Ask HN: How do you use the internet in unusual ways?

15 points·amar-laksh··5 comments

As an example people seem to have started using reddit for product reviews.

Here are mine:

- I tend to add "github" or "gitlab" to my searches to find a webapp/app so I don't have to deal with Adtech.

- Going to google scholar to search for meta-analysis studies in order to form an opinion on a thing.

What's your unusual hack for the internet?

I use image search to help me draw things. I am colourblind, so I import the images in Procreate and use the colour picker to create a palette from them.

I ask questions on reddit and quote the answers as a source on my website. It adds backing and extra context to things I know but can't prove. For example, the finer details of German work culture.

I use Wachete (a page change monitor) to track changes in German laws and keep my own content up to date.

It still feels unusual to me, but google lens is basically a life hack. It's good at a bunch of things that still make it feel magical. I'm still sleeping on its uses, honestly.

I use site:news.ycombinator.com sometimes for tech-related product recommendations. I bought an office chair based on a thread here. I think a laptop, too.

I have an ATM, and I built a script to watch its balance and notify me when it needs a refill. I have a couple more similar scripts related to my brick & mortar business.

Sometimes I invent something in my head and use Google images to confirm that my invention already exists. Then I buy it.

Has this ever paid off? Can you tell any good stories?

It’s not very unusual but putting filetype:pdf at the end of a search works great for finding papers, notes, books or any other pdf resources

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