Bloom
Web and SaaS
google workspace alternative
SHOW HN2019
747points
230comments
#10of 2,195 in 2019
Top 1%of 2019 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
25 positive, 106 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 42 critical, out of 180 comments about the project. Thread score -0.15.
Idea: 13 for, 17 againstDesign: 2 for, 5 againstPricing: 0 for, 6 againstExecution: 0 for, 6 againstDocs: 0 for, 4 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
Objections
Sign-up and tagline do not clearly show what it does; search is missing despite Google comparison
From 4 comments
Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology…
dougk16 on HNClicked, didn't see a search engine, closed the tab.
PatrolX on HNGoogle? I tried to find a "search bar" for 10 sec, and then left the site frustrated, sure to never come back.
countryqt30 on HNI like what you're trying to do and definitely something id use when it's more mature. Not a comment on the quality or feature set, i just like to know tech isn't going to stop…
austhrow743 on HN
Core team is small and funding plan is unclear
From 3 comments
How are you going to do all these amazing things? When I go to bloom.sh and click About, I learn that the core team is one product designer and one graphic designer. If you're…
solipsism on HNDo you have a comprehensive and viable plan to pay for costs? If it involves getting enough donations, does your plan include a viable way to optimize donations? Simply including…
Nuzzerino on HNWow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology…
dougk16 on HN
Hosted cloud on AWS conflicts with self-hosting and privacy goals
From 3 comments
So, the only way I would EVER use something like this is if I controlled it. The only way other people are going to adopt this is if it's easy to install in your own environment.…
RIMR on HNThis is interesting and (like everyone else) I have a few questions: - Will this be based on open, industry standard protocols? - It looks like there are multiple applications…
t0astbread on HNI like your enthusiasm but I am afraid you are overambitious. For me, it sounds a bit like GSuite alrernative hosted on Google Cloud. It doesn't make sense to me. What is the…
neop1x on HN
Requests
Self-hosted install and packaged binaries
From 1 comment
So, the only way I would EVER use something like this is if I controlled it. The only way other people are going to adopt this is if it's easy to install in your own environment.…
RIMR on HN
Email client or IMAP support
From 2 comments
Wow, this is super badass! A few people mentioned email, Instead of making a hosted email system, how about a client for IMAP? PS I couldn't get create contact to pop up a dialog…
pcdoodle on HNIt's just me? Why no plan for email at all? How use contacts and Drive without email integration? Or am I missing something?
sadsam on HN
Import from Google data
From 1 comment
In order to compete, I think it's important that there is some way to import existing data from competitors (read: Google). I would like to switch to try it out, but I don't want…
nsilvestri on HN
Screenshots and clearer docs
From 2 comments
Please add some screen shots of product. Idk about others but this would be a great way to get people to try the service.
cryptozeus on HNEven the TL;DR didn't explain what I was looking at. Please fix before you've burned your one chance at a first impression.
lallysingh on HN
Questions
How will the project be sustained and stay free at scale
From 3 comments
Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology…
dougk16 on HNHow will you remain free when your user base increases to , let's use a silly term, "web scale"?
unixhero on HNDo you have a comprehensive and viable plan to pay for costs? If it involves getting enough donations, does your plan include a viable way to optimize donations? Simply including…
Nuzzerino on HN
Will it use open protocols and can it be self-hosted without AWS
From 1 comment
This is interesting and (like everyone else) I have a few questions: - Will this be based on open, industry standard protocols? - It looks like there are multiple applications…
t0astbread on HN
How it differs from Nextcloud, ownCloud and Seafile
From 1 comment
Gave it a quick try and looks like very similar to cozy before they pivoted. I guess this is also like nextcloud/owncloud/seafile. Can you explain how your product will be…
the_common_man on HN
Alternatives named
Google Workspace / G Suite
From 2 comments
Wouldn't "G Suite" be more descriptive than "Google"? Putting it in quotes kind of makes you think you're not referring to the search engine, but still... However that may be I…
spurgu on HNI like your enthusiasm but I am afraid you are overambitious. For me, it sounds a bit like GSuite alrernative hosted on Google Cloud. It doesn't make sense to me. What is the…
neop1x on HN
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile
From 1 comment
Gave it a quick try and looks like very similar to cozy before they pivoted. I guess this is also like nextcloud/owncloud/seafile. Can you explain how your product will be…
the_common_man on HN
Mozilla
From 1 comment
I think of Mozilla as a free and open source Google.
mkolodny on HN
F-Droid
From 1 comment
You might also want to publish your app on f-droid.org, since it's the alternative to the Google Play Store and it's focussed around really free apps without tracking etc.
lawry on HN