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I had this idea for a "swear jar" for the internet. Every time you go to a site like news.ycombinator.com or click your gmail tab, it puts 50c in the "swear ja

I had this idea for a "swear jar" for the internet. Every time you go to a site like news.ycombinator.com or click your gmail tab, it puts 50c in the "swear jar". And you get the money back at the end of the month. Users would be able to choose the list of sites, and the disincentive (50c, $1, $2 etc) for each one. The aim would be to subtly change your thinking patterns from: "I'm bored, check x" to "Maybe I should use this time for constructive thinking". I'd like to build a company based on this idea...the company makes a profit from investing the money in users' swear jars.

prawn 16y ago
Not much of a penalty if you get the money back. Have it donate to an organisation or political party you cannot stand instead - you'll have a stronger incentive to minimise the damage if every dollar goes to the enemy.
- resdirector 16y ago
  Good point. However, if done right, it's feasible that users could end up having $50 or thereabouts perpetually in the swear jar...which (at least for me) would be a big disincentive. If the penalty is immediate, obvious and doesn't explicitly remind you that you will get your money back, then I contend the brain's instinct is to cringe. Maybe you get the money back in 3 months rather than 1 month: you see a browser plugin displaying how much you've already spent on HN and you think "ouch...I'm not getting that back for a while".
  - prawn 16y ago
    For people who weren't necessarily good at saving money, it might prove to be an effective savings technique ("Oh $50, just in time to pay the water bill!') rather than a disincentive. You need to lose the money, even if it's just to your wife to spend on shoes.
    - resdirector 16y ago
      Yup, good point...you could be right. Only one way to find out...I'm going to give it a try, (and will probably be my entry to the next round of YC).
      - prawn 16y ago
        Have heard of it before so I suspect it's already been done at some level though I think it related to longer-term goals (e.g., quit smoking by date x or lose your 'bond' to some nutbag political org).

prawn 16y ago

Not much of a penalty if you get the money back. Have it donate to an organisation or political party you cannot stand instead - you'll have a stronger incentive to minimise the damage if every dollar goes to the enemy.

resdirector 16y ago
Good point. However, if done right, it's feasible that users could end up having $50 or thereabouts perpetually in the swear jar...which (at least for me) would be a big disincentive. If the penalty is immediate, obvious and doesn't explicitly remind you that you will get your money back, then I contend the brain's instinct is to cringe. Maybe you get the money back in 3 months rather than 1 month: you see a browser plugin displaying how much you've already spent on HN and you think "ouch...I'm not getting that back for a while".
- prawn 16y ago
  For people who weren't necessarily good at saving money, it might prove to be an effective savings technique ("Oh $50, just in time to pay the water bill!') rather than a disincentive. You need to lose the money, even if it's just to your wife to spend on shoes.
  - resdirector 16y ago
    Yup, good point...you could be right. Only one way to find out...I'm going to give it a try, (and will probably be my entry to the next round of YC).
    - prawn 16y ago
      Have heard of it before so I suspect it's already been done at some level though I think it related to longer-term goals (e.g., quit smoking by date x or lose your 'bond' to some nutbag political org).