Show HN: Alert Ferret - Let people know when to check up on you

https://www.alertferret.com/about

by wiggly • 13 years ago

11 11 13 years ago

alertferret.com

borplk• 13 years ago

DMSAAS

Dead Man's Switch As a Service

Cool!

wiggly5• 13 years ago

Yes, indeed, if I can get enough interest then an external API is a big chunk of work I want to add.

ZeroMinx• 13 years ago

This could hopefully prevent the death part!

As a snowboarder, this could be very useful to let people know if I'm not back from the mountain.

wiggly5• 13 years ago

As a snowboarder who has spent a lot of time alone on the mountain I agree :D

snoonan• 13 years ago

I love the idea and the value prop. Excellent concept!

Imagine the press attention and resulting warp speed growth you'll be able to muster when this works just once for someone.

You might get criticism over the design of your landing page, stock bootstrap look and lean nature of your current site. Apart from those simple aesthetics, it's very solid. I would imagine improving those aesthetics is likely necessary if you want to get results from showing it to potential users and stakeholders, however.

616c• 13 years ago

Very cool. I know some journalist in dangerous parts of the world and this would be a very cool service. Some thoughts:

Does it support phone calls? I would think it is cool for when someone is abroad and without data and have periodic phone calls to a number they have updated when traveling once they land (through SMS or whatever). Don't pick up the call? Check for a data connection and get data ASAP about location and other metrics. No data? Try to build a phone app that will wait for SMS (probably SMS, so Android only) that will try to send this data back to the center via SMS so that person can follow up.

(I work abroad and I know my institution would pay for that service when people come to more dangerous areas, for sure.)

Also, is the site designing Foundation or Bootstrap? Looks like the former AFAIK, and it looks nicer than the Bootstrapped sites I am used to (granted I have not checked up on the new hotness post-v3 rollout).

wiggly5• 13 years ago

Yes, adding the ability to Check-In using an SMS number is on my wish list too. The SMS provider I am currently playing with allows this but not looked into it seriously yet.

wiggly5• 13 years ago

Yes, the site uses Bootstrap, I am, quite obvously, not a very front-end person. I have been making back-end systems for the past 15 years or so.

Can you elaborate on the institution to which you belong, either here or over email? Would like to discuss further.

peteretep2• 13 years ago

Great idea. Have you considered if you are taking on liability by running it?

wiggly5• 13 years ago

Whether or not I would be taking on liability by providing the service has been discussed, yes. I'm not exactly sure where the conversation will end though.

Do you have specific thoughts?

peteretep2• 13 years ago

I would have thought it would vary by jurisdiction, and that you should be sure not to assume legal advice in one translates to another.

Show HN: Alert Ferret - Let people know when to check up on you

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