quick chrome extension that allowed me to hide divisive content on all of the social networks I used.
For example, on my recent break, I watched more UFC promos. The difference this time is that I was in and out of there within 10 mins, because my extension allowed me to hide and avoid content relating to the keywords 'race', 'religion', 'politics' etc. This meant that if there were any comments or recommended video with the word 'political debate' or 'politics', my extension would cover that content with a funny picture - preventing me from seeing it.

This way I could still have a break without being bombarded with negativity or falling into the addictive cycle of absorbing content that would drain my energy & time.

I shared this with some of my mates in college, who also shared it with their mates and the next thing you know I got about 500 users within 3 weeks of the extension being up (I didn't even notice it until yesterday evening).

However due to numerous technical issues which I can't fix on my own, I've had to take it down temporarily and am now working on a better version.

SO WHAT?
Well I've made a landing page for the extension so those who are interested can sign up and be alerted when I release the new extension. I've already received 7 sign-ups which has blown my mind because I've gotten more traction on this 30-60 min project than I have on a SaaS I've been building for almost a year.

Do you think I should give up on my SaaS and follow the market or do I keep focus on SaaS and work on this new project a bit?

If you're interested, this is the website. (Please only sign-up if you genuinely want it, my form can only take 100 per day lol)
F*ck your Saas company, follow the market.
 
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Bearcorp

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Nice one and good luck with this!

Also, who's going to win the Israel Adesanya vs Paulo Costa fight?
 
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whyphilip

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I don't know anything about your SaaS/startup, but few know startups better than Paul Graham.

10. Avoid distractions.
Nothing kills startups like distractions. The worst type are those that pay money: day jobs, consulting, profitable side-projects. The startup may have more long-term potential, but you'll always interrupt working on it to answer calls from people paying you now. Paradoxically, fundraising is this type of distraction, so try to minimize that too.​

 

Lyinx

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I'm interested, and if it works I will share with my friends as well...
 
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Lyinx

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I'm interested, and if it works I will share with my friends as well...
And don't go down the subscription model either, that just pisses me off.. if you could roll this out, for $5 per user, and then in a year you send out an email that you've made a newer version with another name, that's way better, that should do the job.
I HATE subscription style software...
 

GatsbyMag

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And don't go down the subscription model either, that just pisses me off.. if you could roll this out, for $5 per user, and then in a year you send out an email that you've made a newer version with another name, that's way better, that should do the job.
I HATE subscription style software...
Got it
 

Lyinx

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Also, an app for on your phone, same features... Or maybe it exists already?
 
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Lyinx

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GatsbyMag

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Also, an app for on your phone, same features... Or maybe it exists already?
We're working on it, but right now it's not a major priority. Once we've got web solid, we'll dive straight into mobile. But it will take time as I suspect mobile will be completely different.
 

MitchC

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And don't go down the subscription model either, that just pisses me off.. if you could roll this out, for $5 per user, and then in a year you send out an email that you've made a newer version with another name, that's way better, that should do the job.
I HATE subscription style software...

App sumo could be a good source of traffic and sales if you do this, they love thier lifetime deal offers
 
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Lyinx

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We're working on it, but right now it's not a major priority. Once we've got web solid, we'll dive straight into mobile. But it will take time as I suspect mobile will be completely different.
you've got a window - until Nov 3'rd... after that it may get worse, or it may get better (I'm not stupid enough to understand politics, but news channels always go to the biggest stories out there)
 

GatsbyMag

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Today I released the 1st public BETA version of Content Guard.

This morning I sent the following email:

Screen Shot 2020-10-13 at 12.29.55 PM.png

I'm planning on following up with a ProductHunt feature and making a few posts on Reddit.

The aim is to just get more feedback at this point before I start charging for the product. I need the feedback to confirm the following:
1) Perceived value of product
2) How often product is used
3) Who are the people that gravitate towards this product the most

I already have rough answers to the above, but they're based on the initial traction of the product's very first ever release. Plus I didn't collect the answers in a way that gives me confidence in moving forward with pricing. So this 2nd round will essentially validate or correct my initial impressions.

My next step now is to keep pushing the product out to people.

Alongside, I'll also email the 500 existing users of the private version of Content Guard to gather additional feedback. According to Google Analytics, we have about 200 daily active users interacting with the application, which is great. I'm sure at least 10-20 would be more than happy to provide feedback.
 
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GatsbyMag

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Today I released the 1st public BETA version of Content Guard.

This morning I sent the following email:

View attachment 35251

I'm planning on following up with a ProductHunt feature and making a few posts on Reddit.

The aim is to just get more feedback at this point before I start charging for the product. I need the feedback to confirm the following:
1) Perceived value of product
2) How often product is used
3) Who are the people that gravitate towards this product the most

I already have rough answers to the above, but they're based on the initial traction of the product's very first ever release. Plus I didn't collect the answers in a way that gives me confidence in moving forward with pricing. So this 2nd round will essentially validate or correct my initial impressions.

My next step now is to keep pushing the product out to people.

Alongside, I'll also email the 500 existing users of the private version of Content Guard to gather additional feedback. According to Google Analytics, we have about 200 daily active users interacting with the application, which is great. I'm sure at least 10-20 would be more than happy to provide feedback.
I've been getting feedback to implement this in schools.

However I doubt there'll be much traction. Most schools trust all the big names and find it easier to block websites completely instead of 'filtering' words.

I've reached out to parents on Facebook but no reply. I've also gotten a few sign-ups, I'll contact them to see if I can learn more, but every time I email - nobody replies.

It's super weird because everyone shows interest and says "yeh cool idea", but the installations aren't increasing and few people are receptive to emails/messages. I'll give it one more shot, maybe a few more emails, re-brand and do an ad campaign (FB? IG? idk).

If it doesn't work after the above, I'll return to my original SaaS business. This was quite a fun ride however, learned a few more things and made a connection through it.
 

Lyinx

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Today I released the 1st public BETA version of Content Guard.

This morning I sent the following email:

View attachment 35251

I'm planning on following up with a ProductHunt feature and making a few posts on Reddit.

The aim is to just get more feedback at this point before I start charging for the product. I need the feedback to confirm the following:
1) Perceived value of product
2) How often product is used
3) Who are the people that gravitate towards this product the most

I already have rough answers to the above, but they're based on the initial traction of the product's very first ever release. Plus I didn't collect the answers in a way that gives me confidence in moving forward with pricing. So this 2nd round will essentially validate or correct my initial impressions.

My next step now is to keep pushing the product out to people.

Alongside, I'll also email the 500 existing users of the private version of Content Guard to gather additional feedback. According to Google Analytics, we have about 200 daily active users interacting with the application, which is great. I'm sure at least 10-20 would be more than happy to provide feedback.
Ask your people how it's working, if there is anything they would like changed/added ... And in the email contain a link to add to browser if you haven't already.

Then in a day or two send out an email telling those people that replied, here are the problems that people found, and here is what I've updated. Would you mind sharing this with other people?
 

GatsbyMag

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Day 1 of week 2.

A few more responses. One said they wanted a mobile version because the web version worked for them. Another asked how to use the extension, I redirected him to the video which he watched and it seemed to help him (no further reply yet).

I think I messed up "bigly" by making this a chrome extension instead of a mobile app. I just wanted to make something without investing $1000s in product development. I was willing to go to mobile if I saw traction on the Chrome extension, but doesn't seem like i'll get traction any time soon.

I'll do some more marketing and reach a few more people before i put a nail in the coffin tomorrow.

I thought "good idea but maybe I'm executing poorly?".
I think it's a combination of bad idea (people will likely just want to block whole websites) and poor execution (starting as a chrome extension instead of mobile version).

I'll go back to my SaaS business this week because ironically that is now starting to get more traction.
 
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DarkWoods

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Day 1 of week 2.

A few more responses. One said they wanted a mobile version because the web version worked for them. Another asked how to use the extension, I redirected him to the video which he watched and it seemed to help him (no further reply yet).

I think I messed up "bigly" by making this a chrome extension instead of a mobile app. I just wanted to make something without investing $1000s in product development. I was willing to go to mobile if I saw traction on the Chrome extension, but doesn't seem like i'll get traction any time soon.

I'll do some more marketing and reach a few more people before i put a nail in the coffin tomorrow.

I thought "good idea but maybe I'm executing poorly?".
I think it's a combination of bad idea (people will likely just want to block whole websites) and poor execution (starting as a chrome extension instead of mobile version).

I'll go back to my SaaS business this week because ironically that is now starting to get more traction.

I just subscribed but does it work on Safari browser? That's the only one I know.
 

GatsbyMag

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459
Day 1 of week 2.

A few more responses. One said they wanted a mobile version because the web version worked for them. Another asked how to use the extension, I redirected him to the video which he watched and it seemed to help him (no further reply yet).

I think I messed up "bigly" by making this a chrome extension instead of a mobile app. I just wanted to make something without investing $1000s in product development. I was willing to go to mobile if I saw traction on the Chrome extension, but doesn't seem like i'll get traction any time soon.

I'll do some more marketing and reach a few more people before i put a nail in the coffin tomorrow.

I thought "good idea but maybe I'm executing poorly?".
I think it's a combination of bad idea (people will likely just want to block whole websites) and poor execution (starting as a chrome extension instead of mobile version).

I'll go back to my SaaS business this week because ironically that is now starting to get more traction.
Funnily enough, one of the guru guys uploaded a related video: NEVER USE Social Media WITHOUT These 4 Blocking Apps (Brain Damage)

Interesting trend. Now I feel like I could be missing out on something, but there are so many website blockers that are being given away for free that I don't see why the average college/highschool kid would pay a dime. Plus what I shared above in the quote all makes it a bit more tricky. I'll think about it some more tonight.

UPDATE:
Based on feedback these are current features to consider if I decide to invest more time into it --->

  • Cross-browser availability (Safari/Firefox)
  • Mobile device availability (iPhone/Android phones)
  • Pre-loading a list or set of keywords
 
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