Ask HN: How do I get people to look at my (Mac OS X, but not Mac App Store) app? First of all, hi! I'm Mathew, and I'm very new to HN. "All of you" seem to really care about software, and I do too, so I think I'm in the right place. I make quite a bit of software in a few different contexts, but recently I'm concerned with just one piece. It's my baby, and it's name is Gestr. I've been working on it on and off for about a year and a half, but recently it's reached the point where I use it constantly, and I'd like other people to as well. "WHAT'S IT DO??" The patient audience screams. Well, borrowing from concepts pretty well accepted on mobile devices, it tries to replace something typically done with menus or icons, with gestures. This thing is multitasking (app launching and switching). But instead of mobile devices with touch screens, it targets Macs (either laptops with multitouch trackpads, or desktops with an attached Magic Trackpad). That is, Gestr lets a Mac OS X user assign any kind of swipe, shape, or... anything they can draw on a trackpad to get you to any particular application (or browser bookmark). Check it out on my website (http://mhuusko5.com/#gestr), or look at this video for a tutorial/demo: https://vimeo.com/85040520 (jump to https://vimeo.com/85040520#t=1m49s for just the demo part). I can't publish on the Mac App Store because to get Gestr so smoothly integrated with the OS, I had to use private frameworks. So I'm at a loss as to how I get Gestr "out there," get people to try it. For a while I didn't want to, because I thought people would have a hard time understanding it, but with the video I recently (had) made, I think it's pretty clear. I'm ready. I'm hyped. And I have no idea what to do... ... help? |