FAQ about import.io on Hacker News
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This morning we were mentioned in a post on Hacker News. Since then, it has generated a lot of interesting questions about us and our service, and I thought this would be a great time to answer them.
Questions from Hacker News
What are the legalities of web data extraction?
import.io acts as a pipeline beween the people who need data and the web sites that have this data. We do not store (or indeed look at) any of the data our users are extracting. Every user is individually responsible to ensure that their reuse of the data is in line with the site’s terms and conditions.
What happens when sites block you?
At import.io we do cycle the IP address we use to obtain the data, but we find that in the majority of cases so long as users are respectful of the site they are scraping, there are no problems with sites blocking us.
If a site owner feels that one of our users is being abusive in their extraction, they can contact us and we will work with both parties to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
What are some use cases?
People use import.io for all kinds of things from data journalism to starting their own company. The fact is that the vast majority of websites don’t provide APIs, or even RSS. This is because it can be expensive and technically challenging to build into your website, and many people don’t realize the value their data has to someone else.
Have a look at some of our most interesting use cases!
- Oxfam – using data to predict food shortages
- Project Lever – using data to help students with research projects
- Gigm – using data for data journalism
- Recommend – started a business with data
You can find more use cases here!
How are you going to monetize your service?
We just recently released our pricin page which outlines our new pricing strategy for everyday users. Most users’ data needs should be fulfilled by our Free plan, which allows for up to 250,000 queries/day and unlimited APIs. If you find that you need more than that we offer a pro plan that allows up to 1 million queries/day and a customized support plan. This solution is ideal for small businesses who either need to do a lot of queries a day or who are dependant on import.io for the running of their product or service and therefore need an extra level of support.
What if I need help?
We have a big knowledge base full of tutorials, use cases and how-to’s to get you started using import.io. We also conduct bi-weekly webinars where we show you the ins and outs of a particular part of our tool. There’s also a forum where you can submit questions and get answers from other import users who have had the same issue. If all that doesn’t answer your question you can always contact our support department (support@import.io), where your question will be answered as quickly as possible by a real human in our office (no joke!).
If you have any more questions about import.io get in touch! We’re always happy to answer questions about our service and the world of web data.
This morning we were mentioned in a post on Hacker News. Since then, it has generated a lot of interesting questions about us and our service, and I thought this would be a great time to answer them.
Questions from Hacker News
What are the legalities of web data extraction?
import.io acts as a pipeline beween the people who need data and the web sites that have this data. We do not store (or indeed look at) any of the data our users are extracting. Every user is individually responsible to ensure that their reuse of the data is in line with the site’s terms and conditions.
What happens when sites block you?
At import.io we do cycle the IP address we use to obtain the data, but we find that in the majority of cases so long as users are respectful of the site they are scraping, there are no problems with sites blocking us.
If a site owner feels that one of our users is being abusive in their extraction, they can contact us and we will work with both parties to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
What are some use cases?
People use import.io for all kinds of things from data journalism to starting their own company. The fact is that the vast majority of websites don’t provide APIs, or even RSS. This is because it can be expensive and technically challenging to build into your website, and many people don’t realize the value their data has to someone else.
Have a look at some of our most interesting use cases!
- Oxfam – using data to predict food shortages
- Project Lever – using data to help students with research projects
- Gigm – using data for data journalism
- Recommend – started a business with data
You can find more use cases here!
How are you going to monetize your service?
We just recently released our pricin page which outlines our new pricing strategy for everyday users. Most users’ data needs should be fulfilled by our Free plan, which allows for up to 250,000 queries/day and unlimited APIs. If you find that you need more than that we offer a pro plan that allows up to 1 million queries/day and a customized support plan. This solution is ideal for small businesses who either need to do a lot of queries a day or who are dependant on import.io for the running of their product or service and therefore need an extra level of support.
What if I need help?
We have a big knowledge base full of tutorials, use cases and how-to’s to get you started using import.io. We also conduct bi-weekly webinars where we show you the ins and outs of a particular part of our tool. There’s also a forum where you can submit questions and get answers from other import users who have had the same issue. If all that doesn’t answer your question you can always contact our support department (support@import.io), where your question will be answered as quickly as possible by a real human in our office (no joke!).
If you have any more questions about import.io get in touch! We’re always happy to answer questions about our service and the world of web data.
