Spaced Repitition - <AUTHOR> http://www.gwern.net/Spaced%20repetition <comment><USER2> If you like spaced repetition and like to "compete" against people while learning, you must try out [http://www.memrise.com/](http://www.memrise.com/)

The website is appealing to the eye, has a lot of courses and users. There is a free (!) iOS / Android version which synchronizes with / through your Memrise web account.

I get no money for recommending it, I just find it to be a very nicely polished alternative to Anki. I know that the latter is more flexible, but for the most cases Memrise is just good enough.

Plus, the rankings bring in a whole new dimension by gamification of the learning / repeating process. I just can't sit there watching other people grow and getting more points than I have!

They even send you an email remembering you that you have some new items to "water", as they call it.

<comment><USER3> I used Memrise and found it surprisingly easy to memorize the order of half a deck of cards.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Repetition, not repitition.

I have tried Anki, one of the spaced repetition programs he mentions. There are lots of different decks available. Browse some here:

[https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/](https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/)

edit: Oh and this is a dupe:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6461936](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6461936)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3129937](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3129937)

<comment><USER5> Anki is wonderful; I've been using it for a while. One nice feature of Anki is that it can sync between the web, desktop and mobile versions of the app.

<comment><USER4> I stopped using it because I couldn't summon the time/willpower to work at it every day. When you leave a deck for more than a day, the work starts to accumulate like crazy and it takes much more effort to catch up.

<comment><USER6> I've set up a cron job to automatically open the app at 7 in the morning every day (and to minimise all other apps would be nice but I can't find anything to do it). I'll also set up the same functionality on my iPhone (jailbroken devices can do this with Activator).

Maybe this would work for you.

<comment><USER7> Could wmctl on Linux allow you to minimise apps

<comment><USER6> Possibly, but I run OSX.

Your reply did make me take another crack at it and I got it to work. The script if anyone is interested: [http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv](http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv). It does do some specific-to-me things to close apps I usually have open that did not want to minimise.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> barry-cotter SRS is one of those things that make thinking about education depressing because it makes it obvious that merely being a massive improvement over the status quo isn't enough to get widespread adoption.

It is absolutely wonderful. I recommend downloading a shared deck and using it to get into the habit, then building your own. There are better and worse ways of using it but it's been a real help to me in learning Chinese.

</comment><comment><USER8> Spaced repetition is great, but be warned - it's no substitute for really learning the content.

It won't let you draw connections between concepts, because the information is presented in bite sized chunks in a way that each concept is considered independently, not parts of a whole. I've found that I learn things much better when I see how they are interconnected and AFAIK this is supported by research.

For this reason, if you're considering using spaced rep for university courses I recommend that you write your own flashcards, not use somebody else's. The process of converting the knowledge in the course into appropriate flashcard sized pieces is a pretty handy way of learning the information itself.

</comment><comment><USER9> If anyone is interested in using spaced repetition for language learning, you might like to give [http://readlang.com](http://readlang.com) a shot (disclaimer - my site). It generates a flashcard every time you come across an unknown word or phrase while reading a book or website, and each flashcard includes the context sentence. You can also export to other software like Anki.

<comment><USER10> I checked out the site. Congrats for great work. I'll recommend it to people I know.

There are so many language pairs you support. What sources (dictionaries) do you use for translations? Wiktionary?

Since each word might translate differently in different contexts, do you also select the most appropriate translation to display? It would be interesting to discuss about the most optimal methods for that. Google Translate often gets this wrong. (I am working on NLP/AI for language learning myself although we will mostly use it for conversations at first.) I believe many people here can give interesting perspectives on this hard problem (semantic disambiguation for translation).

<comment><USER9> Thanks!

For the inline translations I use the Google Translate API, which is surprisingly good for words and short phrases. Unfortunately the API doesn't provide multiple translations, even though they show them on their own web site. Grrr.

Users are encouraged to edit translations before learning them, and I often think it would be awesome to crowd source appropriate translations for given contexts using this data. I'm getting ahead of myself though, I'd need orders of magnitude more active users and development time for that to work.

<comment><USER10> Just an idea. For some individual words and common phrases, you can supplement the API translation with info from Wiktionary and many freely available dictionaries on the Web.

When you have a lot of users, providing static translation for individual words with single meaning should also save you money in the long run, as Google Translate API charges you for all translations the user activates.

<comment><USER9> I did look into Wikitionary briefly but it looked horrible to use since the data isn't stored in a structured format. It seemed I'd need to parse the wiki markup and the formatting conventions were different for the different languages, which would make it a tricky job to support all the languages that Readlang does.

It made me wish for an alternative open bilingual dictionary project which is structured and machine readable.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> I just wanted to point out that Emacs supports spaced repetition (through org- mode's plug-in org-drill) for those fond of keeping things in plain text.

</comment><comment><USER12> Is there any SR tool that can just remind you to review stuff while taking into consideration the date it was added? The use case is as follows: Suppose I read some article on some neat python tricks today, if I don't review it or use it I am going to forget it in a month. But if I note that I learnt it today, the program should remind me after say 3 days later, two weeks later and then probably after one year. My understanding is that Anki cannot do this, since it doesn't know when things are added.

<comment><USER13> Anki does know when notes are added, and I'm confused how what you're asking is any different than how Anki normally works.

<comment><USER12> Ok I didn't know Anki knows when notes are added, thats great. Also I don't need front and back sides. I just want a note on the front that states what I need to refresh about.. but I guess I can just leave the back side of the flash card empty for that, I suppose?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Only marginally related, but what the heck is going on with the text on gwern's site? Are the per-character varying gray values supposed to convey some kind of information?

<comment><USER15> It should be alternating lines with red, black and blue not greys, it's to increase reading speed: [http://www.beelinereader.com/](http://www.beelinereader.com/)

<comment><USER16> What a coincidence that sites using it, including the beelinereader.com site itself, use super-tight line-height.

Thing is, line-height helps with the same issue (but without the weird colors), so if they'd fix that, the funky colors aren't as useful anymore.

But I guess we gotta save the trees from those printing their web pages or something.

Whatever one may prefer, I see they offer a plugin, which is a better way to use this tech, not by random sites forcing it on us.

<comment><USER17> > What a coincidence that sites using it, including the beelinereader.com site > itself, use super-tight line-height. Thing is, line-height helps with the > same issue (but without the weird colors), so if they'd fix that, the funky > colors aren't as useful anymore.

If it's super-tight, why did loosening it not seem to help? [http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#line- height](http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#line-height)

> Whatever one may prefer, I see they offer a plugin, which is a better way to > use this tech, not by random sites forcing it on us.

 _Is_ it better? That seems like the sort of claim that should be tested...

<comment><USER18> Is it intentional that the text starts out as all black and slowly changes color line by line down the entire document over the course of about 10 minutes, or is my android browser hitting some sort of pathological performance scenario?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I wrote [http://www.memorific.com](http://www.memorific.com) to be a spaced repetition tool/community for software related topics.

Collaboration is easy, which was something I really wanted to see in this space...building knowledge together (like in a class or small team context).

Personally it's helped me retain some Go language concepts as I learn.

</comment><comment><USER20> I've been building a small-scope SRS app for my high school's mandarin curriculum as a side project in Node. Building a simple Leitner system is amazingly simple, and while I don't support the same level of analytics as Anki, the effect is similar. I'm looking foward to launching later this week!

</comment><comment><USER21> My problem with SRS is that it is useless for the first stage of memorization. The "vocab sheet" (20 word+definition lines, on a sheet) style is much more effective for me, and if this was available for any of the SRS vendors I would start using it immediately.

</comment><comment><USER22> > Spaced Repitition [sic]

You know, you can just copy the title of the linked article (which was spelled correctly). It's less work than typing, and the chance of misspelling words is dramatically reduced.

</comment><comment><USER23> Is there an option to use SRS in command line or VIM?

</comment><comment><USER24> Repitition. Giggle.

</comment><comment><USER16> Ok, why on earth is almost every word in this article body a different shade of gray?

I don't like articles where I need to bring up the browser dev tools just so I can read it.

<comment><USER25> It appears to be an attempt to make it easier to find the beginning of the next line after you finish reading a line. However, the effect is much too subtle to be of use, and even if made more prominent, it would still ruin the typographic color and generally confuse readers.

Better solutions include:

Using a more optimal column width. 50-60 characters per line is a commonly suggested range for most media.

Using a more optimal leading (line-height). "Set solid" type (ex. 12px/12px) is almost always a bad idea, particularly so in a long block of text. Depending on the type, media, etc, ratios in the range of 1.2-1.8 are a good starting point for improving readability.

<comment><USER17> > Using a more optimal column width.

[http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#max-width- redux](http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#max-width-redux)

> Using a more optimal leading (line-height).

[http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#line- height](http://www.gwern.net/AB%20testing#line-height)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> This is the reason why seminars are not good for learning. Art Markman discusses that issue in his book 'Smart Thinking.'

Basically the human mind can only hold limited amounts of information at a time in short-term memory. If we contemplate what's on our short-term memory, the probability of it being stored in our long-term memory is much higher.

It's like reading blogs one after another. Later on we have difficulty recalling what was on the previous blogs that we have read (of course there are exceptions, for the geniuses out there).</comment>


Apple bans Watch apps "whose primary function is telling time" - <AUTHOR> http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/28/apple-watch-face-app-policy/

<comment><USER2> >This rule that Watch apps that only tell time will be rejected has actually been enforced since

Smart watches actually have really nothing to do with time pieces -- the name watch is just some marketing skeumorphism because its a smart phone on your wrist. If the Apple watch couldn't tell the time it would still be just as useful and expensive.

If you don't agree with this policy because its authoritarian -- it is -- but thats Apple and thats another debate. Given that they are authoritarian they might as well get rid of "apps that exclusively tell time" or "fart apps". This makes sense to me.

<comment><USER3> I agree. Also:

Smart phones actually have really nothing to do with cell phones -- the name phone is just some marketing skeumorphism because its a smart computer in your pocket. If the Apple phone couldn't call or text it would still be just as useful and expensive.

If you don't agree with this policy because its authoritarian -- it is -- but thats Apple and thats another debate. Given that they are authoritarian they might as well get rid of "apps that exclusively call or text" [e.g. whatsapp, hangouts, snapchat, facebook messenger, burner etc] or "fart apps". This makes sense to me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> So while the headline seems pretty damning I think this policy makes sense seeing how the third-party "apps", as of right now, do not execute ON the watch (everything happens on the phone and talks to watch). Apple doesn't want "custom watch faces" which will require talking over the expensive (in terms of battery) link to the phone for every update. I think this is all about battery not trying to stifle third-party watch faces.

</comment><comment><USER5> I wonder if the restriction only regards Earth time. People have made watches that kept Mars time - [http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/spotlight/spirit/a3_20040108.html](http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/spotlight/spirit/a3_20040108.html) . I'm sure some JPL people and other Mars fans would want their Apple watch to be the same.

</comment><comment><USER6> Yes please don't let your customers customize their watch face. One of the few cool things about a smart watch. Idiots.

</comment><comment><USER7> That makes sense. Though a clock fart combo app might be able to squeeze by. I guess it doesn't fit in with their vision of what they want it to become.

</comment><comment><USER8> After reading this article and some of the comments, its completely clear that Apple has undeniably triggered almost the exact same effects on some people as the most addictive drugs known to mankind. It's almost mind boggling to consider but I would go a step further to say this is likely the same effect reflected in Apple's recently announced profits - much like a drug kingpin entering the market with his highly addictive product would experience (ie. Crack cocaine in the 80s). It's truly beyond anything I could imagine and honestly scares the shit out of me.

The problem in such scenarios is that reason and logic become completely irrelevant - the addict falls under the trance of the drug and short of keeping them physically separated from said chemical in order to let the body clear itself of its influence and effects, few have the will to come back from the depths - and the end result is almost always painfully tragic. It's so tragic that society ends up going to the opposite extreme and attempts to ban nearly any mind altering chemical - that is how fearful the collective sentiment is and if the war on drugs is any precedent, it can last four decades and ultimately ruin even more lives than the drug itself.

I read this article and I really felt I had been directed towards a satirical article from the likes of The Onion or Clickhole. I am NOT trying to be overly emphatic or derogatory - it just seems like the first time a brand and their line of material products seems to have such a deep rooted hold on its customers. Sure, there are always fads which have a momentary grasp over their customers: Tickle me Elmo, Furbies, various pop artists, etc. But those always seemed to follow the same trajectory and never indicated any lasting effect. But this is clearly very different.

Think about this piece for a moment and the clearly Apple supportive writer and website. On one hand, he had the sensibility to write the article and even put the almost satirical title on it. That's probably a good sign. Also good is the factual recounting of the brand's position and justification of such. Reason seems to still have a far deeper rooted presence in this person's being than the brand does. But in much the same way an addict or a victim of domestic abuse reacts upon the possibility of losing said target of addiction, it quickly devolves into justifications and ultimately acceptance of such a completely untenable prospective future. Though there is certainly some sarcasm in the few commentators here, it's clear their sentiments and perceptions follow the same trajectory.

Again, I apologize and don't mean to insult or belittle, my argument is my true and honest opinion. So I must ask - is it me? So disconcerting is this notion that I'm compelled to ask if perhaps I'M the crazy one. Because I read this article and see that a company has produced a product precisely to resemble a watch in every way and even includes such in the name but then makes a draconian move to deny third parties willing to do so the ability to distribute software producing A WATCH FACE for said watch (likely thousands with no desire to even make a profit). Is this real? Am I hallucinating??? I struggle to come up with any reasonable scenario where this is a move to prevent competition, which would also be highly disturbing but not in the least surprising, especially considering the brand in question. It's simply some form of an arbitrary egomaniacal move which defies rational belief to those not completely consumed and ultimately entranced with any position held by some perceived 'god' or 'god-like' object (need to confirm I'm not the only one before fully backing this statement). But it's bizarre and the potential is as unsettling as the actual result in front of me - the same as if Apple produced the Apple Cat and then immediately barred anyone from calling our treating it as a cat while simultaneously making it appear as a dog and requiring all customers assimilate and accept the same. And the response being, "Yeah, I think it's their right to do this - I mean, it's not a REAL cat anyway, so why not call the Apple Cat a DOG..I mean it's Apple afterall, right ;)". Yes - it's Apple, the company who indirectly employs factories with such inhuman work schedules that they need to install nets to catch the numerous employees jumping from the roof to end their torture; Apple, who while hoarding tens of billions in stockpiled profits uses all its might to prevent potential extra costs by clearly colluding with and/or threatening competitors from "poaching" talent interested in reclaiming their souls and free thought by leaving - even for ex-employees years departed from their empire of misery. Holy hell, where am I and how did I get here?!?

There are a number of anecdotes describing the Microsoft antitrust investigations years ago. I recall one description of the completely defiant and confrontational tone of Mr. Gates during these times and his unflinchingly complete denial of any possibility of such a concept. There is some room for debate, but I can't imagine a rational person would see such accusations as completely baseless, especially when presented with evidence of clear internal communications showing not only obvious actions to suppress competition, but purposeful intent and rhetoric to this regard. I remember thinking then that this was delusion personified - someone so desperately self identifying with his creation that to accept such condemnation would be to accept condemnation of himself. It happens and perhaps at some point, to all of us. But the normal progression ultimately leads to a snap back to reality (thankfully the case with Mr. Gates - at least as far as one can tell from his undeniable and profound generosity). And ultimately a nostalgic look back at how entranced one had been as almost unbelievable - from the comfort of rational thought. So here's hoping the spell is broken and those held captive by their obsessive enchantment come back to reality because we really need you here.

Otherwise, if you're out there, Morpheus - I desperately need a red pill</comment>


Ask HN: Keyboard and Mouse for daily use? - <AUTHOR> What is your peripherals setup? <comment><USER2> I'm a fan of the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard. Mouse is nice, too, but the keyboard is great. Quiet, responsive, wireless.

I had an ergonomics issue that Microsoft split keyboards resolve.

<comment><USER3> The Sculpt Ergonomic ([https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en- us/products/keyboar...](https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en- us/products/keyboards/sculpt-ergonomic-desktop/l5v-00001)), or the Sculpt Comfort ([https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en- us/products/keyboar...](https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en- us/products/keyboards/sculpt-comfort-desktop/l3v-00001))? I'm looking at getting a new keyboard at work, and I'm considering both.

Years ago I had a Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite keyboard that I really liked, but they are discontinued now and I'd rather get a new model if it is better or comparable.

<comment><USER4> The split one is the Ergonomic model, that's probably what they're talking about. I just switched to the same one from a fairly nice mechanical keyboard and it feels a lot better.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Mouse: Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical 1.1a USB on Mac and PC

Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 on PC, Magic Keyboard (2. Generation) on Mac

I really like the MS Wheel Mouse Optical, unfortunately it is no longer produced. I tried different mice, but I think I like it that much, because it has lower DPI (400 DPI) than an average mouse (about 1000 DPI). Nowadays it is difficult to get a mouse with 400 DPI.

</comment><comment><USER6> HHKB2 with a CRT LaserTRAC trackball.

Got another Ergodox after hankering to try it again after selling my first after a couple months, waiting until I have a little less work to transition over to it as my WPM drops to about 10 while I'm learning.

</comment><comment><USER7> I use a Logitech Wave at the office. It's not a fully ergonomic keyboard, but has a slight, well, wave. It's comfortable to use all day, but isn't too drastically different to affect my typing style on a laptop keyboard when I get home.

</comment><comment><USER8> Keyboard: MasterKeys Pro S Mechanical Keyboard Tenkeyless

Mouse: LOGITECH TrackMan Wheel Optical USB/PS2

I have at least 3 TrackMan Wheel's, one I always bring to use at the current place of work.

</comment><comment><USER9> Keyboard - Kinesis: [https://www.kinesis- ergo.com/shop/advantage2-graphite/](https://www.kinesis- ergo.com/shop/advantage2-graphite/)

Mouse: Xmonad

</comment><comment><USER10> MX Master Wireless + Original Apple Wireless kb (non-shallow keys)

I know I should probably check out mechanical keyboards, but I'm just too damn used to the MacBook keys.

</comment><comment><USER11> ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard with TrackPoint

And a mouse at its side that I am less picky about.

</comment><comment><USER12> MX Master Wireless + Das Keyboard Pro (Work) Razer Death Adder + HHKB Pro 2 (Home)

</comment><comment><USER13> Das Keyboard + Logitech G602.

I also have a cheap Monoprice mech kb that is actually pretty nice.

</comment><comment><USER14> keyboard: dasKeyboard Ultimate Model S

mouse: Razer DeathAdder Left-hand edition

</comment><comment><USER15> Poker 2 at home. Pok3r at work. (Cherry Browns)

Logitech M560 at home and work

</comment><comment><USER16> Im in love with my Logitech m550 Bluetooth keyboard.

</comment><comment><USER17> magic keyboard | magic mouse 2 (recently moved back to mouse from trackpad)</comment>


Planet Hopf - <AUTHOR> https://www.math.toronto.edu/drorbn/Gallery/KnottedObjects/PlanetHopf/index2.html <comment><USER2> Someone listened to Rogan today ;P

Since the site gives virtually no context, this site was discussed when talking about gauge theory by Eric Weinstein (mathematician, economist, managing director of Thiel Capital) and Joe Rogan on this episode [http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/eric- weinstein-2](http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/eric-weinstein-2)

</comment><comment><USER3> I watched the program with Eric Weinstein and Joe Rogan and I have a superbasic understanding of quantum mechanics. I will try to understand and explain this by using phrases and words that I don't understand. It is extremely complicated.

The image you see here is created using Hopf algebra. Hopf algebra seems to be the visualization of differential equations at a moment when local symmetry is created. The moment of creation is called bifurcation?... Hopf math is required to explain symmetry in gauge theory.

"Gauge theories are important as the successful field theories explaining the dynamics of elementary particles." —Wikipedia

Just assume everything I said here is wrong...

Hopf bifurcation [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopf_bifurcation#/media/File...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopf_bifurcation#/media/File%3AHopf- bif.gif)

Gauge theory [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_theory)

Hopf symmetry breaking and confinement in (2+1) dimensional Gauge Theory [http://cds.cern.ch/record/551093/files/0205114.pdf](http://cds.cern.ch/record/551093/files/0205114.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER4> I found this really nice explanation of hopf fibrations:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXDQsmL-8Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXDQsmL-8Us)

</comment><comment><USER5> More on the Hopf fibration:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopf_fibration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopf_fibration)

Note this is due to Heinz Hopf, different from Eberhard (known for the Hopf bifurcation).

</comment><comment><USER6> [https://youtu.be/AKotMPGFJYk](https://youtu.be/AKotMPGFJYk) Each fiber is linked with each other fiber exactly once. This is the property that first attracted attention to the Hopf fibration, and a pair of circles in this configuration is called a Hopf link. The collection of fibers over a circle in S2 is a torus (doughnut shape), S1×S1, and each such pair of tori are linked exactly once. The collection of fibers over an arc form an annulus whose boundary circles are linked. This is known as a Hopf band; it is a Seifert surface for the Hopf link.

</comment><comment><USER7> Probably off-topic, but there's a great cheese-making web page linked down at the bottom: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022738/http://biology.cl...](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022738/http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/cheese_5_gallons/cheese_5gal_00.htm)</comment>


Be Really Real in your Business:  Why Candor Works - <AUTHOR> http://www.sean-johnson.com/2010/11/24/why-candor-works/

<comment><USER3> Candor works because people crave it.

Why? Because they get so little of it right now.

If more people were perfectly honest with their customers, they would stop craving it so much, and they would turn to wanting businesses to be polite and thoughtful instead. (Not that they don't want this now, but candor is craved a little more.)

I'm not saying to lie to your customers. I'm never happy to have been lied to, no matter how often I get the truth. But it's worth noting that businesses respond to the market, and that's why you see shifts in things like return policies and honesty.

<comment><USER4> This argument only works to a point. No amount of living indoors will make me sick of it as a lifestyle – I don't enjoy camping for more than a day or so. I enjoy living indoors because it's better – no bugs, controlled temperature, comfortable surroundings, safety, running water, toilets, electricity, on and on.

In the same way, candor is simply better than being bullshitted. Moreover, candor vs. politeness is a false dichotomy. You can be thoughtful and honest at the same time.

I'd say that the shifts we see toward more honest business come as a simple result of network effects created by the web. Do right by people? Word gets around faster than ever and you are rewarded with additional business. Screw people over? Everyone will find out just how bad you are to work with – and you'll pay for it lost revenues. It's a potent carrot and stick.

<comment><USER3> The logic only works on masses of people, not individuals.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This post arrived here today just after me getting told off for being honest, again. I still don't know if being too honest is right or wrong.

I work in a big company (100K employees worldwide), and as such there are company politics going on that few would believe unless you worked there.

This time I got scolded for telling some of our DBA team members that the database we were trying to fix was a schema design disaster from day 1 - <USER2> didn't call anyone out, just plainly stated the problems with the design so we don't make the same mistakes again. Apparently admitting that outside my local team could lead to bad things happening politically, and I should just say nothing.

What are you supposed to do? Lie, refuse to comment when asked, sweep the problems under the rug (which is generally what happens)? I really don't know, and as a hacker, I am not great at playing the big company games. Maybe I should say nothing a bit more often, but that doesn't exactly get the customers served any better. So far I have stuck with the honest approach, but I still don't know if its correct or not!

<comment><USER6> _so we don't make the same mistakes again_ \- I can relate, but generally there's some element of ego involved. Better to save the critique for the planning phase of your next project.

Especially in large companies, you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the "good-enough" (bootstrapped startups usually have more flexibility here, but often use it to their detriment). Supervisors definitely value employees that get things done without lots of questions... even if the results are not perfect.

Generally, I think the ability to prioritize is definitely an under- appreciated skill. This is what makes the whole MVP philosophy so effective and I think the same thing goes for producing results in large corporations...

P.S. I think your experience is a pretty good example of what drives many people to build startups.

<comment><USER5> > P.S. I think your experience is a pretty good example of what drives many > people to build startups.

Yea, this place drives me more and more mad. I have dabbled in my own side projects, but I am thinking more and more that the time to leave the mega- corporation will have to come soon, for my own sanity at least!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Sean and the rest of the Jelly Chicago crew he and friends have pulled together are good people because of thoughts like this. If you're full of smoke, eventually, someone pokes a hole in you and then you're just an empty bag.

</comment><comment><USER8> Curious. All of the advice I've read about women in the work place contradicts this assertion. To wit, that women tend to be TOO candid, and should restrain this compulsion in order to thrive.

<comment><USER9> I think this is because it's advice for a _corporate_ environment. Candor works with customers because customers want to know they can depend on you. However as someone else in this thread commented, corporate environments have a lot of politics. Other people don't depend on you (or don't perceive it as such) and, to make a blatant generalization, are more worried about keeping their own job. So: work with customers? Be candid. Work in corporate? Don't be candid.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> IMHO this is one of the reasons online social networks (and to some extent professional networking sites) don't work very well.

Common weaknesses bond much stronger than common strengths.</comment>


Satya Nadella email to employees on sharpening business focus - <AUTHOR> http://news.microsoft.com/2015/07/08/satya-nadella-email-to-employees-on-sharpening-business-focus/

<comment><USER2> Sounds like they're pulling the plug on Windows Phone and Nokia...

</comment><comment><USER3> ...and then he fires 8k people :-)</comment>


Show HN: Dayquant – Analyze your life every day - <AUTHOR> http://dayquant.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Dayquant is an app that allows you to grade your day every day on a scale of 1-100. You can then comment on how or why your day went the way it did. Over the long term, you can see your input on a chart and analyze it, looking for patterns as to how to make your life better.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> any feedback would be really appreciated!

</comment><comment><USER2> _> Understand how to optimize each and every day to live the life you want to live._

It provides little help in analyzing. It's dependent on the user inputting subjective data and placing important information that the user may not think of. As well as self-analyzing, which can be misleading dependent on what the user inputs. I'm critical of these apps because they feel like a TODO app (TODO: Start using my TODO app).

For an example of broken self-analysis.

Notes: "40 - Argument with boss during lunch, shitty day", "55 - Got into an argument about the maintainability of a new feature with Stacy today."

Upon my self-analysis I decide I need a new job, as I'm incapable of working well with my coworkers and seem to argue often.

In reality I'm skipping breakfast, not sleeping well, and waking up early and cranky. These details are left out of the psuedo-journal though.

Your examples focus on macro events - when micro events are likely more important. They're also things most people don't think about, so people fail in self-analysis.</comment>


Permacoin: Repurposing Bitcoin Work for Data Preservation - <AUTHOR> http://cs.umd.edu/~amiller/permacoin.pdf

<comment><USER2> I suggested somewhere earlier that it might be a good idea to use the blockchain to claim prior art on implementation of ideas. Add the 'filing fee' to get your message included and presto: instant notarization by 10's of thousands of people.

<comment><USER3> Sure, that was discussed in detail by Jeremy Clark in CommitCoin. [http://users.encs.concordia.ca/~clark/papers/2012_fc.pdf](http://users.encs.concordia.ca/~clark/papers/2012_fc.pdf) and a related scheme implemented by Manuel Araoz [http://www.proofofexistence.com/](http://www.proofofexistence.com/)

But Permacoin solves a different problem. With timestamping, the 'hash' of your document is in the blockchain but it's up to you to store the doc yourself if you want to reveal it later. In Permacoin, the network is _rewarded_ for storing all the data itself, redundantly.</comment></comment>


Teens Debate Big Issues on Instagram Flop Accounts - <AUTHOR> https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/07/the-instagram-forums-where-teens-go-to-debate-big-issues/566153/?single_page=true <comment><USER2> Sad to see that for the new generation, "news" is equivalent to shitty Instagram pictures.

It's quite funny that they consider this as more trustworthy than conventional "news". Not saying conventional news is always right, but I'd still trust it more than pseudonymous accounts on a social network.

> "Flop accounts have a lot of people fact-checking each other instead of just > depending on one source giving us information," Dann said. "The fact that > we're all posting about these things means we all have to do research and > it's a lot of people completing these things together, not just one person, > which makes us trust it more."

Are they sure? I bet it's just one big echo chamber of people copy/pasting each other, just like every trend on social media (memes, etc).

<comment><USER3> > It's quite funny that they consider this as more trustworthy than > conventional "news"

I mean they probably are. It's unlikely these kids are running their Instagram channels as loss leaders with the real goal of selling billion dollar military technology.

<comment><USER4> How do you know they're actually kids and not working for RT?

<comment><USER5> Why does it have to be RT and not any other interest group? Tbh it's kinda pissing me off how these days everybody on the web pretends Russian people and organizations are the only ones using socket-puppets to spread "misinformation", just like Russia is supposedly the only actor that constantly hacks everything and everybody.

It's just reinforcing the current, rather hysteric, narrative that Russia is to blame for everything from Trump getting elected, to Brexit, and even the generally rising "right wing" sentiments.

As somebody outside the Anglo-Saxon sphere, looking at places like Reddit, it feels like people are being riled up for a war, and it seems to be working extremely well.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I think this has always happened among teens. When Facebook was popular among adolescent groups, FB pages existed that were identical to the messages shared on these "flop accounts".

<comment><USER7> And before that it was 4chan. Meme pages that touch on social and political issues are fairly integral to our net culture.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Just a few years ago these guys had the main mediums of information covered, sure there was internet, but up until now it wasn't in palms of everyones hands.

And this new medium tends to be decentrilised, cheap for everyone to access and anyone can be the creator of content.

And on the issue of quality of information, sure it can be shit. Memes, number of character restrictions etc, forum moderators being biased, thumbs ups and downs do seem like we are going back to coloseum times, boos and hoorays, instead of stating our arguments in words. It kind of does seem like we are going backwards.

However big media is full of shit too, is censored in one way or the other, and is highly susceptible to corruption.

Truth (the whole truth and nothing the truth) cannot be presented in 2000-3000 words. Those people at CERN take petabytes of information to be sure what is truth, on the stuff that is real and measurable. And even when they come up with an answer they say "We are 5 000 000 to 1 sure that this particle exists".

And what we are mostly talking here about are abstract philosophical concepts and social sciences like economy, law, ethics, psychology etc. Unmeasurable things (at least pretty far from accurately and completely).

These philosphical, wordsy, matters are thus super easy to manipulate with.

Fake news, flops, deepfakes, resonating echo chambers.....All I see is big media being scared of loosing their power.

</comment><comment><USER9> I don't see it as any different to any forum, IRC channel, social network group page, or group chat in an IM. 4chan, SA, Fark, car forums, etc etc.

It's literally just teenagers making a group chat to shoot the shit. How is that anything new or controversial in any way? We did it on BBSes and IRC, then teens did it on MySpace and Facebook, now it's Instagram and Snapchat.

</comment><comment><USER10> This might be the first tech trend (at least, that I'm aware of) that I was completely unaware of and do not understand at all because of my age (late twenties).

<comment><USER11> I think you are giving too much credit to the uniqueness of this.

It seems not any different than subreddits or similar: they just making inflammatory meme posts based on hot topics and then people are discussing them in in the moderated comments.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> So, Tumblr, basically?

</comment><comment><USER13> Sharing transgender memes apparently is "debate" ?

</comment><comment><USER14> TL;DR The dinosaurs at The Atlantic take another stab at guessing what teenagers are doing instead of reading their publication.

<comment><USER15> All the accounts quoted have <20k followers, some much less. Someone was looking for material.

<comment><USER16> Small accounts can be more influential than accounts that broadcast to millions of followers.

Witness the power of small Whatsapp groups for example.

[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/technology/wh...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/technology/whatsapp- india-killings.html)

<comment><USER17> You should submit this to HN.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> ITT: Confused old people</comment>


FCC Launches new Developer Site - <AUTHOR> http://infovegan.com/2010/09/13/fcc-launches-developer-site

<comment><USER2> How do you find a vegan at a dinner party?

Don't worry, they'll let you know.</comment>


No time to get fit? Just 1 minute of intense exercise produces health benefits - <AUTHOR> http://www.sciencecodex.com/no_time_to_get_fit_think_again_just_1_minute_of_intense_exercise_produces_health_benefits-181155 <comment><USER2> McMaster press release ("No time to get fit? Think again"):

[http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/no-time-to-get-fit- thin...](http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/no-time-to-get-fit-think-again/)

Study ("Twelve Weeks of Sprint Interval Training Improves Indices of Cardiometabolic Health Similar to Traditional Endurance Training despite a Five-Fold Lower Exercise Volume and Time Commitment"):

[http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154075)

</comment><comment><USER3> To be clear, three 20 second all-out intervals interspersed within 9 minutes total of warm-up, cool-down, and easy intervals.

</comment><comment><USER4> One minute? Try an all-out set of 5 reps on the deadlift, killer full-body workout in ~12-14 seconds.

That being said, though time is the most frequent excuse people make for not being fit, the reality is that most people are really bad at making themselves do things that are uncomfortable, so it really doesn't matter how long a workout takes.</comment>


American teens are sending or receiving 3,339 texts a month on average - <AUTHOR> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/u-s-teen-mobile-report-calling-yesterday-texting-today-using-apps-tomorrow/

<comment><USER2> So the teen girls sending 4,050 average a month are sending a text every 7.5min on average while awake?? If that's the average what are the top, say, 10% doing?

<comment><USER3> I expect most of these are group texts.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Shouldn't it be "sending AND receiving" .. sorry, it's the programmer in me.</comment>


World of Warcraft seeks reapproval in China gov't tangle - <AUTHOR> http://www.itworld.com/%5Bprimary-term%5D/95677/world-warcraft-seeks-reapproval-china-govt-tangle

<comment><USER2> hehe, funny stuff: _China's regulators screen online games for erotic, violent or other objectionable content ... <snip> ... skeletons in the game appear as normal human bodies_

I fail to see why that change was made, it feels as if they were just looking for something to change.

The sole purpose of the game is to kill things. Was this changed due to violence? I'd think that a puddle of blood would be a bit more violent than a pile of bones, to be honest!

Objectionable content. Okay, sure, skeletons can be a tad bit scarier than a human. But c'mon, look at the gnomes!

Erotic content? I guess one could argue that skeletons are nude...

Yeah, that's gotta be it.</comment>


Why Cards?: A detailed view of Card UI/data paradigm - <AUTHOR> http://blog.trywildcard.com/post/93983166893/why-cards

<comment><AUTHOR> really detailed description of what cards are, why they matter, and directory of resources/content on the subject</comment>


America's Most Ambitious Cities - <AUTHOR> http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/most_ambitious_cities/dc.html?state=play

<comment><USER2> First: The report uses metro area as unit.

Below is the simple list from high to low:

Atlanta, Phoenix, Riverside, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Washington DC

Here is the summary without going through 11 pages.

Definition of the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity : "the percent of individuals (ages twenty to sixty-four) who do not own a business in the first survey month that start a business in the following month with fifteen or more hours worked per week."

The 10 metro area by Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity from high to low.

Atlanta, Georgia: Population: 5,376,285 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .74%

Phoenix, Arizona Population: 4,281,899. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .55%

Riverside, California Population: 4,115,871. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .52%

Los Angeles, California Population: 12,872,808. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .51%

Miami, Florida Population: 5,414,772. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .50%

New York, New York Population: 19,006,798. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .45%

San Francisco, California Population: 4,274,531. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .42%

Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Population: 6,300,006. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .42%

Houston, Texas Population: 5,728,143. 2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .34%

Washington, D.C. Population: 5,358,130.2008 Kauffman Foundation Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: .30% _

<comment><USER3> Go Atlanta! heh thanks

<comment><USER4> I didn't expect Atlanta to be number one on the list. I guess I shouldn't complain about living in Atlanta and not the Valley. Though these numbers may be skewed by non-tech start-ups.

<comment><USER5> Most new businesses aren't tech startups.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I'm not sure it took ten pages to say that. And nearly all the text was describing the numbers ("This number is bigger than the one before it. But brace yourself: the next number will be _even bigger_.")

<comment><USER7> Yeah, I gave up quickly once I saw what they were doing. Anyone want to take the time and post a simple list here and what the general methodology was?</lazy>

<comment><USER6> The methodology was business started per 100,000 people. They range from about 300 to 700.

<comment><USER8> I'm not understanding how this metric is useful. If I start a business and it goes bust within three months, and then I start another one, do I get counted twice?

<comment><USER9> Why, that sounds awfully ambitious!</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


App Engine talks from Google IO 2011 - <AUTHOR> http://blog.blossom.io/2011/05/13/app-engine-at-google-io-2011.html

<comment><AUTHOR> The fireside chat also was quite interesting but isn't available yet. I will add it to the list as soon as it gets on youtube.

<comment><AUTHOR> added fireside chat and life in production sessions</comment></comment>


Advanced usage of Python requests: timeouts, retries, hooks - <AUTHOR> https://findwork.dev/blog/advanced-usage-python-requests-timeouts-retries-hooks/ <comment><USER2> I just recently dealt with a timeout issue in requests: I was setting the timeout to 1 but it took 10 seconds for the request to fail. It turns out that the timeout _does not apply_ to the name resolver and the name lookup was timing out. So the default system-level timeout was 10 seconds.

</comment><comment><USER3> Thank you for this brief reference. I'm always going back to my old projects to remind myself how I did things with requests. I didn't realize some of things existed.

<comment><AUTHOR> You're welcome. I thought I'd aggregate all the useful tricks I'd found while working on my last project. It's a collection of snippets I had found in the docs and in Github issues.

The post contains the most important snippets, but you might find the advanced section of the requests docs [1] useful and the requests_toolbelt [2].

[1] [https://requests.readthedocs.io/en/master/user/advanced/](https://requests.readthedocs.io/en/master/user/advanced/)

[2] [https://toolbelt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/](https://toolbelt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)

<comment><USER3> I will definitely be diving into the advanced section in the Requests docs. Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I wish that requests had a default timeout instead of defaulting to waiting forever.

It's very easy for devs to forget to think about timeouts, but inevitably that ends in a cascading production outage.

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm not sure if you noticed, but the post contains a section on how to set default timeouts.

[https://findwork.dev/blog/advanced-usage-python-requests- tim...](https://findwork.dev/blog/advanced-usage-python-requests-timeouts- retries-hooks/#setting-default-timeouts)

<comment><USER4> Right. I'm saying the library should set a default timeout _by default_ , which you could then change if needed.

Of course, whatever it chose would inevitably be wrong for many scenarios, it would be less wrong than defaulting to waiting forever.

<comment><AUTHOR> I absolutely agree. According to this comment [1] they're planning to introduce it in v3.

[1] [https://github.com/psf/requests/issues/3070#issuecomment-328...](https://github.com/psf/requests/issues/3070#issuecomment-328083039)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> If I enable logging of retries: logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)

I dont see any retries on response 200: ConnectionError(ReadTimeoutError("HTTPSConnectionPool(host='domain.com', port=443): Read timed out."))

Is there a way to also retry on ChunkedEncodingError?

</comment><comment><USER6> That sentry responses decorator is absolutely beautiful

</comment><comment><USER7> Fantastic reference. Thanks for sharing!</comment>


Google Trends for Tumblr, Google+, Reddit, Twitter - <AUTHOR> https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20%2Fm%2F0gh6xtp%2C%20%2Fm%2F0b2334%2C%20%2Fm%2F0289n8t&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4 <comment><USER2> I was wondering why you didn't include and so I plunked it in there and then realized why you didn't include facebook: [https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20%2Fm%2F0gh6xtp%2C%20%2Fm%2F0b2334%2C%20%2Fm%2F0289n8t%2C%20%2Fm%2F02y1vz&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4)

<comment><USER3> I did the same thing. It sort of takes one's breath away.

<comment><USER4> What I find interesting is that Twitter and Facebook have the same graph shape, both peaking in 2013.

They should allow a log scale, then you could compare with Facebook more easily.

<comment><USER5> My fairly crude theory is that those sites have slightly broader and thus less tech-savvy userbases, so searches might represent ingrained ways of accessing the site more than they would for Reddit or Tumblr.

As even the least-tech-savvy becomes more aware of faster ways of accessing the websites, and browser software starts to pre-empt user intention more and more, this kind of convoluted search starts to drop off.

Not sure if that theory holds water, or is in any way necessary.

<comment><USER6> I agree with your theory to an extent, however:

> As even the least-tech-savvy becomes more aware of faster ways of accessing > the websites

I'm not sure that happens. From observation, people tend to stick to the first way they figured out how to do something on their computer. Searching for "Facebook" from Google is very standard practice. Further, browsers _encourage_ search over direct address input. I've tried to show people many times how to visit sites directly... it doesn't help them so they understandably ignore the advice.

<comment><USER3> Also, Google stopped indexing Twitter around the time Twitter started to decline, but Facebook still comes up first for many name searches.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> As a side note, I really enjoy seeing Google Trends information. I really hope this is one Google dont take from us.

And I'd love Google to build on their Public Data explorer. There is so much need and value for a business and the wider public for a central data repository that has good cutting and display options. And a business could easily pay for a private corner to link to these data sets. If this Public Data tool had been a bit further ahead I suspect it could have taken a chunk the massively growing space now being filled by Tableau and other BI solutions.

[https://www.google.com/publicdata/directory](https://www.google.com/publicdata/directory)

</comment><comment><USER8> A side note on Google Trends: you can't use Google Trends as statistical evidence that a startup is doing better than another because there are hundreds of different reasons why people might _Google_ a startup, and some might be more biased than others. (e.g. Googling "what the heck is Reddit" which might be less likely to happen for Facebook, yet is not fully indicative of business success/failure).

It's still fun for making silly correlations, though.

<comment><USER9> Why not?

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Interesting to see Snapchat and Instagram in there: [https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20%2Fm%2F0b2334%2C%20%2Fm%2F0289n8t%2C%20%2Fm%2F0glpjll%2C%20%2Fm%2F0nbtf_n&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4)

<comment><USER10> \+ Whatsapp: [https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20%2Fm%2F0289n8t%2C%20%2Fm%2F0glpjll%2C%20%2Fm%2F0nbtf_n%2C%20%2Fm%2F0gwzvs1&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4)

<comment><USER11> swap Twitter for Pinterest: [https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F05pdgbz%2C%20%2Fm%2F0glpjll%2C%20%2Fm%2F0nbtf_n%2C%20%2Fm%2F0gwzvs1%2C%20%2Fm%2F0h3tm0f&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> As much as we like to say bad things about Marissa Mayer (I don't know her in person so she might be truly awful in person I don't know) but she might have made the right call in buying Tumblr. I think Tumblr still has value. When the teens who use tumblr today become older, there might even be some emotional/sentimental value in Tumblr for them.

<comment><USER13> Tumblr got to where Twitter wanted to be before Twitter did. By the Twitter figured it out they've been on the decline since. But Tumblr is a really bad buy.

Tumblr has three phases, the gen Y (25-35 yo) has already cycled out and the gen Z (15-25 yo) are on it because it's not Twitter and not Facebook. It will decline just like Myspace boomed then declined.

Drop Instagram and WhatsApp in there and they're the best buys.

What's more interesting is how Reddit came to be the new Craigslist for both gen Y and gen Z.

Oh, try putting in Snapchat. Since Snapchat only has dark content they're not shown to be any bigger than Reddit although I peg them at maybe half the growth rate of Instagram.

Wait it out another two product cycles and they'll sharing clear content, then maybe we can finally see if the Facebook vs Snapchat duel is really real.

<comment><USER14> I don't think you're right about Twitter. Twitter is a real time information company, more or less. No journalists or news savvy people to to Tumblr for content. There is value in having live content coming from "content creators" than in cases like Tumblr where most of the content is not original at all. Twitter doesn't know it's own value because it's poorly run, but I don't think they ever wanted to be like Tumblr.

<comment><USER12> I think they want to be more appealing to casuals and are willing to sacrifice their core users at the altar of a timeline that is not a simple reverse chronological but tries to guess what you likely like reading.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I was curious about the downward trend in Twitter and Facebook at about the same time. I nknow it doesn't imply causation, but adding "Snowden" shows the downward trend for Twitter begins about the same time. It is hard to see for Facebook because it trends so highly, but its downward trend is around the same time.

[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F0289n8t%2C%20...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F0289n8t%2C%20Snowden&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B4)

Perhaps there is indeed hope that a generation of people are becoming more aware of their options with regards to privacy and anonymity online.

Or perhaps it can more accurately be attributed to a switch to Snapchat or other social media providers.

<comment><USER16> I think it has more to do with the switch from the web (where people search rather than type the address) to apps (where people arrive via notification or app icon)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> Ok, but let's not forget that half of internet is not there. E.g. Chinese people do not use Google. If we could agregate data qq.com could very well be above them all.

<comment><USER18> I went exploring the Chinese half of the internet for a while. It's amazing how different things are there, yet how similar they are.

Baidu seems essentially equivalent to Google, AliPay to PayPal and Weibo to Facebook.

As for differences, I noticed were how heavily integrated AliPay (and all the payment methods) were with the regular Chinese banking system, needing a local bank card to verify any account.

Also interesting how they handled file sharing. Baidu Pan seems to be the Chinese alternative to torrents or P2P.

Really though, the biggest take away I got was the inconceivable amount of information that isn't displayed to Westerners in search. The Chinese internet, with over 700m users, must be enormous but your average Western internet user doesn't see any of it.

<comment><USER19> Interesting, I'd love to read more about it! What's this Baidu Pan thing?

<comment><USER17> Baidu Pan is a kind of online MFS, a distributed file system. It is very convenient inside China for "instant torrenting": if the file you want is already in the cloud you get it instantly. Also, it's free, you get 500G for $0 IIRC.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I like the growth chart for Reddit alone:

[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F0b2334](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F0b2334)

<comment><USER21> Me too. Looks like sustainable growth. Reddit is basically a centralized Usenet, which is a good thing - interaction from people all over the world who don't know each other for the sake of knowledge sharing and discussion. And NSFW stuff.

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> Personal anecdote: I will google "<person> Twitter" to get their Twitter feed so I wonder how many of those searches are not necessarily interest in the service rather interest in a specific person using the service.

<comment><USER23> For Google's "trend" purposes, I'm fairly certain this counts as interest in the service, no? Why would it not?

Since they have separate entries for Twitter and the others, listed as "Social network" vs. just simply "search term" this has to imply some difference in what they include as searches.

So perhaps all permutations of searching for things on Twitter, and others, are lumped into the main search term.

<comment><USER22> Definitely!! I just used my personal anecdote to say that my "interest" is rarely with the service it is with the people using the service.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> It's also fun to do this with:

* Git vs. Mecurial vs. Subversion

* Slashdot vs. Hacker News

* GitHub vs. SourceForce

</comment><comment><USER25> Interesting. I feel like you get Google search results for Tumblr, Reddit, and Twitter when you accidentally type in one of those as a search term instead of a URL. (Happens to the best of us, pretty sure I've searched for "Google" before.)

Google+ is different in that the URL is plus.google.com, so I think "plus" would be the misfire in that case.

</comment><comment><USER26> Interested to know how Twitter let their momentum tail off starting mid-2013. Does anyone know the missteps?

<comment><USER27> Facebook executed very well on mobile after their post-IPO slump, while Twitter failed to create an easy onboarding experience that would enable them to move beyond their early adopters (the tech industry, the media industry, and celebrities). The Twitter executives were too busy squabbling to move the product forward (see the book _Hatching Twitter_ ).

 _How Facebook Squashed Twitter_ : [https://stratechery.com/2016/how-facebook- squashed-twitter/](https://stratechery.com/2016/how-facebook-squashed- twitter/)

 _The Reality of Missing Out_ : [https://stratechery.com/2016/the-reality-of- missing-out/](https://stratechery.com/2016/the-reality-of-missing-out/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Poor google plus.

I used to be a really loyal fan.

</comment><comment><USER29> It looks pinterest really stalled. I wonder what their valuation is now.

</comment><comment><USER30> The reddit spike in 2014 September. Was that that the leaked celebs photos?

<comment> CC-kun Yup, it inflated the trending stats of a number of sites.

[https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=4chan%2C%20reddit%2C...](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=4chan%2C%20reddit%2C%208chan%2C%20leak%2C%20celeb&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B5)

I never really understood what made these pictures so much more valuable than another official and unofficial nude images of celebrities. It had a profound effect on the sites linked above, though, from administration to the mentality of regulars.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> Put Instagram in that search for some context and a look at serious growth.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> It's interesting Dropbox doesn't enter these trend discussions. It flies under the radar.</comment>


Lee Iacocca, father of the Ford Mustang, dies aged 94 - happy-go-lucky https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48851380 <comment><AUTHOR> Don't overlook his work at Chrysler!</comment>