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Show HN: Collects real problems from SM so we can stop solving imaginary problem (problemtoidea.com)
3 points by davutj 654 days ago
Hey everyone, I wanted to share a project I've been working on (https://problemtoidea.com). It's a newsletter that aggregates real problems mentioned on social media, aimed at helping developers and entrepreneurs focus on solving genuine issues.

The idea came from my own experience as a side project enthusiast with a 9-5 job. I realized that my limited free time was precious, and I needed to focus on solving actual problems that provide value to users. Too often, I found myself working on projects that addressed imaginary issues instead of real pain points.

That's when it hit me – why not leverage the constant stream of complaints and frustrations people share on social media and internet?

ProblemToIdea is the result of this realization. It's designed to help other time-strapped developers, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers like myself. Instead of spending hours brainstorming potential issues, you can get weekly ideas and potential solutions going into your inbox.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this concept. Have you faced similar challenges in choosing side projects? Do you think this could be a useful resource for the community?

3 comments

During the curation, how do you deal with problems for which some solutions exist but that some users are not aware of yet? I would guess that social media will be so noisy with people complaining and thinking up tools/solutions. What level of signal-to-noise ratio would this service be able to manage?

Also, at least a preview of one week's newsletter would be appreciated.

I have some automation running but it's not fully automated, once I collect the problems I validate the idea researching if it's already implemented and if it would be a good idea to implement or not before sending it to your inbox. After that it will be you deciding to build it or skip.

I will share a preview in the landing page soon.

> We don’t offer trials or refunds.

$79 for lifetime, no monthly plans, no trial, take it or leave it.

Tough sell.

I will refund you if you don't like it after your first week :). I think I need to update that because I was planning to share all the previous ideas once you pay that's why I wasn't offering a trial or refund. Now it's only weekly you don't get previous ideas.
It may be useful to provide a sample newsletter as part of the FAQ to help others to get a feel for what to expect.

I have a question to that regard, are you just surfacing the "problem statement" in the newsletter or are you transparently providing the links to the SM sites that they were scraped from?

i love the idea of aggregating real problems from social media to inform side projects - it's a great way to validate ideas and make sure you're solving something that actually matters.

one thing i'm curious about is how you're handling the signal-to-noise ratio on social media - would love to hear more about your approach to filtering out the noise