[melaniecrissey]

Hey! Daytona looks cool.

The last few PH launches I've run, I've also noticed issues with manipulated traffic to drive upvotes. Even if you're not buying fake traffic to boost to #1, it's likely you're activating a network of friends, family, or fans to get upvotes.

The result of this is that I mostly think of PH as a popularity contest for teams of people—and not necessarily a ranking system for new products. I don't imagine that many people receive the PH newsletter email, genuinely assess which ones are the coolest, and give an upvote to something they're checking out for the first time. It's mostly friends upvoting friends.

However! PH can be useful for getting feedback through comments. And the longtail benefits of having a listing on there are great for discoverability and traffic over time.

I don't think PH is totally passe, but I try to be realistic about what it means as part of a launch campaign, and I don't think it's worth stressing to hard to "win" the day. That little badge to slap on your website isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

[nkko]

Hey Melanie, thanks! After working on this project behind closed doors and, now going public, we've become hooked on the positive feedback.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and experiences with Product Hunt launches. You make some good arguments there, and I haven't thought of it that way. But long-term visibility could be a win for sure.

Focusing on building a great product, gathering meaningful feedback, and leveraging multiple channels for promotion and growth is key.