Several YC companies have created browser add-ons as well. Would be cool to get a discussion going here about browser extension distribution and getting to scale.
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Shareaholic was just a “nights and weekends project” until its creator reached a big milestone: 1 million downloads.
My goal with this interview was to find out how Jay Meattle, a single founder with no outside funding, got that many downloads for a web browser add-on, when convectional wisdom says that “no one” installs browser add-ons. As you’ll hear in this interview, he did it by creating a tool that was inherently viral, and he helped grow that virility by creating stories for bloggers.
You’ll also hear how Jay has since blown past 2 million downloads, why he decided to take a small round of funding, and why he’s ignoring revenues (for now).
Shareaholic for Firefox does not contain any spyware. Privacy is critically important.
The API call that Michael refers to is related to the "Stats Monitor" feature of Shareaholic for Firefox that can be turned off at any time.
The Stats Monitor shows users the Compete.com stats for the page they are on. The API call is intrinsic to the functioning of this feature. For example, only by knowing which web page the user is viewing can the browser tool show the user information about that web page or Web site.
To disable the Stats Monitor, go to "Shareaholic Options" -> Display Options -> Uncheck Stats Monitor.
And, all users are now made aware of this feature upfront:
Wish it was not needed, but Compete.com requires it from developers to prevent fraud usage of their API. fwiw, the Compete Stats API is usually a premium/paid service from Compete.com and the stats are generally not made available for free at scale.
Anyways, that is why it was made easy to shut off completely in case people didn't want to deal with it. Also making this behavior very clear in the next update within the extension itself (not just the welcome/upgrade pages). Privacy is critical.
As far as I can tell, the "stats monitor" feature is not advertised on the front page. In fact, I tried navigating the site for a while but couldn't hit the Firefox welcome/upgrade pages that contain the disclaimer.
Most people upgrade their plugin via Firefox's addon manager, and skip the "what's new" page that opens up. This is because we trust whoever made the plugin to not introduce any malicious behavior in future updates.
Judging by the intrusive nature of this feature, I believe it should be opt-in rather than opt-out.
Amongst numerous other additions & improvements, we’ve added the option to turn on the Shareaholic button in the URL bar right next to the orange RSS icon. We feel that this is a very natural place for the icon to live within the browser. What do you think? love it/hate it/indifferent?
The Areca Palm is indeed available at Ikea (i know friends who have bought some from there). I suspect the Money Plant would also be available there or most garden stores. Home Depot is another one to check.
RiderOfGiraffes, thank you. Couldn't find a "search box", hence the somewhat duplicate entry. The page posted today should be more useful to readers, as it has many more actionable details. The talk was given by my father.
You're welcome. As others have said, there are search facilities, but they're not easy to find. I agree that this link is better than the other. Sometimes the "duplicate" is of greater value.
It would be really useful to be able to cross-reference items more easily, and then to merge discussions and comments, but I suspect that won't happen.
Anyway, interesting talk, interesting idea. Thanks to you and your father.
With only three varieties of plants, we can grow our own fresh air indoors, to keep us healthy.
After studying the effects these plants had on air quality for the past 15 years in a building in New Delhi, India it was found that there was a 42% probability of increasing blood oxygen by 1% simply by being in the building for one hour. Compared to other buildings in the city, eye irritation was reduced by 52%, respiratory symptoms down by 34%, headaches by 24%, lung impairment by 12%, and asthma by 9%.
They were also able to reduce the fresh air supplied to the building and still meet industry standards for healthy indoor air, netting a reduction of energy costs by greater than 15%. With buildings consuming 40% of the world’s energy, this is a big deal.
Areca Palm is good for the day, while Mother-in-law’s Tongue works during the night. Money Plant helps remove toxins like Formaldehyde (from carpets and furniture) from indoor air.
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Shareaholic was just a “nights and weekends project” until its creator reached a big milestone: 1 million downloads.
My goal with this interview was to find out how Jay Meattle, a single founder with no outside funding, got that many downloads for a web browser add-on, when convectional wisdom says that “no one” installs browser add-ons. As you’ll hear in this interview, he did it by creating a tool that was inherently viral, and he helped grow that virility by creating stories for bloggers.
You’ll also hear how Jay has since blown past 2 million downloads, why he decided to take a small round of funding, and why he’s ignoring revenues (for now).