Building software people actually use https://nitter.gq/t.co/UtEDP4i8oA | Eye Care for iPhone & Mac & Windows https://nitter.gq/t.co/vuhtFuuDgs | Build. Track. Grow.
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Joined June 2024
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Today's video for my app: stare at a blue banana for 10 seconds, then look at a grey one. It looks yellow.
Your eyes adapt to whatever you stare at, screens included.
That's why iRetina breaks in every 20 minutes and makes you look away.
iretina.app
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My last 6 Shorts on YouTube: 820, 1,049, 1,076, 1,062, 1,216, 1,144 views.
None past 1,500. That's the first test audience, and it keeps stopping there.
Meanwhile subs went 10 → 12 → 14 in two days. Small, but that's the number I'm chasing.
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Retention curve of one of my Shorts:
Still watching at 6s: 100%
Halfway: 60%
Then two drops back to back, at 11.2s and 12.3s.
Both are the exact frames my app appears. That's 6 curves now with the same drop.
App moves to the last 5 seconds.
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One line at the end of my Shorts changed TikTok comments.
"Which one are you? Comment your color." → 8 comments.
Same week, two Shorts with no question → 0 and 0.
Viewers answer when you hand them something to answer.
#buildinpublic
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missing one day doesn't break a habit.
missing the day after does.
one miss is a slip. two is a pattern. never miss twice.
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if you're awake right now promising yourself tomorrow is the day
don't just think it. write down who you're becoming and sign it.
a thought is a wish. a signed promise is harder to walk away from.
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Keyston has you sign it and press-and-hold to seal it. dramatic but it works apps.apple.com/us/app/keysto…
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the reason you quit every habit by day 4:
you planned it for your best day.
what actually works is giving every habit a tiny version for your worst day. 1 page instead of 30. 10 pushups instead of a workout. and the tiny one counts.
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the app I use for this is Keyston, it makes you set a full + tiny version for every habit apps.apple.com/us/app/keysto…
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Try this: point your fingers at each other near your nose, then look at the far wall.
A third finger floats between them. It only shows up when you look far.
iRetina reminds you to look far every 20 minutes, on your Mac and iPhone at once.
iretina.app
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YouTube subs are the number I watch, not views.
Channel went 10 → 12 yesterday.
Up that day: an eye-fact story (1,037 views so far) and an interactive eye test (1,040).
The formula video from the same day: 538.
#buildinpublic
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Last night's Short made viewers do a test with their own eyes.
Instagram, ~10h: 1,372 views, 11.8s avg watch, 3 saves.
The 4 Shorts before it: 128-152 views, 6-8s avg watch.
Make people do something, not just watch.
#buildinpublic
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My AI agent's best video formula is wearing out.
Same hook type, last 3 videos on YouTube: 957 → 781 → 538 views.
The agent has a rule: if 3 in a row each do worse, rest that hook for 7 days.
It just did. Today's 9am video is a new format.
#buildinpublic
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iRetina's break screen is built to make you look away from your screen.
Turns out it works on my own videos too: the second it appears in a Short, 6-17% of viewers leave.
Good for eyes. Bad for watch time.
Trying shorter app shots now. iretina.app
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Same kind of eye-fact video, two looks:
Stick figures (2D): 1,003 YouTube views in ~14h, 58.1% skipped on Instagram.
Real 3D (Remotion + three.js): 983 in ~10h, 47.3% skipped.
YouTube doesn't care. Instagram does.
#buildinpublic
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My last 4 Shorts got 999, 1,187, 1,003 and 983 YouTube views, each in about a day.
Apple's count of first-time downloads on those days: 3, then 1.
Views aren't my bottleneck. The step from video to App Store is.
Testing a caption line that names the app next.
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I found the exact second people leave my app's videos.
It's the second the app shows up.
Video A: 5.8% of viewers gone in 0.2s, at 10.0s, as the app appears.
Video B: 17% gone between 18.6s and 19.8s. Same moment.
Today's test: 3 fast app shots.
#buildinpublic
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Every new iRetina user gets one question: where did you hear about us?
17 answers so far. Short videos brought 6 of them: TikTok 3, YouTube 2, Instagram 1. App Store search: 4.
What it does: a break reminder every 20 min, Mac + iPhone at once.
iretina.app
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