Ask HN: Review my website soundkey.com

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1178045

by sendos • 16 years ago

13 14 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

This is my first website, and it is in alpha version, but functional. It would be great if I could get feedback on (1) The idea behind it and (2) The website itself (layout, etc)

Thanks!

Roridge• 16 years ago

I often just use Google dictionary which spells the word phonetically or just plays the word to me.

However, I like your idea that you can embed the sound key into something else, and have sounds which are more like audio semiotics. (audiootics?)

They layout could be more compact, specifically on the browse-sounds page. Why not just put the player to the right of the word on the same row. OR hide the player all together and just have a speaker button.

A future idea might be to create a clever algorithm to highlight the syllables as they heard, or the sound being played like a progress bar over the word.

Good luck.

jrnkntl• 16 years ago

clickable: http://soundkey.com

I like the idea, you should provide an API so that websites that teach languages can hook up with that.

Bug: your last sample ends too early

sendos4• 16 years ago

Yes, adding an API is on my To-Do list

amix• 16 years ago

Why not use unique URIs, like: http://soundkey.com/165pgx or http://165pgx.soundkey.com/

Seems to be easier than having users copy-paste keys around.

nirmal• 16 years ago

Upvoted and if you're worried about url length try getting a Cayman Islands (.ky) domain. I could see using sound.ky/165pgx or may even snd.ky/165pgx although the latter gives me bad vibes.

sendos4• 16 years ago

As of now, the website supports soundkey.com/key/165pgx

I need to figure out how to make soundkey.com/165pgx work, and I will be adding that feature when it's ready (I guess I can use .htaccess to redirect whatever comes after soundkey.com/, but I'm not sure how not to redirect actual pages of the website, e.g. soundkey.com/browse-sounds. Maybe by moving all website content to a subdirectory, e.g. soundkey.com/site/browse-sounds)

evlapix• 16 years ago

The thing I appreciate most about the site is the "SoundKeys in Action" slide show. My imagination didn't get me there, but your slide show convinced me this was a necessary service (for somebody) almost immediately.

I think this is a great "outside the box" idea, yet still grounded in that it solves a problem.

I hope it is very successful.

kjf• 16 years ago

This is a great idea. Simple to understand and well executed. An API would be hugely beneficial. I think that's where it could really take off.

sendos4• 16 years ago

Yep, I will be adding that.

Can you guys recommend the preferred technology to use? I'm new to this field, and I've heard about different ways to go about this, e.g. JSON. Are any of the options superior to the others?

giu• 16 years ago

Nice idea, nice web site layout, nice presentation. Now to my questions. How do you ensure that a common word (e.g. 'Bruschetta') is pronounced right? Can user obtain a certain trust level (like Translators over at Twitter), so they can approve the correctness of a pronounced word? Or, expressed in a more general way: how do you fight trolls (Yes, I'm quite interested in spam/troll-fighting techniques :)?

sendos4• 16 years ago

I think that barring any obscene sounds, all variations on a word will be allowed. So, Bruschetta might have several entries. However, I'm planning on adding user voting (1-5 stars or thumbs up/down), so if there are many variations on a word pronunciation, we get to see which are the most popular.

Because, after all, it's interesting to see how a word, say, "Nuclear" or "Tomato" is pronounced around the country or around the world. (I may add a geographical location field, so the speaker can identify where they live and/or where they were raised)

For trolls or people who just want to submit obscene or "gag sounds" e.g. the sound "dish" for the entry under the title "tomato", I will be adding a "flag this entry" so people seeing the bad entry can flag it so that I and/or some moderators can review it.

Alex• 16 years ago

Here ya go http://opinbot.appspot.com/reviews/show/agdvcGluYm90chwLEhVy...

JangoSteve• 16 years ago

This is pretty cool idea, and the "SoundKeys in Action" slideshow was definitely helpful.

It seems like the ubiquitous use-cases you're aiming for will rely heavily on the trademark as well. Have you successfully trademarked "SoundKey" for the many uses you've illustrated? I'm just curious, because it seems like a very obvious description of what it is (like trying to trademark "WebDesign" for a web design company). If so, then that's amazing and I think this has the potential to really take off.

On a lighter note, the pronunciation of "Waves crashing on the beach" is hilarious: http://soundkey.com/browse-sounds/58-waves

soyelmango• 16 years ago

Wow, I love the idea, and you're definitely targeting a problem that faces many people.

My observations:

- Why is the intro text set as an image? I know you have alt-text there, but it just seems an odd thing to do now-a-days. Also, when I send links to people to recommend they have a look, I often copy-paste the blurb to explain it. I can't do that easily with this.

- Soundkey is too new a concept to just add it to a design as "soundkey: XXXXX" - not everyone is curious enough to find out what a soundkey is. Encourage users or designers to place it closer to the difficult words. A hint would make it clear that help is available "How to pronounce my name: go to soundkey.com/XXXXX" - in other words, promote the help first, and soundkey second. Over time, I see this has the potential to become a generic (as in hoover)

- Provide an easy to copy link, much like how URL shorteners present you with the entire link to copy. Currently, I have to see the key, remember or copy it, browse to your site, then enter it (...into the little box at the top right of soundkey) What I'd prefer to do is copy and paste the URI that takes me straight to that soundkey. Every thought, click, key press makes people a step less likely to use Soundkey.

- I'd swap positions of "Tell it like it is" and "Soundkeys in action" - the business card image tells me straight away what you do, without having to read the description. In fact, highlight the addition of the soundkey on the 2nd card. Just imagine that users are completely lazy - they don't want to read the text, they don't want to play 'spot the difference' between the two cards.

Honestly, great idea, and keep us posted on your progress.

Ask HN: Review my website soundkey.com

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