Hi HN,
Blohem started as an anonymous posting experiment, but evolved into an observation tool. It now models where global attention flows across news and communities (HN, Reddit, GDELT), visualized as a live market.
It’s not for trading or prediction.. just a way to see what the internet is emotionally focused on in real time.
Curious to hear your thoughts.
arter45•1w ago
The overall idea seems interesting, and that graph is cool, but I have to say I'm a bit confused.
First, the main market graph uses currency like symbols, as if this was a forex or crypto market. Maybe it's just me, but I was kind of put off by forcing "trading" naming conventions into something that is not advertised as a trading platform.
Also, when I read:
>evolved into an observation tool. It now models where global attention flows across news and communities (HN, Reddit, GDELT), visualized as a live market
and I saw the graph, I initially supposed it scraped major news communities to find what's the trending topic (AI, war,...). After all, it's an observation tool, it's not for trading or prediction.
Except... there are those "Trade" buttons for each category. What does it mean? Do users vote on which topic they currently consider more important? Is the vote exclusive (can only vote for one category)? Do users pay to vote?
And why should votes on this platform be more representative of these trends than actual posts on actual news communities?
Unless this is some kind of prediction market, but this isn't reflected in your statement ("observation tool... not for trading or prediction").
Since there is no visible page which explains what this is all about, I'm left a bit confused.
On a less important note, maybe you could make graphs with flexible time ranges. Say, 24 hours/7 days/30 days. Users focus on whatever time range they are interested, and you provide a default choice.
mekod•1w ago
Yes.. that’s exactly the intent.
The core goal is to measure hot news and the internet’s pulse at a given moment, reduced to four highlevel themes (AI, money, war, human attention). The market framing, currency symbols, and “trade” language are purely visual metaphors to make shifts in dominance easier to read at a glance.
There is no real trading, prediction, or financial intent behind it. It’s closer to a dashboard for relative attention flow than an economic model. The design borrows market conventions simply because people intuitively understand charts, prices, and momentum in that format.
That said, you’re right that this metaphor can suggest something closer to a prediction market, which isn’t the goal. The terminology/UI likely needs to be softened or clarified so the observation-first nature is more obvious.
Thanks for calling this out it’s helpful feedback. :)
arter45•1w ago
>The design borrows market conventions simply because people intuitively understand charts, prices, and momentum in that format
Yeah, I think numbers and percent trends are useful, but the $ and Trade stuff is a bit confusing. Should be a pretty easy change, if you think it makes sense :)
mekod•1w ago
arter45•1w ago
First, the main market graph uses currency like symbols, as if this was a forex or crypto market. Maybe it's just me, but I was kind of put off by forcing "trading" naming conventions into something that is not advertised as a trading platform.
Also, when I read:
>evolved into an observation tool. It now models where global attention flows across news and communities (HN, Reddit, GDELT), visualized as a live market
and I saw the graph, I initially supposed it scraped major news communities to find what's the trending topic (AI, war,...). After all, it's an observation tool, it's not for trading or prediction.
Except... there are those "Trade" buttons for each category. What does it mean? Do users vote on which topic they currently consider more important? Is the vote exclusive (can only vote for one category)? Do users pay to vote?
And why should votes on this platform be more representative of these trends than actual posts on actual news communities? Unless this is some kind of prediction market, but this isn't reflected in your statement ("observation tool... not for trading or prediction").
Since there is no visible page which explains what this is all about, I'm left a bit confused.
On a less important note, maybe you could make graphs with flexible time ranges. Say, 24 hours/7 days/30 days. Users focus on whatever time range they are interested, and you provide a default choice.
mekod•1w ago
The core goal is to measure hot news and the internet’s pulse at a given moment, reduced to four highlevel themes (AI, money, war, human attention). The market framing, currency symbols, and “trade” language are purely visual metaphors to make shifts in dominance easier to read at a glance.
There is no real trading, prediction, or financial intent behind it. It’s closer to a dashboard for relative attention flow than an economic model. The design borrows market conventions simply because people intuitively understand charts, prices, and momentum in that format.
That said, you’re right that this metaphor can suggest something closer to a prediction market, which isn’t the goal. The terminology/UI likely needs to be softened or clarified so the observation-first nature is more obvious.
Thanks for calling this out it’s helpful feedback. :)
arter45•1w ago
Yeah, I think numbers and percent trends are useful, but the $ and Trade stuff is a bit confusing. Should be a pretty easy change, if you think it makes sense :)