I completely agree - at the moment I'm focused on getting feedback from "tech savvy" early adopters, so I thought this description might help express what I'm going for most effectively here on HN. But once I nail down the features that make sense for buildings and real estate, I'm hoping I can come up with a more approachable way to describe the functionality (even though I would like to incorporate and build on the more sophisticated concepts that GitHub has made pretty standard for code.)
Thank you for the feedback! Obviously if I could get this to a place where enough people find it valuable, I would like to make it work for as long as possible... But in the meantime, I'm definitely planning to prioritize full data export functionality (and other ways of making sure you're not locked-in or empty handed after investing in it.)
Thanks, it would be awesome to hear if you use it! I'm actually a renter myself and use it for cleaning and managing some of my stuff. My email is dstein@shinybuildings.com if you have any feedback or suggestions.
I really appreciate that, and this is one of the main pieces of feedback I was looking for. I would like to make it a business, so I've been studying the issue and it seems there is a gap in the market for homeowners who want to plan and document their work outside of Excel, paper, etc. I've also heard that there are some sellers who would like to transfer detailed "knowledge" about a house to future owners, and certainly many buyers who would value that information. But I certainly don't plan to force anyone to share anything about the house (issues, work done, etc.) that they don't want to share. Your perspective is extremely helpful.
If it doesn't make sense for homeowners, I'm also wondering if there's an interest in using a tool like this for the upkeep of buildings and structures in the public interest (schools, infrastructure, etc.), in which case transparency and ability to transfer knowledge might make more sense. But I know that's a completely different animal altogether.
Hi HN, thank you for the chance to share. Shiny Buildings is meant to be a tool to tell the story of your house: how it got to where it is today, and where you'd like it to take it. It's inspired by both GitHub - which I (like many) think is an extremely fun and functional tool - and Stewart Brand's "How Buildings Learn", which I discovered on this site a couple of years ago [0]. Growing up, I was always completely enamored with actual "shiny buildings" - fancy looking glass boxes that I found downtown and on college campuses, which I've always thought were super exciting, new, technological marvels compared to all these clapboard relics up here in New England... With time though (and especially after reading this book), I came to realize that almost any standing building is somewhat of a miracle, and well-maintained, well-loved buildings that get patches and extensions and upgrades and just seem to grow organically are nothing short of awesome to look at and enjoy. I'd like to think there's some value in documenting all of these changes and sharing it with other people who help take care of your home, etc., but I'm mostly hoping this tool can just provide another source of pride and satisfaction for anyone who enjoys where they live and wants to keep making it better.
Anyway, this version definitely falls far, far short of the quality, functionality, and concepts of GitHub, and the ideas in the book, so any feedback and criticism is extremely appreciated. Here's a video if you'd rather not try it directly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGbqgmrv8m0
