Comments on: Self-Help Site First30Days.com Launches With $5 Million from Hearst and Dick Parsons

By: Richie

Richie — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:15:17 +0000

One of best sites I have ever seen. Great Job!

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:17:12 +0000

However, I should ad the the advise they are giving in thier columns is very good!

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:13:27 +0000

I signed up, clicked on one of thier banner ads in the email (for Pandora) and it took me to a site other then the one advertised and then that site promted me to download spyware with a popup that looked very much like a windows error message. (Be careful when clicking on ads in thier emails!)

By: Tech Coast Review: Self Help All The Rage

Tech Coast Review: Self Help All The Rage — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:53:50 +0000

Wonderhowto Self Help Video Directory Lands Series…

..Apparently self-help 2.0 sites are all the rage right now, as TechCrunch just covered yesterday…..

By: Stephane

Stephane — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:12:30 +0000

The site’s anything but light I think if you take a deep look into it. Sure if you stick to the home page or the change welcome page, then you could see it that way…It’s probably meant as such so as not to overwhelm you from dealing with your change upfront. I don’t think their objective is about change instantly- or here is everything you need now. And the email tips are quite interesting…..they build you up over time.

I looked into the Finding Your Dream Job which I am currently interested in. The interviews were with pretty big people and very specific questions. And the daily blogfeed has some good stories. I think if you are really in a change, and not just curious, this is v helpful to keep you on track. And they kind of have done the work for me with all the resources up there(links, books, even films and music!)….i have no time to go look around, figure out the top stuff… it’s just neat to have it all in one place.

By: Ajay

Ajay — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:59:15 +0000

Lacks content. The look-and-feel made me feel like I was looking at a Paid Advertisement Perhaps it will appeal to some…

By: Joe Pierce

Joe Pierce — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:48:02 +0000

Great posts! After toiling for the past several months to build the site, it’s great to have some feedback from those who haven’t been swimming in the kool-aid w/us.

As for the comments re: the content being light/generic, please don’t look at the Getting Started and Top 5 features and think “that’s all there is to it”.

These two features exist along with the Expert Interviews and the directory of Trusted Resources for the purpose of providing you with the base knowledge you need to start your journey through a change.

As for the journey - well, as our name implies - it lasts 30 days.

Sign-up for help w/a change, and let us send you 30 tips - one each day - for 30 days. They’re very specific/how-to oriented. (BTW - in addition to delivering the tips via email, we also archive them for you on the site.)

Along the way, interact with others going through the change. Ask/answer questions. Share any wisdom you gain along the way. Leave comments.

Also, stop in from time to time to check out the news updates. We employ a team of scouts who scour the net for the latest news and info re: all the changes we cover, and they post daily. (Think gawker/weblogs, only about change.)

When you’re done, I think you’ll find that there’s method to our madness. Most folks find it much easier to tackle changes in steps over time, and they tend to stick with those changes, when they make them with others.

Most important - keep rippin’. Stop by the site and hit the Make us Better button. Tell us how we need to change…

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:11:35 +0000

Great looking site, indeed. Their model reminds me of a mass targeted RealAge.com with a stronger community focus.

By: rubu

rubu — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:59:39 +0000

Problem is, there’s nowhere that says HOW to do these things, thats why im reading, i know what to do but want advise on HOW to do it. None of this explains how or gives any examples.

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:51:08 +0000

Seems interesting…maybe a more targeted version of what was happening at squidoo.

The real question to me is if, in their ‘first 30 days’ they can develop a community within each life change, because otherwise they’ll have to hire a lot of writers to keep producing content, one can only have so many new ‘life changes’ at a given time.

I agree that it’s nice to see a decent website not built targeting the del.icio.us, digg, and (sorry) TechCrunch user.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:44:46 +0000

yeah I agree those guides seem very generic, should add more info.

By: Lynx

Lynx — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:49:24 +0000

Site seems pretty content light at the moment.

Each of the “top 5 tips” in each section are just a paragraph long that describe everything you should do. Problem is, there’s nowhere that says HOW to do these things, thats why im reading, i know what to do but want advise on HOW to do it. None of this explains how or gives any examples.

For $5million investment they should have spent more time writing the guides rather than getting as many written as possible. It looks like they’ve been written by people that did a bit of googling around each topic and cobbled together what they found.

Good concept, just needs better content to get people coming back.

By: Mark Nutter

Mark Nutter — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:10:54 +0000

Let’s hope people don’t try to use this site to help themselves eat healthier with the big Papa Johns ads all over it.

By: Webside Ventures

Webside Ventures — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:31:45 +0000

I just signed up to test the service. Warning: You get an email for every “life change” thing you check. My inbox just got flooded. Ummm, unsubscribe.

By: Jollyjo

Jollyjo — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:30:43 +0000

Very nice site and the colors and design give the look and feel of being in a “help” zone…

By: Steven

Steven — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:25:16 +0000

This is great investment for Hearst, Parsons and the NYC Investment Fund. The fund was profiled on our site and could offer real opportunities to startups like First30Days who have a good idea without all the clutter.

The founder is a good friend of Parsons and is extremely well respected.
Should do very well.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:34:51 +0000

Nice looking site. I like the colors and design. And while not all their stuff will apply to techcrunch readers, I am sure things like advice on life after college
will help out the young readers of TC!

http://www.first30days.com/gra.....llege.html

-D

By: Josh Saunders

Josh Saunders — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:29:01 +0000

The website sounds fantastic. A great idea, implemented well, with a solid management team who knows what they are doing.

By: Asad

Asad — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:20:31 +0000

Really good stuff. Im tired of seeing Web 2.0 sites focused on the uber techie beta testing crowd. I dont remember what the numbers were but i remember reading how a seriously small percentage of the american people have heard of Google docs. I mean if you haven’t heard of Google Docs how in the world would you hear of Seesmic? I think the new focus will be on companies realizing there is a market outside of the beta testing crowd, like a freakin huge market, and will begin to get serious about bringing ordinary tech users on to the web 2.0 market.

By: Soniac

Soniac — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:02:05 +0000

Assuming that this is an ad supported site, I’m wondering if there is a line of ethics that could eventually be crossed here. I’m all for the fuzzy side of self help (and the $9 Billion dollar business that it is…) but some of the programs being offered to the “Oprah Crowds” can be very revealing and in some cases compromising. Is this the next big ad channel for pharmaceuticals and insurance?

By: Technicle

Technicle — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:01:28 +0000

Interesting.. and more and more new services using 3-word domain names…