It’s true: I have a yen for weird little apps and web services that are truly niche in purpose and yet are helpful. I’ve mentioned some of my favorites previously, such as Newsle and Sunrise. I’m not sure the one I’m featuring today is going to be one of my favorites, but it does get points for being unique.
Here’s the thing: I telecommute to work most days. (Yes, from my house. No, I don’t wear my PJs or do my laundry.) And, it’s quiet. Really quiet. My main sources of noise are my CPU’s humming and the fizz leaving my carbonated caffeine source. I find music to be too distracting most of the time, unless I’m doing something fairly mindless. Apparently, I’m not the only telecommuter to have this dilemma, because now there’s an app that’s got us covered. Welcome to Coffitivity.
What does Coffitivity do? It provides coffee shop-like background noise. Yep, that’s it. The makers of Coffitivity base its effectiveness on published research that shows that ambient noise can be better for creativity than silence.
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- I’m not sure I’m more creative, but I do admit that I like have the ambient sound, as opposed to silence. If you’re working in a quiet back room at your library, you may find that you like this effect as well.
- You can play Coffitivity’s sounds at the same time you’re playing music, for the real aural experience of working at Starbucks. The site even recommends the ratio of volume to use on its front page.
- One thought I had: would this be useful at library programs in some way? Maybe to add ambiance to an event?
Would you use this? Is it weird? What do you think? Tell me in the comments!
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I listened to it for a little bit and it drove me nuts! I work at home a lot too, but there are enough ambient noises without the chatter. I would find it distracting, even grating.
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