I flagged this because the post doesn't go beyond stating platitudes. Some specific examples or case studies could add interest and would reinforce your point.

I agree with you. The TL;DR is do scary stuff and don't be afraid to offend people. I'm not quite sure what dirty secret they're supposed to be confessing though. It's a fairly vacuous and vapid blog post that appears to just exist to promote the fact they want a new client.

Good point. I had not considered it. May you include some guidance as to which type of exmaples you would be interested?

Expanding on the examples you give at the end. I'm not familiar with the AirBnB ads and I'm not entirely sure what Facebook has purposely done to polarise people for growth.

You are right. I should have had expanded on that regard. I will update the post with the data. Thank you.

So opinion pieces are not allowed now on HN? it seems like every second post on the front page is like this.

On the contrary, it's just that this piece doesn't even seem to express an opinion beyond the clichéd "Growth is painful".

The article describes how for real growth you need polarize your audience. The painful part comes from those who hate your product, but is complemented by those who love it. I know from experience that this is a fact.

Finally a piece of spiritual advice that makes sense in contrast to the "always be shipping", "cult of done" and other such garbage that sometimes gets pitched on this forum.

What is a growth hacker?

A growth hacker is a trendy (and some say useless) name for a marketer who focuses on user growth, who can also write code. Growth hacking usually involves "hacking" existing systems or data for high-impact user growth actions (example: what AirBnb did with craiglist can be considered growth hacking)

(Edit: grammar)

"Growth hacker" is the in vogue jargon for "marketer". I have read arguments promoting the title on the basis that there is an increased reliance on quantitative analysis but the bottom line is they are just marketers naturally applying their craft to their own job titles.

For those that would disagree, please tell me what would differ on a growth hacker's resume vs. a marketing professional's resume. A big clue that they are the same role is that both jobs would list user acquisition numbers as a key metric of their work efficacy.

The difference is quite makred. A conventional marketer focuses on using, well, conventional methods. They use already made marketing tools to get their messages across. Seldom do they dare innovate in any regard. They basically apply the same thing to every idea.

A growth hacker:

    builds his/her own tools (including software)
    is always developing new marketing tools 
    works to combine conventional with new

Its not a new term, but has been getting some attention in the past years.

As an aside, I find some irony in the fact that a growth hacker uses blogspot. All Blogspot blogs are blocked in China without the use of a vpn. Thus, a sizeable chunk of potential readers is excluded.

I've heard this term only in the last week too, and still unsure of what it is..

A BS name for a marketer.

A coder on the customer acquisition team.

Its another (idiotic) term for marketer

It's a marketing term for a marketer.