Show HN: We are the same, app for practicing compassion | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: We are the same, app for practicing compassion

wearethesameapp.com

20 pointsmattront31 comments

It's unclear what the app does, or why I'd want it. From reading the text over and over I think all you need to write is:

Find happiness and peace, amidst difficult situations.

At least that's the benefit I saw in the wall of text.

Place the text beside the picture of the app with a button that says something like "Get the app"

See http://piictu.com/ as an example, the "We are the same" app as currently pitched sounds like work, and from the tiny iPhone screenshot it looks like it's a gorgeous app.

Correct...you need to clearly identify what it does and why I want it. After having to scroll down to see "How it Works" I still don't get it. Change the wording on "Exercises are designed to induce practical experiences of various aspects of compassion." And give me some screenshots that I can actually see. Cool idea.

Thanks! Corrected.

It's a very interesting idea and as a Buddhist, I absolutely commend you for trying to help people learn compassion. I'm curious to know if compassion can actually be built through a digital relationship.

Personally, I feel that words typed out on the computer carry less compassion than words through our mouths. But does this mean that this app is about building more compassion for yourself, helping others, i.e. in the mindset of Kiva? Or is it more about developing better relationships with those around you?

Unfortunately, I tried connecting with Facebook and nothing happened.

The idea of the app is not to communicate with people directly, but to see them from a different perspective - as human beings, equal to ourselves, deserving our affection and respect.

The app is based on Buddhist approach to developing love and compassion.

Would love to debug the Facebook connect issue. Feel free to contact me on matjaz [at] humane-tehnologije.si

I think it should be possible to practice empathy even if you don't have a person physically near.

Interesting idea.

Those with neither Apple devices nor a Facebook account can't try this out.

Edit: My tired mind didn't realize this at first - this service utilizes both photos and statuses of the same person. Facebook is one of the few services which brings together a person's photographs and status updates, and has a large stock of both. The next best supply would be...a mash-up of Twitter and Flikr?

This explanation helps more than the link does to tell me what this application does.

So, it's a photo and status slideshow mashup? Why not advertise it as such?

The buddhist(?) jargon makes this extremely unapproachable to people not versed in this terminology. I hear "lessons in compassion" and imagine a religious lecture over war orphan pictures or something equally unappealing.

I'm the app's author. We are thinking about letting users create their profiles in the app. That would be "practice material" for users without Facebook accounts. Another option would be using the address book on the phone.

I think I would be more likely to sign up if the page included a short example of an "exercise in practising compassion". As it stands, I don't have any idea of what this app actually does.

Agreed with crntaylor, it seems like some form of status sharing application but I don't really have a clue.

Please make the "how it works" more prominent. I like the proffered benefit, "practice compassion", but the two screenshots don't really communicate what the product is or how it works.

Alright, then I'll be upfront : I find it really creepy.

It would be opt-in, of course :)

That's not what "compassion" means. It is "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering."

What you really mean to say is "empathy"

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-empathy-...

You are right. We added empathy to the description.

A trial without me linking up my facebook would be good, or a really clear example of what will happen. People want to see visually not read a whole bunch of text and imagine what it will be like.

A short demo video is now online. Hope it helps.

Interesting idea, but wouldn't pulling a profile from your pool of Facebook friends limit this in a pretty big way? How often are Facebook users friends with people who are really different from them? This seems like it might allow a user to "practice compassion" for people who are superficially different from them, not people who are more radically different, in culture, political leanings, religious background, etc

That's a valid point. We are thinking about letting users submit their profile into the global pool of people. With that the practice would not only cover friends but also people we don't know.

Cool idea. If you haven't already, you should share this app with Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab -- they work on using technology to influence and change human behavior, especially across differences - http://captology.stanford.edu/

Thanks, will check it out.

Thank you for constructive feedback. There's no place like HN for that ;)

We took your advice to heart and changed the text to present the purpose and benefit of the app in a clearer way. Hope it helped.

Right now we are working on recording a short demo video. It should be online soon.

Video is now online.

Considering hackernews' way-above-average aspberger's demographic, expect a lot of "ERROR INCOMPUTABLE" type comments in here. You're going to need a lot more hand holding in your pitch (not literal hand holding, that makes us uncomfortable.)

> Exercises are designed to induce practical experiences of various aspects of compassion.

I have no idea what this could mean. I think you should have some examples.

EDIT: And reword that. It sounds like corporate-speak, of all things.

Nice app. Who is the target market? Is this app backed up by any research?

Didn't think much about the market yet. For now, it is more an experiment to see what can be done.

The app is based on Buddhist approach to mind training.

There's a typo on the landing page. Tt instead of It.

Thanks, corrected.

I have literally no idea what this does.

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