Brain Bump app
Brain Bump app

Take only 2 seconds a day for better retention of what you read in books and hear on podcasts

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90 Second Overview

Have you ever read a business or self-help book only to forget most of the advice a few weeks later? Did you ever listen to a podcast but have trouble remembering the story you heard or the ideas discussed? See all that Brain Bump does in just 90 seconds!

Brain Bump is completely free, collects no information, and has no advertising.

The content you want

Add books, blog, podcasts, talks, and classes. Explore new content; better retain what you've read and heard.

Reminded when you want it

You don’t even need to open the app. You decide what and when.

Accessed when you need it

Or have the content in your pocket for just-in-time access when and where you want.

Shared the way you like it

Customize the format, colors, size, and other attributes when sharing on your favorite social media.

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About Brain Bump

Have you ever read a business or self-help book only to forget most of the advice a few weeks later? Did you ever listen to a podcast but have trouble remembering the story you heard or the ideas discussed? All that time wasted. What if there was an easy way to remember that required only 2 seconds a day?

Writers, podcasters and others have provided the tips and other highlights from their content. It may be a book you've read and want to remember, or a podcaster that looks interesting and you want to explore. Pick that content that is right for you. The tips have been created for you, you just need to look at them.

You can search for tips as needed (e.g., get networking tips right before you walk into a networking event). You can also used the scientifically proven technique of spaced repetition to help you remember and keep things top of mind; e.g. get a tip at 8am each day on how to be more productive. You don't even need to open app; the tips come up when you ask for them (the app queues up 7 days of tips). Brain Bump only send the tips you want, when you request them; it never sends an unrequested notification.

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App Instructions

This is a more detailed set of instructions than those shown within the app.

Brain Bump helps you retain what you read and hear. You can access content just in time, as you need it, or use the once-a-day notification to passively learn, keeping ideas top of mind using the proven technique of spaced repetition. Unlike other apps, you can use this for just a few seconds each day to help you grow.

Library

Select from “Additional Available Content” or scan a Brain Bump QR code to add content. The content are the sets of tips from books, blogs, podcasts, classes, and talks. Add ones you've read or heard or ones you want to explore.

  1. Click the cover image for the content tips.
  2. Click the title text to see content info such as description, author, etc.

Tips

You can get all tips from the nav bar or click a cover image for only tips from that content. Filter by content (e.g., a book) or topic (e.g., "leadership" will give you leadership tips from any content you've downloaded). You can also save tips as favorites or share them on social media.

  1. Click the cover image or content title for the website of that content.
  2. Click the podcast / blog title to go to the specific episode / article.

Notifications

We never bother you with unwanted notifications. With Brain Bump’s “pull notifications” you only get the notifications that you want, when you want them. You can set a daily reminder for tips from a content set or topic. You need to have notifications turned on for the app. We do not send any other notifications, so we won’t bother you other times when you don’t expect to see them, only the ones you've set to come.

  1. Click the name to adjust what tips are shown, the time to adjust it, or checkbox to toggle on/off.

Social Media Sharing

Brain Bump social media sharing is like a cross between Canva and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. In less than 30 seconds you can find and share tips on a number of topics.

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FAQ

App

Do I have to add my own tips? Where do the tips come from?

There are other apps out there to help you take notes on books and save them. Brain Bump is all about efficiency. The content creators (e.g., author, podcaster, speaker) upload their tips to the server and those are made available to you in the app. You don't have to figure out what to save or how to save it.

How do I decide which content sets to add to the app?

There are two ways to approach it. You can add content you're engaged with, like a book you read, or a podcast you're listening to. It will help you retain it. But you can also use it to check out new content and see if it's something you want to invest your time in.

How much content can I add?

There's no formal restriction. Depending on the speed of your phone if you start to add dozens of content the app can start to slow. But since the point is to help retain content, you probably don't want to focus on dozens and dozens of content sets at once anyway.

How does the app work if I don't even need to open it?!?!

We know you're busy. We've made it easy, so easy you don't even need to open the app. Who wants to have to remember to open an app every day? The tip will come up once a day even if the app is closed (you can turn this off in the settings). You can read it and swipe it away in just seconds. You can also click the notification to open it in the app. Note that send you up to 30 days of tips, but then you need to open the app again. (Here's why.)

Are you a flashcard app? A daily affirmation app? A book summary app?

If you want to memorize a lot of content, say for a test, get a flashcard app, that's not us. We don't have academic content, and we're not designed for seeing how well you answer questions.

If you want a daily inspiration, some of the content could work that way, and you can get a daily push, but there are better apps for that. We have lots of content not made for that purpose.

If you want a summary of a book, that's not us either. Those sites and books are great for getting the gist of the book. If you want to retain the key ideas in the book, that's where we come in.

So what are we? We took ideas from each that together help you best retain the content you read and hear.

Why isn't my layout working?

Designing for Android and iOS, with the multiple versions, one different phone models, with different settings is hard. We've tried to support different combinations, but we may have missed some. It's especially likely if you changed default font size or settings, or made other display changes on your device. Please email suggestions@cognoscomedia.com with screenshots and details about your phone and settings so we can work to address it in an upcoming release.

How can I suggest a feature or report a bug?

This app was designed for our users ad we welcome your ideas. If it's a bug, please include screenshots and device info. Email us at suggestions@cognoscomedia.com. Thank you!

Content

What type of content is on the app?

Right now we're starting with business and self-development. Later we'll add other categories.

How much content do you have?

More than we had last month, less than we'll have next month. Like a streaming service, we continue to add content each month. How many tips are in a content set is up to the content creator, but it varies from a few dozen to a few hundred per set.

How did you pick the content topics? Why does my friend see different topics?

We didn't. All the tips and content can be tagged with one or more topics by the content creator. It's a dynamic set and the topics you see come from the content you've downloaded.

Nothing came up in the Library search, why not?

The search bar on the Library page currently just searches for keywords in titles. We may not yet have content with that word in the title.

As we add more content we'll update the Library page UI and will add better search functionality. For now your best bet in scrolling the content at the bottom of the page and using the sort and filter dropdown at the top.

That tip didn't make sense to me, why did you include it?

Some content creators include tips that stand on their own, even if you haven't read or heard their content. Others have tips that are more meaningful when you've read or heard their content.

If a specific tip or set of tips doesn't seem helpful, uninstalled the tips and enjoy tips from other creators.

How do I find content?

There are a few ways. You can scroll through the list of content on the Library page. Also on the Library page you can search for a word in the title, filter by content type, or change the display order.

As the amount of content increases we'll adjust the Library page to allow for more options to filter through more content.

You can also click a Brain Bump link or snap a Brain Bump QR code to instantly add the content it links to. Content creators get unique links for their content on the app that they will share with their audience.

How do I remove content?

Any content you added can be removed from the Library Page. Click the title text below the cover image to bring up information about the content. Click the Remove button to remove the content from the app.

What if I see a problem with some content?

If you see an issue, whether it's a typo or content that violates our User Guidelines, you can hit the red flag in the lower right corner of a tip card to report the content.

How do I get my content on the app?

Fill out this quick form (30 seconds) and we’ll be in touch. APPLY NOW

Sharing

Can I share the TIPS with other people? How?

Absolutely! If you click the share button on the bottom of a tip you can share it as text or image. The image can be formatted to the standard social media formats, colors and fonts sizes can be adjusted, and you can optionally include the text in the post, and even tag the creator in your post. You can also use the copy icon to copy the text into the paste buffer.

Can I share the CONTENT with other people? How?

Right now you need to give them the name of the content. The content creators have access to a unique URL and QR code for each content set they can share. Later we'll support direct sharing of content sets.

Can I share the APP with other people? How?

Absolutely! Go to the menu in the top right and select Share Brain Bump. You can select the OS and then show the QR code or share the link.

What is does "text to include" do?

You can optionally include text in the image share. You can choose the full text, or just the link, both, or neither. You can also click the copy button to save the text to use elsewhere.

What is does the handle option do? Why do the options vary by tip?

You can optionally tag the content creator in your post. Some content creators will share all handles, some share a few, and some share none. You will get different options with different tips based on what the content creator put on the platform.

Notifications

What notifications will you send me? How do I know you won't annoy me?

Many apps pester you because they send notifications that promote their business. Brain Bump has nothing to sell and is designed to keep you off the app. You only get a notification you requested. When you download content it has a notification set for when you download it--which you can easily turn off or change to a different time. That's it. We don't send you anything else. You only get the notifications you want when you want them, nothing more.

How do I turn off notifications?

Each notification has a checkbox you can uncheck. You can also use the toggle at the top to turn on or off all notifications. (Note: even if the toggle is on, you still won't get notifications which are not checked. The toggle is a general kill switch.)

How do change the time for a notification?

Click the time and set it to a new time. By default, it's set to the time you downloaded it, but you can change it.

How do I get change what's in the notification?

Click the title of the notification and you can change what tags it will include.

How do I get additional/remove notifications?

Click the plus sign to add custom notifications. You can pick a name for your customer notification, e.g. "management tips". On the filter page (which lists all the tags) there's a trash icon to delete it if you don't want it anymore.

My notifications don't show up until I open the app, why is that?

You probably have some adaptive features turned on for your phone or have rules set for sleeping applications. If it's an Android, see this article on how to change it. For an iPhone see this article.

My notifications completely stopped, why? How do I get them back?

We're glad to know you like the notifications. We do, too. If you haven't opened the app after a few weeks we think you may have lost interest and don't want to keep bothering you. If you open the app again notifications startup again.

Can I just get notifications only on certain days?

We're brand-new so don't yet have all the bells and whistles yet. Right not it's every day or not at all. In the future we'll provide more options. You can always just ignore the ones on the day you don't want them by swiping them away. Please let us know what frequencies and options you'd like to see.

Cost (TL;DR Everything is free!)

Is there a cost?

There is no cost to anyone. The app is completely free. The content on the app is free.

How do you make money?

At some point we'll need to generate revenue, but only after we've created value. Rest assured the app will always be free.

What about the Buy button?

The Android app allows a buy button for certain content which links to wherever the content creator would like you to go to purchase the content. (Sorry, iPhone users, we'd like to include it in the OS app, but certain tech companies didn't like it being there). We don't actually sell anything, it just takes you to a page where you can learn more and choose to buy it. If you click it, you're not actually buying anything, just going to a page to learn more.

General

Why did you create Brain Bump?

Readers want to remember the great advice they get in books. Authors want readers to remember the advice, both to help the reader, but also because word of mouth marketing doesn't work if the reader forgets the ideas in the book. In the twenty-first century we no longer get ideas only from books, but also from podcasts, blogs, talks, and classes.

What's next for Brain Bump?

We'll continue to add new content and (new content categories in 2023). We have a long roadmap and will continue to roll out features. You can also check out our thoughts on the future of content or listen to interviews about Brain Bump.

Are you yet another social media platform?

Heck no! We are a productivity tool and are very much the opposite of social media. While social media and other apps try to maximize your time on the platform we want to minimize it. In our ideal case you use the tool for just a few seconds a day. Get the tip and then be done. You don't even need to open the app, you can just get the tip as a notification and swipe it away after you read it.

How are you different from book summary apps?

A book summary app is designed to be an alternative to reading the book; Brain Bump is different from them in the following ways.

1. We're not just books, but also podcasts, blogs, classes, and talks.
2. We encourage you to read the book (or other content) and then use Brain Bump while you're reading and after, to help you remember.
3. Brain Bump is designed for quick access with tools like favorites and search, allowing for easier recall of the ideas.
4. Book summary apps create summaries without the author's permission. Sometimes the summaries don't convey the ideas well or are even inaccurate. We only use content given to us by an author or other content creator, and so are more author friendly. We also have tools like social media sharing which further supports authors by having their ideas easily shared.
5 Book summary apps have a monthly cost, BRAIN BUMP IS COMPLETELY FREE!

What do you mean by "content set" or "content creator"?

We have books, blog, podcast, classes, and talks . . .who knows what else we'll add tomorrow. The best term we could come up with is content set. Likewise instead of saying authors, podcasters, speakers, and instructors, it's easier to say content creators. (If you have better terms for either, feel free to suggest them.)

Do you collect or sell data?

No. We do not collect any data from app users. Content creators obviously give us their data (their tips). Our founder has a background in cybersecurity and is very conscientious about respecting data privacy. We never want to make money selling data.

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Content Creators

Are you an author, podcaster, blogger, speaker, class instructor, or have some other type of content and want to have the highlights available on Brain Bump? We’re adding new content every month. Fill out this quick form (30 seconds) and we’ll be in touch.