I can't wait to use this! I had www.52designers.com but it finished in March and I have been side-project-less for a few months now :-(!
I really believe in the power of side projects, and a lot of times it's the give-and-take that produces the coolest stuff!
@UXAndrew totally agree re: "power of side projects". This very site is one great example :) But also smaller stuff like http://nbashaw.github.io/ritual/ keep me going. Honestly, most of what I know I learned by doing side projects
@nbashaw YES! This is exactly how we feel. It's not always turning a profit or selling to some large company. Sometimes you just want to experiment and learn.
@nhbschr This is really dope you guys nailed it in keeping it super simple. I am curious how you guys are thinking about broadcasting these open projects with people who aren't on Meeet?
Also, is there a feature being considered to email out opportunities I'd be interested on a weekly basis? That would be cool.
The challenge, and hopefully @rrhoover will chime in here to talk about this, is getting shit done. The motto of every product manager in the world worth his salt is: SHIP!
So, for example, the entry barrier for me to ship as a non-dev/designer is much higher than designers and devs.
Possible, yes, but more difficult.
Meanwhile, you're not a dev/design and neither am I, so lets start our own project called Meeeet (four e's) for non devs/designers to meet and start projects! :-) haha
@UXAndrew@BlendahTom One thing I noticed when looking at similar sites — as this certainly isn't a unique idea — was that the ideas to production ratio was really high. A lot of people had ideas and most of them ended up going belly-up. This seems like it would be fine; the best ideas get built and the other ones sink. After looking at these other sites though, that's not always how it worked out. It just felt overwhelming to see so many ideas and a lack of investment. We're all about finishing stuff.
We're thinking about opening it up to top notch product managers in a later stage, because we're with you: a lot of people have side projects, not just developers or designers.
@twnsndco Is it only duos? I would think that, for example, as a UX designer I could really contribute something even if it isn't graphics/FED...so what if I'm the third banana here? Does that make me less tasty?
@UXAndrew For now, we're limiting to two people. The accountability level is higher, communication is easier. Larger groups grow a bit cumbersome and slower. Our aim is to keep it really lean and streamlined. We're going to integrate third people as a Pro feature.
I think UX designers would be incredibly useful and be just as tasty as the other two.
@twnsndco Accountability between strangers is an interesting point.
Well, if the hacker, hustler, and designer triumvirate is ever in the cards and someone needs a hustler you can hit me up on Twitter :-)!
@UXAndrew I'm in this camp. Not a designer or developer, but have minor projects I'd like to test, but don't want to either retask our programming team or go through the effort of a whole odesk/PPH proposal and weed through the responses.
@mjb_sf Hi! Thanks for taking interest in the project. We believe in the valley-scene startup with two creative minds working together with little/no funding and one great idea. Bringing another person onto the team adds another layer of complexity. We talked about this for a very long time, and decided it would be the best route to go into the future with the goals we have.
@nhbschr What about having 2 person teams that could be a mix of skills, so this group is a Dev/Designer but that is a Dev/Marketer. Or perhaps don't call it marketing, but rather community building. Not about $ as much as finding people who want to use/enjoy what you've created.
@thejulielogan Absolutely. Our current Meeet design actually allows for exactly that, but we're "marketing" the dev/designer combo, as that's generally the most common, but yes, we will allow a group of any two people with mixed talents to work on a project together. But only two. :)
@nhbschr I like the simplicity of that. Can always expand to collectives of duos as the community expands, collaborating to create something bigger. But keeping the unit lean promises accountability and speed.
@BlendahTom Hi, Tom! Thanks for the suggestion. You're not the first person to request this. We decided that we will launch with two people per project, but will potentially up the number with some strings attached, as we really dig the "garage startup" feel of two people creating something they love. The more people you add, the more complexity. Yes, the two people will have more jobs to do and it may take longer, but we feel that more people can pose as more distractions.
I don't think their goal was to generate new startups. I think the goal was to generate new side projects. There is a difference between the two. Dev+Design is a powerful combo!
@mbavio we're cranking on development right now. We should have a solid beta by the end of this week. We have a working testing server up now and just a few pages left to build.
Great idea, would rather use something like this then have to hunt people down in forums, Twitter etc. I just signed up for early access as I have an iOS app that I'd love to collaborate with an iOS engineer on.
Might have missed this on the site, what are your thoughts on parties dropping out of the side project? Does Meeet help facilitate the transition to a new person?
@rustydingo Thanks, man! Absolutely. We are working on a system literally right now to solve that issue. If a person becomes unresponsive or drops out, you'll have the ability to "fire" them from the project. After that, they'll have a week to respond, otherwise the project will be opened for new applicants.
@nhbschr excellent. I'd imagine having a "fired" state would be great down the line if the fired person ever tried to claim a part of an idea they abandoned (legally speaking).
@rustydingo Totally, man. This shouldn't be a huge problem in our community, though, as everyone needs an invite (from another community member, but you can still create an account) in order to post or join.
I found a collaborator for a side project on Meet and they are running a kickstarting. Chip in $25 (or more) and see if it can become awesome.... i did http://kck.st/1kYExFk
I'm not a dev or a designer (UXD, but not visual) and I have had side projects, so I understand where you're coming from...but I do think that the majority of side projects I see are dev/designer combos.
Who else do you think they should include?
Hopefully we get an AMA with these guys and see what's on their mind regarding this issue!
Definitely like the idea but—and I'm noticing this as an increasing trend in my own personal PH usage—I'm going to reserve an upvote until I can actually use the product.
Side note: I hate saying things in the form of "I like [x] ... but ..."
This would be awesome! I often find myself looking to partner with people on small side projects but am stuck between sites that find "co-founders" and sites that hire freelancers.
I requested early access!
@miles_matthias Awesome, man! We have got an amazing request, and this is only the third website we've been posted on. We plan to do a press release very soon along with a launch next week. We're well over 1000 people who just signed up for the early access so far, and we're going to try our hardest to make the transition into early access smooth.
@miles_matthias Agreed! Too much focus is put on finding a co-founder NOW. (a) not everyone is looking for that level of commitment and (b) working with someone on a few side projects is probably a better way of finding a co-founder anyway
I love this. As a hobby designer with a few ideas I always had trouble finding the right people to work with – especially when all your dev friends are busy. Can't wait to use this!
Has anyone tried using http://collabfinder.com? It's been around for a while and has a good group of people in there already. It's a lot like dating though — you need a big pool of people to find what you’re looking for.
@capndesign Nice! Meeet is geared towards solely digital products that are made in spare time that will most likely remain that way. I think that you should really get to know the co-founder in person for a project that will be your full-time job.
* This is my personal opinion; not that of Meeet
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