The best way to remember people's names doesn't require an app or any technology to speak of. When you meet someone, key in on their most unique, memorable physical feature or personality quirk. Come up with a quick story or catch phrase that revolves around that feature. The weirder the feature and the story, the more likely you are to remember their name.
For instance, you meet John. John's eyes seem like their closer together than most people's eyes are. So you could say to yourself "John, John, stared at his nose for too long". Every time you see John and his funny close-together eyes, you'll remember the story you made up and thus remember his name.
Once you get good at this you'll never forget another person's name. It works like a charm. I find it helps to make the stories especially strange or even offensive. The more of a caricature you can create in your mind about them the better. Just don't accidentally say what you're thinking out loud :)
This is my problem too. When someone introduces themselves to me, I can feel their name slipping out of my brain seemingly before they've even finished saying it.
An app would not help me. "Hello, I'm..." "Wait! Hang on! Let me launch this app... ok, go ahead!"
I know just what you mean. Often, when meeting people for the first time, there is so much else going on to take in and remember (their company/job/what I'm going to ask them/what they're asking me/the name of the person next to them) that the name just drops out of my head instantly.
"Wait! Hang on! Let me launch this app... Here put your details in."
Another trick I use is if we've been chatting a while and I forget, I say lets add facebook details and give them opened to facebook people search for them to put their name in.
Thanks for the feedback! Pneumonic devices are really helpful when you remember to use them, but I think one of the core tenants of modern computing is the ability to more efficiently offload tasks. If I and everyone I know has gone our entire lives being terrible at remembering names, I think "actually, remembering names is easy" may not be the most effective mantra at this point.
Edit: changed "efficacious" to "effective" because oh my god why did I use that word.
Two thoughts on this (disclaimer: I don't have ios so I wasn't able to download the app - this is based on the screenshots and description):
1) I think there's a strong case to be made that says spending 10 seconds thinking up a story is much more efficient than stopping a conversation, opening an app, and typing in details on a touchscreen.
2) if we offload everything, what are we saving? Assuming it takes just as long to make up a quirky story as to tap in someone's details[1] what have you saved, except possibility the opportunity to exercise mental skills otherwise falling into disuse?
IOW: If we offload everything, we become glorified mental button pushers.
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The landing page is actually well done - simple, to the point shows and tells me what it's about without a ton of wasted space.
That said: it looks like a lot of steps; and it doesn't give you any way to associate the face. Seems like you come away with a list of people you've met in reverse chronological order, but nothing that really says "This person I see before me now is Hermione".
[1] ... while they patiently avoid looking at you as you fiddle with your phone ...
* Remembering what that person you met at the bar last night was called.
Figuring out who "insert random name you stumbled upon in your phonebook" is.
Modern humans have networks way bigger than we can handle in just our mind and we need written records (contact books, diaries, letters, business cards, whatever) in order to be able to handle large quantities of data, such as these social and professional networks we tend to keep.
Ditto. And ditto about being careful not to let your quirky mnemonic slip. My wife and I met a couple at a party a while ago, then met them 6 months later at another party. My wife quickly asked me if I remembered their names and I said, yeh Quiche Lorraine and Brad pitt (their names are Lorraine and Brad). Of course we then met them again another 6 months later and my wife having had a few drinks let blurt, 'hey, its quiche lorraine'
For instance, you meet John. John's eyes seem like their closer together than most people's eyes are. So you could say to yourself "John, John, stared at his nose for too long". Every time you see John and his funny close-together eyes, you'll remember the story you made up and thus remember his name.
Once you get good at this you'll never forget another person's name. It works like a charm. I find it helps to make the stories especially strange or even offensive. The more of a caricature you can create in your mind about them the better. Just don't accidentally say what you're thinking out loud :)