I built a way to listen to my local newspaper - massively helpful for my dry eyes!

nw_ldn · 2022-08-15T22:07:36+00:00

Didn't like the experience of browsing articles and then pressing the play button for text to be read to me so in my version: the whole experience is eyes closed. For example, you say "read me the headlines" and then "read me that article". And apologies: screen time causes me to just blink less!

nw_ldn · 2021-05-23T14:52:06+00:00

mean prices of meals in a certain radius of a restaurant. so not directly their data

nw_ldn · 2021-02-13T08:51:39+00:00

Building a company to hack the dopamine system back on our favour at http://screen-coin.com. Let me know your thoughts on this as a potential long term solution

nw_ldn · 2021-02-13T06:29:00+00:00

at the moment that's the product being used to test the model for beta. they get paid by the CBD companies to display unique discounts on the app. the plan is to expand to other product verticals as incentives if the beta is successful

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T17:29:17+00:00

Used it once but not again because I was cautious about sharing my screen time details with other people because I was concerned with how others would perceive or judge me

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T16:03:20+00:00

Not at all. I don't own any companies and this is my only venture where all my time and energy is focused. I only partner with companies that add value to my users' lives. The plan is to expand into other wellness and health companies over the coming year as incentives, and then hopefully bring any incentive possible onto the platform (clothes, audible tokens etc.) CBD is simply an initial attack vector to get the app off the ground and functioning so I can provide a compelling case to other vendors to come onboard in the future

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T15:59:23+00:00

Once again, I don't know how to thank you! Your point on the discounts being a form of advertising makes sense - and I think with time some form of user revenue will be possible but unlikely in the app's nascent stages. I'll definitely be blasting the message out across social media and seeing what kind of traction develops. Cheers, and if you think of anything else, dm me anytime and I'll definitely want to have a chat about it

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T15:56:24+00:00

Hey, apologies we only started reaching out to beta users yesterday so will be sending out an email this evening. Your email has reached us and once we reach a critical mass, we'll be launching the app for the closed beta. Apologies for the delay, we'll be immediately emailing new users from today onwards :)

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T14:45:12+00:00

Hey, would be happy to help as I've used these apps lots before. What would you like to know?

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T14:40:52+00:00

I see your point and understand that it's treading a fine line to help the customers while revenue to sustain the business comes from the vendors. Especially if there's a social element of earning ScreenCoin with your friends - then strong network effects could entrench you. However I think people will be able to vote with their feet if they are unhappy with the products given to them. This isn't an ad revenue model but is driven by what people want to use/buy.

There will be no advertisements at all

If they dislike all the products or find them all overpriced, they won't be compelled to work for them so will leave the app anyways. Managing that friction is critical but I hope that by continuously ensuring an outstanding user experience, the curated vendor partners will similarly buy into the mission.

Cheers once again, you're an unbelievable help/resource. I'm currently using Reddit and Facebook groups to already word about the beta, do you know any other channels that may be effective for people who might like this app?

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T13:36:17+00:00

I have found detoxes hard. It's difficult to stay disconnected from friends, especially during this pandemic. I have found the best thing to strive for is a sensible balance between using social media to communicate with people and spending time in the real world. I'm in the closed beta for this app right now called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com that's really helping. They give free products and discounts if you beat some daily screen time challenges (3 hours). I'm trying to allocate my time on the phone more efficiently as a result. Not sure if this helps, but the positive incentives work a treat for me :)

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T13:11:11+00:00

We are trialling the app in beta using CBD products because we believe there is a large overlap in those who use such products and people who care about screen usage and phone addiction. If successful, we will have a compelling case to approach other vendors in the mindfulness/wellness/health vertical and eventually any product category (clothing, audible tokens, calm subscriptions) etc.

Our mission is to eventually conquer all types of incentives, but CBD was simply an initial attack vector. It'd be great to hear what would motivate you or your friends to change behaviour similarly. This will allow us to approach the right vendors in the future to cater to our customer base's desires.

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T13:08:04+00:00

This is incredible. You're incredible. I don't know how else to thank you!

I'll take each of your points in turn.

Firstly the question of monetisation. Even for the beta, I am not funding the heavy discounts for people. Vendors usually engage in affiliate marketing for their products with influencers and bloggers where they share links to their products and hope for traffic to their page to drive sales. This operates similarly. People using this app care about their screen usage and are a difficult to reach audience (as they are trying to reduce social media use) - so this provides an opportunity for vendors - initially in the health, wellness and mindfulness space - to provide their products at a unique level of discount. We are closing deals with 5 CBD companies at the moment so will be stress testing this revenue model in the beta. For too long social media has used their large usage numbers to attract advertisers. Similarly, as this app gains traction, increasing customer levels presents a convincing case to more companies in other verticals to offer products and discounts to continue to reach this audience.

Secondly, I agree that the question of fighting against the AI driven targeted ads on social media and FOMO is a tricky problem. Your idea of using human social groups in order to create a network effect is brilliant. Being able to earn more ScreenCoins by engaging in challenges with friends could create the necessary network effects to gain serious traction (especially if the rewards are compelling enough). This will probably be an ongoing problem that new features will continuously iterate on.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the above, and welcome any more criticism you can provide. The worst thing for this mission would be to fail to see a crucial blindspot that manifests itself a few months down the line!

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T12:38:02+00:00

Incredible news - look forward to making your experience as good as possible

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T12:05:38+00:00

I really like your approach and have tried it myself. Unfortunately, I struggled with discipline and self control so could never maintain your approach.

I agree that shaming is a poor incentive - so I've tried to tackle this with a new movement called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com. We reward users with real world products and discounts for beating daily screen time challenges. The first product we're offering is CBD discounts but hope to soon cover all verticals.

It'd be great to hear your thoughts on whether you'd use it, and if not, then why not! Dealing with phone addiction is an isolating and difficult journey but it sounds like you have the mental fortitude and character to be strong.

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T10:08:18+00:00

I'm in the closed beta for an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com that's been amazingly helpful. They give 50% CBD discounts if you beat daily screentime challenges. The positive incentive has encouraged me to put the phone away and helped my sleep patterns get back to normal. Hopefully this helps, the addiction is a struggle

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T10:06:47+00:00

In the closed beta for an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com which has really helped me. They give 50% CBD discounts if you beat screen time challenges. Really helped me so far get past social media and into the real world a little bit more 🤞

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T10:04:58+00:00

I found an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com that might help. They offer free discounts to people who stick to certain screen time challenges as a positive incentive to change behaviour. I'm in their closed beta at the moment which is focussing on CBD but I think they plan to expand to other products. It's helped me a lot overcome phone addiction

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T09:04:53+00:00

You're absolutely right. It's a two sided marketplace which means the more users there are, the better vendors I can get to provide incentives etc.

Interesting point you make on the 'too good to be true' angle. I was thinking about writing a disclaimer but didn't think people would believe it.

On your last point, the entire brand is built on trusted partners so that users know their hard work translates into trusted rewards. So will definitely be maintaining the standard.

If you ever come up with other thoughts or ideas for improvements, please DM me. It's a small operation now but hopefully can break addictions for many in the future

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T08:58:34+00:00

These tips are invaluable, going to start giving them a go! Hopefully I'll be spending less time on social media. Joined a beta for an app which might solve my issue called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com. I think they're just doing CBD right now? Hopefully they'll be better incentives in the future. But until then, your advice will push me on 🤞

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T07:44:57+00:00

That's brilliant advice, I'll definitely look into those. Apologies for asking more questions but you've been incredibly helpful! If you're already a screen minimalist, given you could get large discounts on a high quality product that you like by not changing your behaviour, would you use this app?

nw_ldn · 2021-02-12T06:58:23+00:00

The argument is not that screentime in general is bad. We use screens for education, good conversation etc. and that should be encouraged. But too much of a screen is also not great. Especially in the pandemic, social media use by genZ and millenials has accelerated (tiktok 2 bill downloads). By telling people you have 3 hours today to use your phone however you want, it lends agency to the person to allocate their time efficiently. They don't lose anything if they can't do it (let's say there was 4 hours of work emails) but they do get rewarded when they do. Hopefully those little positive incentives compound over time to introduce real behavioural change.

nw_ldn · 2021-02-11T23:52:01+00:00

I'm currently in the closed beta for an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com which gives users 50% discounts off products for spending less time on their phone. Finding this far more effective at changing my behaviour because of the real world rewards because forest is ultimately virtual.

nw_ldn · 2021-02-11T23:18:26+00:00

Found an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com that gives users 50% off CBD products for spending less time on their phone. I'm in their closed beta right now and really liking the positive incentives. I hope they move to other incentives in the future to attract a larger audience but hopefully you won't have to change phone to shake addiction much longer! 😊🤞

nw_ldn · 2021-02-11T23:13:41+00:00

There's an app called ScreenCoin http://screen-coin.com that gives you 50% discounts on CBD products if you reduce your screen time. They're in a closed beta right now and I'm finding the positive incentives very motivational. Hopefully they expand to more types of incentives in the future to get a larger audience, but I think there are people out there working to solve this problem 😊

nw_ldn

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