Show HN: My first for-profit app - Beautiful, custom Instagram portfolios

Show HN: My first for-profit app - Beautiful, custom Instagram portfolios(monogr.am)

8 points by timfletcher 13 years ago | 7 comments

timfletcher 13 years ago |

OP here. Just to flesh out why Monogram is better than your average Instagram gallery, we import all of the images to our db and allow users to create galleries from any of those images.

If you have a cool photo you took a year ago and one from yesterday then you can easily add these to the same portfolio. You can also filter by your most liked and most commented photos.

These are features not available through the Instagram API so we built them and we think it's pretty cool. We also periodically refresh the images to keep their comment/like counts up to date and use the realtime API to pull in new additions.

Any feedback welcome!

lotso 13 years ago | |

Hey this is really great!

Just one nitpick, if I click on view on Instagram could you automatically open it in a new tab? I guess that wouldn't be the best action for mobile or tablet viewing, but on my desktop browser I prefer it.

Also part of the loading circle on Chrome/Win 8 isn't visible.

Good stuff!

timfletcher 13 years ago | | |

We generally feel that a window should only open in a new tab if the user explicity desires that action and we don't want to make that decision for them. We'd expect them do it via a Ctrl/Cmd click on the link.

We'll check into the loading gif.

Thanks!

s_henry_paulson 13 years ago |

Visited the website, I really don't see any indication of what the product is.

Your about page says:

"We wanted to make a tool that helps you promote your work online. Something that doesn't waste your time. No bells and whistles, just practical, robust and beautiful."

You built something? What exactly did you build?

Your homepage describes a profile.. what's a profile?

Only after I clicked around a lot did I finally look at the featured work, and saw an idea of what you're selling.

Without that the rest of the site doesn't really convey a strong idea of what you're actually trying to offer someone.

bcolewebber 13 years ago | |

Hey there - obviously we want want to be as clear as possible so we appreciate your feedback.

Mainly I think this is a lack of clarity in that the about page is to talk about Monogram and not a specific profile. We want to have specific pages that show in detail what each profile is and what it can do for you, but of course these things take some time.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

WrkInProgress 13 years ago |

Great to see a Canadian submission. Very nice design and the product seems to work well.

I really liked the ease of signing up and the friction-less way of adding the subscription.

I notice you are planning on adding other services. I assume those will be standalone products under the monogr.am brand ?

Edit: Never mind, I realized they will additional "plugins".

A quick note, the default page for a new site isn't responsive (not sure if that's be design or ...)

timfletcher 13 years ago | |

Hey!

We're intending Monogram to be a place where you can create portfolio sites for a variety of services. For example, maybe an Etsy storefront, a Vimeo gallery or a LinkedIn resume. Other plugins will be done in due course. This is our MVP and we want to see if people will use it before investing too much.

A public portfolio site is responsive but the rest of the site isn't yet. It's definitely high up on list though.

It is a Canadian submission. Good spot.

Cheers!