The dashboard was originally designed with multiple site launches in mind. I have updated this so if you only have one launch you are redirected right to that launch’s dashboard instead so you never see the dashboard index page.

I also fixed my negligence by providing helpful text that informs launchers that they should click their site thumbnail to access that launch’s dashboard for the case when a launcher does have multiple concurrent launches.

I have looked at KillerStartups and I do not think it is really all that similar. IMO KillerStartups, if anything, is more like UsefulTools in that they review web startups. That is a very valuable thing and I personally enjoy reading both sites. Launchly, however, is NOT about reviews at all. We do not editorialize.

Launchly essentially has two audiences with some overlap. On the one hand, there are people that want to learn about new websites or applications. To that audience, Launchly has some similarities to KillerStartups (or go2web20 or UsefulTools). The difference, I think, is that the site owners on launchly are actively engaged with their launch. They come to us with the specific intention of getting feedback and fostering a conversation with our users. That is not the focus of the other sites. Their focus is on providing well written reviews of startups/websites. My goal with launchly is to create a venue where your opinion is heard and your voice really has an impact on the evolution of a website.

The second audience, the launchers themselves, is really not addressed much at all on sites like KillerStartups or go2web20. On those sites, you submit your information and then basically wait for approval and a review to be written up. There is really no more interaction on the launcher’s part. That is perfectly fine as they are really focusing on another issue (visibility/press for a launch and giving their audience an honest review of a site). At launchly you sign up for an account and create a launch. You, as the site owner, own that launch. It is your personal space to interact with people and weigh feedback. We track all aspects of each launch on the owner’s behalf and graph how they are performing on all sorts of metrics from traffic on launchly to daily vote stats to social media traffic (Twitter and Digg currently). You receive weekly summary emails on your launches. Launchers have a vested interest in returning to the site to “manage” their launch and see how things are going.

Sorry if I rambled. I hope that explained some of the differences for you.

Brian McManus
Launchly Founder

http://www.killerstartups.com/

or

http://projects.metafilter.com/