18 comments

  • Daniel De LaneyDaniel De Laney, over 6 years ago

    I'm working on an AI project right now. The fundamental problem here is marketing.

    The Grid is a great idea for a research project. With a lot of work, machine learning and natural language processing could eventually automate many design tasks. But right now it's far from being a public-facing solution for anything.

    The Grid's big failing, in my opinion, was not the idea or even the execution. It was selling their solution for real, non-toy money while the product itself was still a toy, and marketing it as something that it might become in another 5 or 10 years but definitely isn't now.

    I think eventually we'll achieve true general artificial intelligence and everything will be great. The tech won't debut in the form of a web site builder, though.

    10 points
  • Todd SielingTodd Sieling, over 6 years ago

    Wow what a surprise to nobody. Looking at their recent sales page it's hard to keep my lunch down: feminized anthropomorphic AI, check. Weird comments about how "Molly will never ghost you" (issues much?), check. Tooting away about how sick automation is and your job will never be secured, check. Then swooning about the importance of craft in taking back the heart of making things (while trying to eat said heart raw), check.

    The feel of VC money burning here warms me like no other fire.

    10 points
    • John PJohn P, over 6 years ago

      feminized anthropomorphic AI, check. Weird comments about how "Molly will never ghost you"

      So gross, typical tonedeaf designbro company

      4 points
  • Ben Patterson, over 6 years ago

    There is some totally insane copy on their marketing site.

    "just add content, it designs itself, it's your piece of a new kind of internet"

    "What is the the most valuable thing yet discovered, the salt of the earth? People."

    "The Internet is more than a social game, it is the culmination of this electric information age. It's shape dwarfs all industry."

    Did an "AI" write this?

    7 points
  • Matt KMatt K, over 6 years ago

    Good grief that's an awful website.

    Aside from the asinine copywriting, the design is so huge it looks as though it's supposed to be viewed from across the room.

    It's like the designers did the mobile version, high-fived and went for a drink. The developers came along, realised there were no further breakpoints and thought, 'screw it, let's just make it bigger'.

    4 points
  • James Young, over 6 years ago

    The Grid always sounded like a vapourware project to rival Ind.ie

    3 points
  • Surjith S MSurjith S M, over 6 years ago

    Great illustrations here: https://www.wisebuyer.com/

    I would like to know who did this? Can you share the link to their portfolio?

    PS: Read your interview on Indie-hacker :) Nice

    ~Surjith

    1 point
  • Mike HeitzkeMike Heitzke, over 6 years ago

    Soo did anyone actually use it? Conceptually always interesting, but I'd love to hear some specific complaints of what it would/wouldn't do.

    0 points
    • BAKA .kidBAKA .kid, over 6 years ago

      I used it. i signed up as one o the founding member whatever, paid over my money, waiting way too long for even a "beta"/demo, and then after 3 days of using it, got a refund.

      the idea was interesting, but it didn't make anything vaguely usable. i am no web designer, i mainly do illustration and print design, but i ended up making something much better looking and functional in a couple of hours.

      EDIT: specific complaints - lack of control, as in you couldn't really control as much as they pitched. and it just didn't work, i tried to make a single page with some photos and some texts, every time the page loaded the text would appear, and 1 of about 10 images would appear, but i never saw everything loading after publishing a page.

      4 points
      • Mike HeitzkeMike Heitzke, over 6 years ago

        Hate to hear that, but thanks for sharing. I get tired of hearing x & y is garbage without anyone actually describing why. That sounds super frustrating to use, especially after being an early signup

        0 points
        • BAKA .kidBAKA .kid, over 6 years ago

          it sounded perfect for me, as i am mainly a print designer/illustrator. so something that could automate my online portfolio would be perfect, and i didn't want something that looked like everyone else. after trying with the beta and failing to get anything that looked decent enough to show my work online, i decided to learn a bit more about coding (my knowledge is still super limited) but at least i came up with something i am happy with, that looks interesting enough and shows my work clearly. Still a long way to go before it is good web design, but for someone like me, i am happy.

          0 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 6 years ago

    i thought they folded?

    0 points