Transparency & Value
Aside from the fact you can do what this app does with a free open source RSS feed app; it’s always a deserved 1 star review when an app eludes to being free-ware and after 20-30 minutes of filling out options and topic preferences they ask for $119.00 to use it at all.
It may be a great app for those too lazy or search engine-illiterate to search for material themselves or fill an RSS feed. But 90% of its results for any topic were no more than what YouTube or Yandex will give you if you just search a topic.
UPDATE: For an app labeled Thoughtful, reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be a part of the hiring criteria. Especially when it comes to replying to reviews, given that the context of the initial review above does obviously convey the refusal to pay nearly $120 for an app that after looking up other users displaying apps use online (I’ll give you that that was left ambiguous) that the apps function, and content is not worth the price they conveniently leave unmentioned until after you’ve gone through the time to fill out all their personalization and information questionnaires.
Perhaps an anecdotal explanation would better help the staff or bot replying to reviews: I may not own a boat, but I can discern that a boat is indeed broken if I see it ablaze and sinking.
It may be a great app for those too lazy or search engine-illiterate to search for material themselves or fill an RSS feed. But 90% of its results for any topic were no more than what YouTube or Yandex will give you if you just search a topic.
UPDATE: For an app labeled Thoughtful, reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be a part of the hiring criteria. Especially when it comes to replying to reviews, given that the context of the initial review above does obviously convey the refusal to pay nearly $120 for an app that after looking up other users displaying apps use online (I’ll give you that that was left ambiguous) that the apps function, and content is not worth the price they conveniently leave unmentioned until after you’ve gone through the time to fill out all their personalization and information questionnaires.
Perhaps an anecdotal explanation would better help the staff or bot replying to reviews: I may not own a boat, but I can discern that a boat is indeed broken if I see it ablaze and sinking.
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Response from developer
Hey—with respect, it doesn’t look like you’ve actually used Thoughtful, and basically everything you’ve just said is incorrect. Like everyone else, you’re welcome to try out Thoughtful for free, with a risk-free trial that you can cancel at any time. If you do, you’ll see powerful features like Breakdown so you know whether long-form content is worth your time, the ability to bring together, organize, and save your place across videos, podcasts, articles, kindle books, audible audiobooks, and search features that go far beyond what naive YouTube or Google search does, with transcript-level content analysis and ranking that takes into account your specific goals (not just keywords). Thoughtful isn’t for everyone, and it may not be for you. But if you recognize the power of environment, having a single place to go on your phone to find, focus on, and actually finish long-form content, is incomparable to anything else. I hope you’ll give it a try!
The more I use Thoughtful, the less I scroll on Instagram
As verified by iPhone’s screen time feature!!Instead of spending time on reels, I’ve been watching interviews and listening to podcasts and reading some articles as well. I still use Instagram a lot, but the time there is less and overall I just feel calmer and better, and I thjnk it’s just a question of being more conscientious about choosing this alternative now that I have one.
Thoughtful’s also displaced some time I spent listening to music, which I’d always turned to for calm (and I still do), but going to my “focus” of comedian interviews on YouTube and podcasts for some light listening actually ends up working better for me when I’m doing laundry or walking the dog. It just kinda scratches that itch without making me feel like I’m wasting time and turning my brain into slop-processing mush, and I still end up learning interesting things even though I didn’t set out with that goal.
Maybe that doesn’t really sound different than YouTube or a podcast app, but YouTube is too algorithmy and there’s too many distracting things I want to click on there and they’ve also filled it with shorts, which no thanks. And there are the ads, obviously. And podcast apps are too rigid and chronological, if that makes sense? And they doesn’t really help me find stuff—I kinda have to already know about a podcast, and I end up just having a few podcasts I follow that I’m not always in the mood for. Thoughtful’s search feature is SUPER cool, definitely my favorite feature. I told it I was interested in art, and it gave me subcategories of the topic, and then clicking a subcategory gives you sub-subcategories that it searches the internet for content for. So it turned this general interest into specific ideas of what I might find interesting. Super cool and not something I’ve seen anywhere else.
Thoughtful’s also displaced some time I spent listening to music, which I’d always turned to for calm (and I still do), but going to my “focus” of comedian interviews on YouTube and podcasts for some light listening actually ends up working better for me when I’m doing laundry or walking the dog. It just kinda scratches that itch without making me feel like I’m wasting time and turning my brain into slop-processing mush, and I still end up learning interesting things even though I didn’t set out with that goal.
Maybe that doesn’t really sound different than YouTube or a podcast app, but YouTube is too algorithmy and there’s too many distracting things I want to click on there and they’ve also filled it with shorts, which no thanks. And there are the ads, obviously. And podcast apps are too rigid and chronological, if that makes sense? And they doesn’t really help me find stuff—I kinda have to already know about a podcast, and I end up just having a few podcasts I follow that I’m not always in the mood for. Thoughtful’s search feature is SUPER cool, definitely my favorite feature. I told it I was interested in art, and it gave me subcategories of the topic, and then clicking a subcategory gives you sub-subcategories that it searches the internet for content for. So it turned this general interest into specific ideas of what I might find interesting. Super cool and not something I’ve seen anywhere else.
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Finally
I’ve been using this app for a bit now and it’s such a breath of fresh air. Much better than an RSS reader for today’s types of content, and I get to pick. Mostly I don’t feel guilty for being on my phone for hours on the toilet anymore 🙊
What the heck
It appears there is a new format. I can’t tell you how much I hate it.
Endless, phenomenal content
It’s wild that the “normal” way of finding a podcast is through an algorithm.
Recommendations from friends are almost always better. Thoughtful makes that easy.
I’ve been using thoughtful for 2 months — I’ve found my favorite book ever and listen to amazing podcasts every day.
Can’t imagine doing things the “normal” way, anymore.
Recommendations from friends are almost always better. Thoughtful makes that easy.
I’ve been using thoughtful for 2 months — I’ve found my favorite book ever and listen to amazing podcasts every day.
Can’t imagine doing things the “normal” way, anymore.
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