A better alternative to Twitter should actually provide features other websites don't.
Why should I go out of my way to use Twitter to do things I can already do on Facebook?
Why would I want to share status updates with strangers vs. friends?
I understand what makes Twitter appealing in a marketing sense, but for me personally, it's nothing more than a chore to deal with on top of everything else.
I always offer/encourage my clients to look through the repository like the article says, but people never want any part of it. They are usually taken back.
In my experience (mostly small business) there's a certain expectation that developers will work in isolation—where clients aren't expecting any involvement beyond the initial planning stages.
I'm not a fan of the featured items. Without the pictures, it's hard to make out what they are about.
I'd rather see a list of popular inventions/products and browse from there. The design used here: https://www.thisismyjam.com/, would be an ideal approach IMO (where the artist photos become logos)
When I try to picture the examples in my mind, they all start out as a blurry blob like impressions that increase in detail gradually. It's as if I'm watching the drawing process occur step-by-step.
In the beach example I saw the following features appear one after another in this order: the sand, the water horizon, a set of palm trees on each side, a pirate ship, the sun, and a gift shop.
I never see whole images appear instantly but have met people that claim such.
Thanks for the response and article. I can only imagine how difficult that would be.
I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but there is a memorization technique called "Art of Memory" you can read about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_memory. I think you'll find it particularly interesting since it explains how to process/form mental images in a very thorough & systematic way. It's all about enhancing memory by thinking about information in a visually, and contains examples of how to visualize different types of information.
There was a study done a while back that looked at whether people could improve at video games by imagining themselves playing. IIRC the participants who imagined practicing showed a comparable amount of improvement in contrast to those who actually played. Can't find the link unfortunately.
Do you think you'll ever learn how to imagine things now that you are aware of the possibility?
I often wonder whether the imagination can be improved like a muscle since I have trouble holding mental image outside brief flashes. I'm not sure if you can relate, but trying to picture something in my mind often feels as though I'm trying to recall the fleeting details of a dream; the harder I try the more foggy it becomes.
This would certainly have upfront advantages, like increasing the amount of information deemed "credible". However, there's a problem: how do you trust an actor controlling a system like that?
i.e. - If I wanted the power to discredit almost anything online, I would propose such a system because it can only serve its purpose under the operation of a private entity. It wouldn't function properly on an open platform because that information would evidently be just as non-credible.