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Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#11

Post by billfruit »

st1x7 wrote: post #4

I still don't get the motivation behind this. If you want to consume less stuff on your phone, you can reduce the consumption without replacing it with anything - you don't have a phone time quota that you need to meet on any given day, just cut down on the things you don't like. When you're creating anything, it makes sense to do it in the best possible environment that you have for it - I would rather write code on…

Thing is, people find themselves in many situations where they have a spot of free time, and the phone is the only object available at hand. How can one use that time to create/build something rather than using it in consuming some sort of media.

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#12

Post by kgwxd »

Touch screens are the worst possible input for anything productive. Maybe if there was far less latency, you could make some decent music but, in my experience, anything beyond basic, unexpressive rhythm, chords, and melodies are the best you can achieve. Nuance can be added in post, but that's tedious and sucks the life out the process.

I don't draw, but I know doing it on a touch screen is far more painful than paper.

I think alternative input devices are a must, at which point you might as well just use a laptop. That might not be practical if you're on-the-go e.g. riding the bus. If you're not, then why use a phone?

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#13

Post by layer8 »

st1x7 wrote: post #4

I still don't get the motivation behind this. If you want to consume less stuff on your phone, you can reduce the consumption without replacing it with anything - you don't have a phone time quota that you need to meet on any given day, just cut down on the things you don't like. When you're creating anything, it makes sense to do it in the best possible environment that you have for it - I would rather write code on…

So much this. To get real work done (creative or not), you want a desktop OS and a big screen, keyboard and mouse.

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#14

Post by blindpixel »

Try making some art. You can use art apps to remix old photos and also to generate completely new pieces.

Not sure about iOS, but on Android there are fantastic apps like Glitch Lab, Mirror Lab, and so on. Here is a link to art made on Android using Mirror Lab: https://www.instagram.com/mirror_lab/

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#15

Post by michaericalribo »

This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere.

I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I use my phone here already. But are there any ways to change my behavior to not flick through another feed, but actually advance my own creative goals?

Successfully being a creative person isn’t a matter of ‘tear it all down and start from scratch.’ It’s important to use the resources that are already available to us!

For my part, I wish it was easier to write long form quickly. Writing this on an iPad keyboard just now sucked—light years less efficient than on my computer keyboard. And my phone is even worse! But I often want to journal in bed or write fiction away from my desk. Are there better ways to input lots of text quickly?

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#17

Post by technoryt »

If you have a phone with a pen (e.g., Galaxy Note), sketching is rather fun. FWIW, I use Adobe Sketch, for which I get a license through work. Not quite creating but also not quite passive consuming: Anki or other apps for learning (when I am in a good period, downtime becomes opportunities for buffing up geography and music).

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#18

Post by michaericalribo »

layer8 wrote: post #13
st1x7 wrote: post #4

I still don't get the motivation behind this. If you want to consume less stuff on your phone, you can reduce the consumption without replacing it with anything - you don't have a phone time quota that you need to meet on any given day, just cut down on the things you don't like. When you're creating anything, it makes sense to do it in the best possible environment that you have for it - I would rather write code on…

So much this. To get real work done (creative or not), you want a desktop OS and a big screen, keyboard and mouse.

Yeah, I want that, but if I’m standing in line at the grocery store, I’m not at my desk, I don’t have a monitor, keyboard, or mouse.

Those tools may be good for some situations. But what about all the other situations? Some of the best art is created under adversity.

To be clear, the grocery line isn’t an adverse situation. But being in prison, working a physical / manual job, poverty—these are all adverse situations people face every day that prevent them from accessing the tools you mentioned, but I simply don’t believe they cannot or should not make art.

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#19

Post by blackbear_ »

michaericalribo wrote: post #15

This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…

I really dislike long form articles, I feel like the author never gets to the point, only jumping from one digression to another. Perhaps difficulty in writing could be an incentive to write shorter and more focused articles :)

Re: Ask HN: How can I use my phone to create things rather than consume them?

#20

Post by michaericalribo »

blackbear_ wrote: post #19
michaericalribo wrote: post #15

This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…

I really dislike long form articles, I feel like the author never gets to the point, only jumping from one digression to another. Perhaps difficulty in writing could be an incentive to write shorter and more focused articles :)

You’re talking about consuming the writing-very different. There are many situations where length has nothing to do with content, and you’re ignoring art forms that are fundamentally long form—film screenplays, novels, (some) investigative journalism. Just because it’s not to your taste doesn’t mean it’s not important :)
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