Thanks for the information! I didn't know that about Mercola or I wouldn't have posted in the first place. I should have done some background research though. It seemed like he was talking about a genuine contradiction that I thought was troubling.
As a developer, I would love to see this get more traction. I really would.
It's really painful working with Twitter now. Twitter's display 'requirements' and other aspects of the API are super restrictive after their latest update.
However, the sad truth is that the population of Twitter users isn't going to be shifting anywhere else anytime soon. Most users hardly care about the 'openness' of the platform. I imagine the best way for a competitor to succeed would be by allowing users to cross post statuses to Twitter.. but Twitter API restrictions would kick in there too!
It's a real gem, especially for someone who isn't as aesthetically astute, like me. I used it on a couple of websites I've been working on recently. [1][2]
- I've used an exponential decay similar to the one used in HN, except much faster in decaying.
- Only tweets from today are shown.
- The rating of a tweet is determined by 2 factors: the number of retweets and the votes on TweetFad (retweets have a much smaller weight compared to votes).
- Users can add their content by simply including the hashtag '#TwtFad' in their tweets. To submit tweets to a particular category, the users can add #[category_name].
- For each category, I've added some influential twitter accounts and hashtags to monitor for tweets. These are automatically added to the listing if they have a retweet count greater than a threshold.
I would love to hear the comments and suggestions of the HN community. I'm a long time reader of HN, and this community has helped me learn a lot I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone here!
It's incredibly easy for you because you know how facebook works.
The first time I used facebook, I was like whaa? What's a WALL? What's the difference between a post and a note? How is sharing a link specifically different from embedding it in your status?
Lots of complexity there, but we learn it after a while.
I think people might find some of the statements on the page offensive. Such as the implication that 'real experts' are only found in the west. Or that people from the east work for 'peanuts'. Sure they work for less because they need less to support a decent lifestyle, but that doesn't mean they're working for peanuts.
I realize the intention is good, but there must be another way to get the message out.
I'm a final year bachelors student (CS major) from Karachi, Pakistan. Moving is not an option for me right now, not for a year anyway.
I'm primarily interested in working part-time on a project that would give me more experience in web or game development, and more crucially get to work with people who know how to get traction.
I obviously don't have a lot under my belt right now, but I'm a quick learner and avid reader of HN. I have PHP, Python, C++, Java and web designing skills. I made a web app for local sales and events in Pakistan a while back (http://www.itaaza.com), though it's a bit dead at the moment.
I've also worked a bit on mobile game development. Made a game for the Nokia Calling All Innovators contest, and working on an android game right now.
I think it's a good idea. Not for everyone of course, one size doesn't fit all.
Often just having a deadline for doing something is enough motivation to actually do it. I find myself procrastinating on personal projects, while I can finish (or at least get close to finishing) projects with clear deadlines pretty much on time.