First internet $1 - Status update 🌍
First Internet $1: status update 2 weeks after launch.
https://firstinternetdollar.com
TL;DR: A world map to discover and connect with fellow indie makers.
🔹 Current stats - 80+ indie makers listed, traffic is ~10-50 visitors/day.
🔹 Initial users - I added the first 5-10 profiles by reaching out to some Twitter contacts and asking to add them.
🔹 IH post - The previous post I wrote here in IH was more successful than I ever expected (in a small scale). It remained for 2 days on the front page, got 100+ comments and filled my Twitter inbox with requests to join. (No self sign-up feature yet)
🔹 Manual sign-up - As people had to DM to join, this helped to establish a closer connection with many of them and created more chances for valuable 1-1 conversations. I got a bunch of suggestions which I might not have received otherwise. (Do things that don’t scale - Paul Graham)
📈 Next steps - I will try to grow it, take it as a learning practice in marketing/growth. Some ideas I have in mind how to try to achieve growth:
- Write additional posts about it (status updates here in IH, Reddit, other communities).
- Reach out to individual Twitter users or user groups, offer them to be listed.
- Figure out incentives for people to return to the page and share it.
- Improve shareability by emphasising share button and a better OG image for profile link.
- Allow self sign-in with Twitter (maybe still verifying these myself)
❓ What do you think - How to take it to the next level? What are the lowest hanging fruits for growing it?
Hi, Hugo! Congrats, the website looks very cool! As far as i see it, here's two potential ideas for further growth and even monetization:
as an incentive for people to sign up, as well as return to the page and share it, make it possible to add a link to the project they're currently working on. One single link, integrated within their twitter card profile, kinda like a Discord status.
And maybe later, you can add some extra options such as looking for co-founders / team members / beta users etc.
Example: Elena L | Twitter profile details | Currently working on / Currently looking for
as user base grows, you can add a Spotlight feature, kinda like a beam from space (this is my Star Trek nerdy side speaking lol), highlighting a certain profile on globe (premium feature).
Good luck!
Hey Elena, thanks a lot for your thoughtful reply with ideas!
The suggestion of listing projects (as sort of labels/tags) makes sense and someone else also pointed this out.
2nd one could be nice if ever the amount of users is a lot bigger so that it would drive more meaningful traffic and viewers (opportunities for profile promotion). Maybe eventually some easter egg laser beam.
Congrats! As a suggestion, it would be great to be able to change the location for people moving around.
Cheers Filip, I’ll note it down!
I agree on that too
Very nice! Add me to the map, please 👀
Would love to be part of this! I travel a lot and would love to meet fellow IH-ers wherever I go!
would love be in there if you need more information about printer visit the website here is printerlake.com/best-epson-sublimation-printer/
Great project mate ! I gonna join
Thank you Vlad! For sure 🙌 let me add you.
Will there be internet for $1?
What do you mean?
Hey Hugo,
I love this. It's such a cool visualization.
Wouldn't it be awesome if people could share the thing that they are working on now? Perhaps have the option to highlight when they launch a product which a subtle animation on their pin or a different color etc.
Going to keep my eyes on this :)
Thanks Dan! Yeah, you and others have also suggested this!
Would love to be in there!
Cheers Idan! Let me add you on the map! 🙌
Amazing project, it would be a honor to be part of this.
Please add me.
Thank you Augusto, for sure!
Very cool project. Love this! Please add me onto the map!
Thank you! For sure.
woudl love to be a part of this
Thank you! For sure, I’ll add you.
Really cool Map ! I love it !
Congrats on the project and i'd like to join too :D sign me up
Thank you Manaayed! 🙌 For sure, I’ll add you.
cool thank's. I wrote you on twitter :D
Very cool product, congratulations!
Cheers, Harsh! Would you be up for being listed? 😊
Sure, would love that :)
Amazing design Hugo! Congrats 👏👏👏
Cheers Daniel! I appreciate so much that you like the design 🙇♂️ Would you be up for getting listed on the map?
Glad to be part of it ;)
Thank you Victor! 🙌
Congrats!
Thank you!
Nice man! Congrats
Thank you David!
Nice, congrats. Although for me, it was confusing that the name does not correlate to its intended purpose. Just looking at the name or URL does not tell me what your site does...
Thank you Dusan! It’s true 😅 the reason is that the name is already legacy from my initial idea around this, which I later changed. But because buying the domain is the 1st step… 🙃
very cool!
I think a great addition would be a "revenue heatmap", would have to be self reported or fed via API (similar to IH). I think this could give the product a second layer of info to encourage interaction with the site.
Thanks Alejandro! Could you elaborate how would you interact in that case? What is most interesting about it?
i feel like it may simply spark curiosity among people to explore areas in the globe where they might not have thought of looking at specifically.
In my head, i feel like most of the users would search the globe for (1) networking opportunities in their area, or (2) in areas that they may visit soon
a heatmap would potentially push people to say "wow, what's going on here in Japan?" (if there are makers with more revenue), for example.
Just a crazy thought! -- also you could potentially start revenue leaderboards per country or region, to have people "compete" to bring their area up in the leaderboards
Thank you so much for this detailed response. That makes sense! 🙇♂️
Happy to also hear your main understanding is the same I have in mind