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Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#61

Post by [deleted] »

gbasin wrote: post #58
CameronBanga wrote: post #55

This looks well packaged, and I can see the argument that it may be easier to use than the competition. But how do you plan to make money? I’m looking for a model that isn’t “we sell data on our customers”, which I see is prohibited based on the TOS. But what would be the road to profit and what safeguards are in place to prevent you from just selling to a less ethical company down the road?

Was my first thought, as well. However, making something previously un-monetizable with a much better UX can unlock new opportunities. Craigslist sublet board → Airbnb

[deleted]

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#62

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

CameronBanga wrote: post #55

This looks well packaged, and I can see the argument that it may be easier to use than the competition. But how do you plan to make money? I’m looking for a model that isn’t “we sell data on our customers”, which I see is prohibited based on the TOS. But what would be the road to profit and what safeguards are in place to prevent you from just selling to a less ethical company down the road?

Hi! We plan on monetizing either through a premium tier with productivity tools built for power users or charging a very low amount from every user.

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#63

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

ximeng wrote: post #56

The problem isn’t time spent on these sites, it’s finding better quality ways to spend the time. That’s the real challenge. Solution needs to be pull to something better not push away from something worse. Not that the push is necessarily bad but it’s not the full answer.

That's actually something we actively think about and have tried a failed solution in the past; we implemented a feature where you can find other productive things to do - the implementation wasn't good and we plan on giving this concept more tries in the coming weeks.

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#64

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

ahmedfromtunis wrote: post #54

Thank you so much. It just installed it and I find the idea super cool. One suggestion, though: make it possible to enable 'hide news feed/recommend/...)' by default. Good luck!

Thank you! Yes - we are planning on implementing something along the line of remembering the last time you hide newsfeed, video recs

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#65

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

keenmaster wrote: post #51

From my experience, it's better in the long run to apply brute force restrictions on programs. It's too easy to modify and delete Stayfocusd though. Idea: I think we need a cross-platform website/app restriction utility. At the beginning, you get to choose intervals where you can change your settings for free. Let's say the interval is 3 months, and your settings dictate that you can only spend 40 minutes on social m…

Thanks for the suggestion! We've actually experimented with a similar concept - hold people accountable to their goals through social accountability, where friends can "watch over" each other and win/lose points (or money, in your case). Definitely interested in this concept.

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#66

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

agrinman wrote: post #60
qiyuxuan96 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you so much for sharing these tips and suggestions on mobile. Mobile is definitely on our todo list, more so Android than iPhone. Like you mentioned, Android's digital well-being initiative helps better products emerge. Unfortunately, Apple still does not allow developer access to screen time functionatlities, and the only way to mimic that is through MDM, which not only is a bad workaround but also has been ba…

What about a DNS based approach on iOS? You don't need MDM, just a VPN extension. You could send push notifications when your DNS server detects a site to block and mimic the same UX you have with a browser extension.

You are correct - that would work to send reminders (notifications). However, we wouldn't be able to prevent people from using their apps. This is definitely something we are considering.

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#67

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

sub7 wrote: post #53
qiyuxuan96 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that we definitely have a lot more work to do. We currently let people change functionality on these websites - such as blocking the newsfeed. I like your suggestion that we should not only hide it, but also replace it. We'll think about that more.

Yup, I've built 2 products that crossed 50M users. One was a browser extension in the years before the iPhone. I always assume my user is blackout drunk and generally not very thoughtful i.e. they know what they want but they want that shit on a plate with 0 effort.

I definitely agree with you that for a lot of users, we need to make everything as easy as possible.

Re: Launch HN: Motion (YC W20) – defense against online distractions and addictions

#68

Post by qiyuxuan96 »

mnowicki wrote: post #59

Hey guys, I have an idea/suggestion for you guys; you might already be doing this or it might just not be a worthwhile idea, but it sounds useful to me: Your addon/extension should track the amount of time spent on each of these time-waster websites, and allow the use to render graphs showing how their usage over time has changes. Perhaps even allow them to set goals(e.g less than 30 mins a day max, and under 2.5 hrs…

Definitely! Thanks for the idea. This is on our roadmap and we plan on implementing it next month.
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