I think your github oauth request is a bit broad:
The app Upboat will be able to:
* Read your public information.
* Read your private email addresses.
* Update your public and private repositories (Commits, Issues, etc).
My first reaction was that this is creative and interesting. Impressive that you did it in 24 hours.
The validation use case for Upboat makes sense... but it seems strictly weaker than, say, Kickstarter for validation. Emails mean much less than payments; you could get 1000 emails but then have a low conversion rate on that. If you did the same project on Kickstarter, you'd either fail to reach your goal or reach the goal and have validation that N people want it enough to pay for it. Upboat would be good for checking interest in FOSS projects or something, but then what is your plan to monetize it?
It's awesome that you've actually taken action on this as an idea rather than just talked about it. (Like me)
I posted a similar idea, amidst several other ideas here that I welcome any and everyone to steal/modify and use for themselves. (Though I won't refuse equity)
http://lesswrong.com/lw/e26/who_wants_to_start_an_important_...
Message me here or at www.Facebook.com/AltonSun since we probably have some mutual friends if you're interested. (Directed towards everyone since I already know Michael as an awesome hacker that consistently cleans up well at top hackathons in the Bay Area.)
Your idea is better than mine for a couple reasons: 1. It's hard to measure whether someone really fulfilled your wish 2. Lower barrier to entry and simpler with just emails, you can reasonably charge the poster some nominal fee rather than the upboaters to keep noise to signal ratio low
I'm just curious what the user's incentive for using upboat is?
Edit: I mean, I'm not a startup owner, but I visited the site and couldn't figure out why I would want to do this, rather than just wait until the product actually comes out.
Congrats on shipping! However:
You don't prove the validity of a startup idea by asking a community of startup enthusiasts whether they think it's valid (except if it's an idea targeted to startup enthusiasts).
It's the same as getting validation from your friends and family: next to worthless.
People who make up the Upboat community and the potential customers of your startup idea are very probably different. And they're going to have wildly different opinions on the validity.
What you should find out is whether your potential customers think it's valid.
Clickable links: http://www.upboat.us Demo: http://www.upboat.us/idea/upboat Screenshot of logged-in view: http://i.imgur.com/vUZXfZc.png
Nice looking site. My biggest nit-pick with any site is that I don't want another account on another site. So either FB/Twitter/GitHub/Persona/Google sign-in would be fantastical.
I just signed up for an account and posted an idea! As a developer, I think this is a great tool to get users before deciding to sink into a project that might never see the light of day
Love it!
Suggestion: It is very rarely a good idea to open links in a new window/tab. Please remove target="_blank" from your 'Popular and New' links.
I had a similar idea a couple of months ago, but the issue I found with it is that a virtual "vote" for a product is borderline worthless. When an idea is funded on Kickstarter, people are putting real money on the project, something they do not want to part with unless they feel they are getting something of equal or greater value back.
Either way, all the best to you, and good luck.
The design could use quite a bit of work, but other than that I think it's a pretty solid idea! :)
very interesting concept. The karma based version at http://firespotting.com gets many good ideas. The validation and user base is a good value add.
Who's benefiting from not releasing contact information until a certain threshold is met?
How ironic is it going to be if your app doesn't get 500 supporters on your own site?
Maybe have a requirement that at least a site/mockups be made?
On the registration popup, it says 500 users required.
I had nearly this exact idea before. Actually that's where my username Avalaunch comes from - "launch your new idea with an avalanche of support". Thus far I haven't followed through with the idea because I don't think it provides enough value to the would be early adopters.
Two suggestions:
1. Let the idea author dictate how many users are required instead of setting an arbitrary number. For some ideas (new dating site), 500 isn't nearly enough. For others 50 would be plenty.
2. Set it up so that the idea author is encouraged to give something to the potential users for upboating an idea. Ie. "First 3 months of service are free for all upboaters".
Good luck! I'd be interested to hear how it turns out for you.
EDIT:
Suggestion 3. Add login by Facebook. I know most of HN hates it, but I hate filling out forms more.
EDIT 2:
The develop upboat is a really cool feature that I hadn't thought of. Maybe add a designer upboat too? Or ideally, let the idea author determine what kind of upboats he's looking for. Maybe I have a great developer but I really need a salesperson.