No upvoting ring here. In fact, I didn't realize this blew up until now.
We routinely post blog articles explaining digital legacy to people. And oftentimes we recommend our own product, as we honestly believe it's one of the most simple and private ones out there.
This feels like an AI-generated list of products with no actual hands-on time to let me get a feel if any of the services actually work vs their feature list. Revising the language/structure to not reek of AI would make me think more care had gone into it, and thus be more trustworthy.
It's also Alcatrazsec, a company we had never heard of, listing its own product as the best of the list, whilst naming it as if it wasn't their own product.
We're sorry if you had the impression it wasn't our own product. The second recommendation is "Alcazar Dead Man’s Switch," and the page is titled "Alcazar · Blog." We thought it was clear.
We recommend our own product because we think it's one of the best options out there. We want people to hear about it, while we also share information about our competitors and when one would choose us versus them.
Here is the text that made me assume it wasn't your own product:
> The public product page also says you can send different information to different contacts
In any case, writing a product comparison including your own is subjective so better abstain. Now I do wonder if this post is advertising or informing us.
Fair enough. It is an advertisement, like when you read a "What is the best free email account?" blog article on the ProtonMail blog; you know it is an advertisement for their own product.
As a company that builds stuff, you need to get people's eyeballs on your products. One way you do that is by advertising your product. This is not in a nefarious way; it is just the law of nature.
Do you have better advice on how to get people to know that we exist and to try our product? I am honestly listening.
To be clear, I wasn’t calling your article spam or strict advertisement. But avoiding dark patterns is better in the long run. I’m being honest: reading that article left me feeling fooled.
You’ve clearly put time into writing a detailed post and replying to comments, here’s what I’d suggest: focus on strictly value-add articles. distribute them widely, yes.
No catch. No reader left with a "I see what you did there" pinch.
By strictly value-add content, I mean exactly the kind of blog post you shared, but written without any attempt to name-drop your own product. You don’t need to. Your blog already lives on a subdomain.
It’s fine to include a simple footer like “Discover Alcazar products.”
In my experience, adding real insight without selling has a far greater effect, at least on me. I’m much more inclined to visit a product page when I don’t feel sold to. But the way your article is currently written, that inclination isn’t there. So I didn’t visit the product page.
What works best is when readers feel they’ve solved a problem. or at least realized one existed, and learned something. Without ever feeling like they’re watching an infomercial.
Sales is solely about building trust, in my view all other aspects are less relevant. You are right being seen is important, even more than trust, but it would remains pointless on its own.
Edit: the blog post on Pixel with graphenOS being the most secure phone is the perfect example of value add.It made me want to check what Alcazarsec has to offer.
It's very hard to simplify a list of services to the point where it's useful for everyone. Some people have never heard of the topic and just want a quick skim. Others want the full feature list (which you can find in the linked websites). There's no perfect solution.
That's great if you just want them to know you are gone (although many friends would realize before that).
It is not complete if you want to send them anything after you go—some goodbye letter, or something more practical like a password, or plans and info they should know.
It is still a good idea to configure anyway. It's not one tool or another; they can complement each other.
For "bus factor of one" stuff I am thinking about making some preperations. I was considering using ssh key based sudo or something like that and something like vaultwarden.
The people who i am thinking of can have access now. They just wouldn't know what to do with it.
I think Vaultwarden is the right place to store secrets and SSH keys. They can use the emergency recovery feature to request access after a certain period.
You could then share the complete instructions via email using a dead man's switch, which would make it easier for them to navigate those difficult times.
If you want to give that a try, I can answer any questions you have during setup and extend the free trial (the default is 14 days) until you are sure that this is the right solution.
Did not get you properly? If you mean automating or scheduling email for a future date/time and auto-responding incomming emails, Gmail already have these features
How do you perform the check-ins? Can you send messages to "normal" people, such as your parents, or must they be running a script to check the blockchain periodically?
Most people want an easy-to-use solution for sending messages to family and friends. However, technical people with technical friends can use the bleeding edge, and that is cool as well.
Check the domain: this is corporate PR blogspam. Alcazar blog post recommending Alcazar to be the best.
Find everyone who upvoted this early and you can probably identify an HN upvoting ring.
No upvoting ring here. In fact, I didn't realize this blew up until now.
We routinely post blog articles explaining digital legacy to people. And oftentimes we recommend our own product, as we honestly believe it's one of the most simple and private ones out there.
This feels like an AI-generated list of products with no actual hands-on time to let me get a feel if any of the services actually work vs their feature list. Revising the language/structure to not reek of AI would make me think more care had gone into it, and thus be more trustworthy.
It's also Alcatrazsec, a company we had never heard of, listing its own product as the best of the list, whilst naming it as if it wasn't their own product.
We're sorry if you had the impression it wasn't our own product. The second recommendation is "Alcazar Dead Man’s Switch," and the page is titled "Alcazar · Blog." We thought it was clear.
We recommend our own product because we think it's one of the best options out there. We want people to hear about it, while we also share information about our competitors and when one would choose us versus them.
Here is the text that made me assume it wasn't your own product:
> The public product page also says you can send different information to different contacts
In any case, writing a product comparison including your own is subjective so better abstain. Now I do wonder if this post is advertising or informing us.
Fair enough. It is an advertisement, like when you read a "What is the best free email account?" blog article on the ProtonMail blog; you know it is an advertisement for their own product.
As a company that builds stuff, you need to get people's eyeballs on your products. One way you do that is by advertising your product. This is not in a nefarious way; it is just the law of nature.
Do you have better advice on how to get people to know that we exist and to try our product? I am honestly listening.
To be clear, I wasn’t calling your article spam or strict advertisement. But avoiding dark patterns is better in the long run. I’m being honest: reading that article left me feeling fooled.
You’ve clearly put time into writing a detailed post and replying to comments, here’s what I’d suggest: focus on strictly value-add articles. distribute them widely, yes.
No catch. No reader left with a "I see what you did there" pinch.
By strictly value-add content, I mean exactly the kind of blog post you shared, but written without any attempt to name-drop your own product. You don’t need to. Your blog already lives on a subdomain.
It’s fine to include a simple footer like “Discover Alcazar products.”
In my experience, adding real insight without selling has a far greater effect, at least on me. I’m much more inclined to visit a product page when I don’t feel sold to. But the way your article is currently written, that inclination isn’t there. So I didn’t visit the product page.
What works best is when readers feel they’ve solved a problem. or at least realized one existed, and learned something. Without ever feeling like they’re watching an infomercial.
Sales is solely about building trust, in my view all other aspects are less relevant. You are right being seen is important, even more than trust, but it would remains pointless on its own.
Edit: the blog post on Pixel with graphenOS being the most secure phone is the perfect example of value add.It made me want to check what Alcazarsec has to offer.
It's very hard to simplify a list of services to the point where it's useful for everyone. Some people have never heard of the topic and just want a quick skim. Others want the full feature list (which you can find in the linked websites). There's no perfect solution.
Telegram has a feature where it will delete your whole account after 3 or 6 months of inactivity. That's how my friends can now. :)
That's great if you just want them to know you are gone (although many friends would realize before that).
It is not complete if you want to send them anything after you go—some goodbye letter, or something more practical like a password, or plans and info they should know.
It is still a good idea to configure anyway. It's not one tool or another; they can complement each other.
For "bus factor of one" stuff I am thinking about making some preperations. I was considering using ssh key based sudo or something like that and something like vaultwarden.
The people who i am thinking of can have access now. They just wouldn't know what to do with it.
I think Vaultwarden is the right place to store secrets and SSH keys. They can use the emergency recovery feature to request access after a certain period.
You could then share the complete instructions via email using a dead man's switch, which would make it easier for them to navigate those difficult times.
If you want to give that a try, I can answer any questions you have during setup and extend the free trial (the default is 14 days) until you are sure that this is the right solution.
Send us a message if we can help!
Did not get you properly? If you mean automating or scheduling email for a future date/time and auto-responding incomming emails, Gmail already have these features
This is for sending a message in case something happens to you and you're not able to send anything yourself anymore for whatever reason.
Hence the term "dead man's switch"
smart contract time capsule in the blockchain
How do you perform the check-ins? Can you send messages to "normal" people, such as your parents, or must they be running a script to check the blockchain periodically?
Most people want an easy-to-use solution for sending messages to family and friends. However, technical people with technical friends can use the bleeding edge, and that is cool as well.