Hi, reporters! Lately, it feels like tools are going in and out of relevancy faster and faster. It’s yet another side effect of AI. So what I’m recommending today is something I’ve used for TFR before: the simple site AlternativeTo.
What I like about AlternativeTo is that it’s a crowdsourced, Wikipedia-style community recommending various tools and alternatives. For example, are you not happy with Otter’s control over your transcript data? AlternativeTo recommends Descript, Granola and a few others.
Are you uncomfortable with Google Chrome tracking your browser history? Check out Brave or Firefox. (Also, I recommend Mike Reilley’s recent breakdown on Brave).
Or, perhaps, your quests are much more simple. Maybe you encountered a Windows app when you’re on a Mac machine (I’ve done this before for TFR recommendations). Or maybe you just want a free version of a paid service.
The key upside to AlternativeTo is that it’s crowdsourced and frequently updated. You can even see the latest contributions from its founders, two tech workers in Sweden. You can see the effects of this communal work in AlternativeTo’s lists – like suggestions for writing helpers or aesthetically pleasing iOS apps.
In a time of crazy AI-generated content and counter-content we need to lean on each other, fellow humans, to sift through it! References and recommendations from people you know and trust has never been more important.
One more thing...
Did you miss the last TFR? Use a method called “fuzzy lookup” to find semi-matching terms in datasets