[luke0016]

I've already experienced advertisements on gasoline pumps. I would concede that it is not exactly the same thing - gas pumps are worse, because you're already paying for a product.

However, it is certainly just as annoying and invasive.

Do you ever stop and ask yourself "am I really making the world a better place by doing this?"

[siruva07]

Every single day.

The reality is your attention had a cost, and the price of quality tap water is less than that cost.

We will also enable a donation based model for water. Future revenue generating opportunities include sparkling and flavored water at a fraction of the cost of what you would buy on the shelf at a convenience store. 65% of the cost of any beverage is packaging and transportation. By carrying your own bottle, you’ll save money, save the planet from plastic pollution, and yes, water will be free.

[dougmwne]

I intend for this to be honest feedback from a consumer perspective, not an attack. I know I don't fully appreciate your business. Thanks for sharing your product with HN!

I can't see how this is any improvement over a drinking fountain. Drinking fountains typically dispense filtered water and the idea of obnoxious advertising on them is disgusting to me. On the other hand, if these machines dispensed a selection of flavored seltzer water I would see the value, probably use them and seek them out and not mind the advertising. I might even buy a reusable water bottle from you that was designed to hold the carbonation. I would be getting something I actually value and can't trivially get for free. I would also be really reducing my environmental footprint since I already drink filtered tap water, but do buy lots of canned seltzer.

Flavored seltzers appear to be big business right now. I have no idea if the unit economics could support it, but on the surface, the flavoring chemicals have to be incredibly inexpensive. Seeing something like this would absolutely catch my attention and I would tell other people about it.

It's an important problem to be working on and I wish you all the luck in the world.

[luke0016]

> The reality is your attention had a cost, and the price of quality tap water is less than that cost.

For some people, maybe. This seems like a mildly sociopathic way to look at it, though.

One could imagine a world where the same type of device was available free of charge without being ad supported. This is certainly a more difficult solution from a financial standpoint, but it would be indisputably better.

And, to some extent, it has been the status quo in many places already with standard water fountains. Admittedly, many of them now are in desperate need of an upgrade.

I believe this type of monetization simply fails to take into account the greater public good in the pursuit of profits.