Really cool idea, however as a product developer myself, I know how hard it is to hit the ground running especially for a product that requires an already existing audience to function. I tend to lose myself in the coding and design part, while not realizing that the 90% of the real deal is actually marketing. You have to delve much more into ways to market the idea, rather than develop it.
I think the idea is awesome and has potential. The name could be catchier though. Personally, I would also prefer a web app.
It's tough to get a social network or community off the ground without any existing base. Facebook took off because they digitalized existing social networks. Reddit was seeded with content posted by its creators using multiple accounts.
Maybe you could figure out a way to make it valuable as a single-player tool first, and when you have enough single-players, the multiplayer network comes alive.
I haven't tried your app, because I avoid anything Android or iOS, but to me the idea sounds like something worth pursuing.
Most of the time, aren't barcodes on the wrapper or box? That's a problem. How can people find the barcode for things that are old?
I could see this site working for shoes. I'd say many people have shoes that would be worth a lot to collectors, but aren't able to easily connect with people who want them.
Also, any way to make it web-accessible?
Another idea I had was to start discussion up around the act of "tinkering." That can be about building discussions around "builds" and the many devices that go into one. Or product repurposing. Not sure if this is of interest to you - is it? Imagine you had the barcode for say one item, but it comes up in "builds" that consist of many items. This would be useful for people who want ideas about what to do with something they own.. okay I've got one product - what are other people combining it with or utilizing it for?
That would work for food ingredients, strangely enough, and could result in a recipe site with the overall end goal of having manufacturers/suppliers participate and claiming their products on-site.
In a recent comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47472138) I've also mentioned the need to build a database of products in the real-world for recycling purposes. Who owns what, and where? Useful for electronics that aren't yet easily recyclable but may be in the future. It could even work for exotic plants and medicinal herbs - people want them fresh, alive and nearby.
Slashdot/Reddit/Facebook etc all build communities, when they get too large they splinter until they become increasingly specific. You've done the opposite. I think you are going to need to group common products, then gradually break it out. ie, food -> deserts -> cakes -> chocolate cake -> chocolate cake from <shop> etc
That's how I pictured it, users scan all the bar codes they have access to and it builds similarity profiles.
I pictured scanning all my CS books for example, and I'd probably end up in a group with everyone from my class at school who did the same, for example.
I personally think this is awesome and a charmingly weird way to convene people. I launched my long-germinating app, which is strangely parallel to yours in big ways (peeps.biz), a couple of weeks ago. I think especially with vibecoding, getting recognized/paid attention to is damn near impossible. I think consistency in marketing has to be there as does going out IRL to promote the site. (I’m not doing either het, but I still think it’s true.)
Anyhow, congrats on the app and keep pushing. I think it’s unique.
A popular way of gaining some traction in the SaaS world is to own a high intent keyword and then spreading from there. Social Networks must work similarly with owning one specific audience. Think super niche, like a kitchen appliance review community or something like that. If you can own a community you can own another. Marketing is basically like shouting into the void because new users will feel compelled by existing users but if there are none, the value prop of the app is weaker.
This, but I'd go even further. Wny not test run it by developing a hyper-local market first? You could make QR codes for neighborhoods and paste them up on telephone poles. Have a photo element to encourage people to post pictures of themselves there, or something they're seeing. Encourage people to make their own QR codes as well. Userland QR codes for local bands and pubs, etc. Not just products. Once the ball gets rolling in one town, who knows?
Reminds me of those Skannerz toys from when I was a kid! It was a device you could scan any barcode with and you would get some monster from it and could collect and battle with them. Kind of like Pokemon with barcodes.
I think some small adjustments could reduce friction to new users. Let people scan and read comments anonymously, group similar product discussions together until volume increases, and look up UPCs instead of asking people to enter what they just scanned.
This is destined to either not be popular or be swarming with bots and stalkers. How you fight bots, abuse and all other problems of public posting and DMs? and how you make money for it?
Hello, I suggest on having it available via the web version in the future as well and if you are open to it, then open sourcing it as well.
This can do some wonders for a review app.
Books also have bar-code so it can also work as something like scan the book's barcode and then review the book or find community which talks about the book (I am imagining then an discord/telegram/whatsapp like interface where people can chat too)
So we scan bar code of a book, then we can join a channel where people can just talk live and make connections from the book.
This will definitely have people who are fed up of social media as-is and want something more niche but unique/authentic so its kind of good on that ground!
A bit tangential but actually I have a domain which I bought called k4qr.com, you mention that qr codes also work, so perhaps you can rename the app as Kodala (with a K) and I am happy donating my domain to you as well for your project, let me know! (funny story but I was actually wondering myself when I had bought that domain if I should do something qr related with that :-] )
Actually another thing but also allow text as input too for web related things for example. I am imagining what I might want to use your product for example.
So I go to your website and just write something say game of thrones and it can show some books or tv show qr code which anybody has scanned and I can click on any of that too and then I can land in their social media and talk about game of thrones
Now you can also do it for something niche with qr codes, perhaps have an optional field, tags etc. that people can enter into qr codes when they first scan it so that people can search them
Just a few suggestions that I have, hope any of them might help you in a meaningful way.
It's tough to get a social network or community off the ground without any existing base. Facebook took off because they digitalized existing social networks. Reddit was seeded with content posted by its creators using multiple accounts.
Maybe you could figure out a way to make it valuable as a single-player tool first, and when you have enough single-players, the multiplayer network comes alive.
I haven't tried your app, because I avoid anything Android or iOS, but to me the idea sounds like something worth pursuing.
I could see this site working for shoes. I'd say many people have shoes that would be worth a lot to collectors, but aren't able to easily connect with people who want them.
Also, any way to make it web-accessible?
Another idea I had was to start discussion up around the act of "tinkering." That can be about building discussions around "builds" and the many devices that go into one. Or product repurposing. Not sure if this is of interest to you - is it? Imagine you had the barcode for say one item, but it comes up in "builds" that consist of many items. This would be useful for people who want ideas about what to do with something they own.. okay I've got one product - what are other people combining it with or utilizing it for?
That would work for food ingredients, strangely enough, and could result in a recipe site with the overall end goal of having manufacturers/suppliers participate and claiming their products on-site.
In a recent comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47472138) I've also mentioned the need to build a database of products in the real-world for recycling purposes. Who owns what, and where? Useful for electronics that aren't yet easily recyclable but may be in the future. It could even work for exotic plants and medicinal herbs - people want them fresh, alive and nearby.
I pictured scanning all my CS books for example, and I'd probably end up in a group with everyone from my class at school who did the same, for example.
More serious comment: would be so much better if I could check it out without having to download an app on my phone
Anyhow, congrats on the app and keep pushing. I think it’s unique.
That's for later, now you need to answer who is your audience is and why the target audience has to adopt this app.
You can't just publish an app and expect users. Those days are long over.
This can do some wonders for a review app.
Books also have bar-code so it can also work as something like scan the book's barcode and then review the book or find community which talks about the book (I am imagining then an discord/telegram/whatsapp like interface where people can chat too)
So we scan bar code of a book, then we can join a channel where people can just talk live and make connections from the book.
This will definitely have people who are fed up of social media as-is and want something more niche but unique/authentic so its kind of good on that ground!
A bit tangential but actually I have a domain which I bought called k4qr.com, you mention that qr codes also work, so perhaps you can rename the app as Kodala (with a K) and I am happy donating my domain to you as well for your project, let me know! (funny story but I was actually wondering myself when I had bought that domain if I should do something qr related with that :-] )
Actually another thing but also allow text as input too for web related things for example. I am imagining what I might want to use your product for example.
So I go to your website and just write something say game of thrones and it can show some books or tv show qr code which anybody has scanned and I can click on any of that too and then I can land in their social media and talk about game of thrones
Now you can also do it for something niche with qr codes, perhaps have an optional field, tags etc. that people can enter into qr codes when they first scan it so that people can search them
Just a few suggestions that I have, hope any of them might help you in a meaningful way.
Have a nice day.