The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries logo

The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries

Subscribe
Archives
October 23, 2023

#157 - Inspiring Negative Comments

When critical comments have an unexpected effect, new and improved social reading features, and an exciting beta test! 🤩

View this email in your browser
#157 | 23 October 2023

Inspiring Negative Comments


The other day, I was going through our Instagram notifications and noticed we had been tagged in this comment:
Instagram comment reading: Use @the.storygraph!!!!! It's perfect in every way!!

How lovely! 😍

I clicked to give it a 'like' and see what the conversation was about. I saw that this was a very popular post and that the comments section wasn’t only filled with fans of ours...
 
Instagram comment reading: the storygraph had so much potential but still has such an ugly interface 💔💔. The comment has 1520 likes.
Instagram comment reading: I hated storygraph. It's very complicated. At least I got used to goodreads. A mix of both would be super.  The comment has "23 likes".
the buddy read system is a nightmare I needed a PHD to set that up istg 😭. The comment has "11 likes".
Instagram comment reading: Storygraph is dull as dishwasher to browse and even worse than Goodreads for recommendations. Neither app is great, but Goodreads is older and has a lot more going for it in terms of reviews and lists.
You might think that seeing these would be disheartening. But in fact it had an opposite effect!

Y’see, comments like these largely inspire and motivate me! They spur me on to keep improving the product and get one step closer each day to realising my ultimate vision for it.

I know that you can’t keep everybody happy — and nor should you try to — and that there’ll always be people who your product isn’t suited to, or those that want to criticise for the sake of it. But I'm also aware of StoryGraph’s areas for improvement, and a lot of these do coincide with the majority of critiques I see, however harshly they come packaged.

And so, if anything, I get impatient, wishing that I could click my fingers and everything could be done already. 🫰🏾
.
.
.
If only! 😩😆

P.S. There were also sooo many more incredibly lovely comments about us on that post. 🥰
 

Since last time...
 

More progress was made towards making large buddy reads easier to navigate. Comments are now paginated and replies are collapsible!
 
Screenshot of a buddy read comment on StoryGraph. The comment reads: "I don't think I liked this story...🤷🏾‍♀️  Also this is a fake comment for the purposes of demoing the new features!" Underneath the comment in small, grey text reads: "View 2 replies" with a down chevron. Underneath the comment is a grey button labelled: "Load more...".

I also officially started work on our upcoming Readalongs feature:
 
Screenshot of the upcoming Create New Readalong form. It features three fields: Description (a blank text box), and start date and end date (Day, Month, and Year select dropdowns).

Finally, we widened the beta test of our new AI-powered Preview feature to all Plus users after Rob addressed the excellent feedback from our wonderful Volunteer Librarians. So far the reception has been super positive!
 
Screenshot of text within a box reading: "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a good fit for those seeking a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of friendship, love, and grief, set against the backdrop of the video game industry."  Above the text reads: "Powered by AI (Beta)".
Here's an example of a StoryGraph Preview, the part of the feature that'll be available for free to everyone.

 

Next two weeks


The goal has always been to finish readalongs before the end of the month….so….you’re gonna need to send allllll of your luck and productivity vibes my way. Thanks! 😅 😁
 

What I'm reading


I'm back with one of my favourite nonfiction writers, reading Losers by Michael Lewis.

Have a great week,

Nadia

P.S. Know somebody who's an avid reader or would enjoy following along with this journey? Please do forward this email to them! Thank you. :-)
 
Haven't tried The StoryGraph yet? Check it out today!
Love the app? Consider upgrading to our Plus plan!

Want to volunteer? Apply to be a Librarian!
Use Mastodon? Check out our server!
Were you forwarded this email?
If you liked what you read, you can subscribe for future updates and catch up on past ones.
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Copyright © 2024 The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries, All rights reserved.

Subscribe for a behind-the-scenes look at my StoryGraph founder journey and beyond.



Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries:
Bluesky Threads X Bookshop.org LinkedIn Instagram Personal Website
This email brought to you by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.