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The older I get, the more I hate the industry around "brand". Obviously it has an effect, I get that, but my god the branding guys are so wanky about it. They c

The older I get, the more I hate the industry around "brand". Obviously it has an effect, I get that, but my god the branding guys are so wanky about it. They can go on for hours about stuff that literally no-one but branding guys care about, and unlike techies they don't seem to have learnt how to summarise and then shut up (because non-branding people, like non-techies, really don't care). I don't remember it being this bad a decade ago, but I was only starting out in the tech industry then so perhaps I just didn't see it. Maybe it's a bit harsh to lump this blog post in with the stuff I'm complaining about, but it doesn't help having daft phrases like "Do these systems reinforce the speed, safety, reliability, wit, and innovation that Firefox stands for?" (answer: no, they're small images). I've reached a point where I just abhor marketing in general, and branding is swiftly joining it on the pile at this rate. It was in hindsight a good idea to go back to programming after getting my design degree!

tvanantwerp 8y ago
> unlike techies they don't seem to have learnt how to summarise and then shut up Wait, when did techies learn to do that?
- robotmay 8y ago
  Haha, that might have been a bit of a generalisation. Unless the person is socially inept (which, to be fair, isn't uncommon in this industry), I think you eventually realise that nobody is interested in what you are interested in. I just talk about my other interests now, unless I want someone to go away. Though that in itself is a useful skill at parties: Scenario 1: Talk about computers, person gets bored and goes away. Success! You avoided having to talk to people. Scenario 2: Talk about computers, person is really excited to talk about computers. Success! You found a fellow dork.
  - tvanantwerp 8y ago
    > you eventually realise that nobody is interested in what you are interested in > Talk about computers, person gets bored and goes away. Ah, yes, that sounds more familiar!
maccard 8y ago
> unlike techies they don't seem to have learnt how to summarise and then shut up Have you seen a post on here about text editors, tabs v spaces or rust vs C++? Or how about the weekly posts of "we rewrote our CRUD app from FOTM X to FOTM Y and this is why it's awesome" ?
- robotmay 8y ago
  Well to be fair this is really the target market for those sorts of posts and discussions. Equally the same could be said of the Firefox blog post I guess, that it was intended only for other branding people, and that by posting it here it is outside of the interests of many people here (though as it was addressed to the community I don't believe that to be the case). However when branding guys write these sorts of posts, they very often write it as if they're preaching to the unwashed masses. Clearly everything that was before is now terrible, our new icons resemble the very essence of our business/existence/the human condition, and we will deign to allow you to experience it. Bonus points if they fit "growing the brand" in there somewhere!

tvanantwerp 8y ago

> unlike techies they don't seem to have learnt how to summarise and then shut up Wait, when did techies learn to do that?

robotmay 8y ago
Haha, that might have been a bit of a generalisation. Unless the person is socially inept (which, to be fair, isn't uncommon in this industry), I think you eventually realise that nobody is interested in what you are interested in. I just talk about my other interests now, unless I want someone to go away. Though that in itself is a useful skill at parties: Scenario 1: Talk about computers, person gets bored and goes away. Success! You avoided having to talk to people. Scenario 2: Talk about computers, person is really excited to talk about computers. Success! You found a fellow dork.
- tvanantwerp 8y ago
  > you eventually realise that nobody is interested in what you are interested in > Talk about computers, person gets bored and goes away. Ah, yes, that sounds more familiar!

maccard 8y ago

> unlike techies they don't seem to have learnt how to summarise and then shut up Have you seen a post on here about text editors, tabs v spaces or rust vs C++? Or how about the weekly posts of "we rewrote our CRUD app from FOTM X to FOTM Y and this is why it's awesome" ?

robotmay 8y ago
Well to be fair this is really the target market for those sorts of posts and discussions. Equally the same could be said of the Firefox blog post I guess, that it was intended only for other branding people, and that by posting it here it is outside of the interests of many people here (though as it was addressed to the community I don't believe that to be the case). However when branding guys write these sorts of posts, they very often write it as if they're preaching to the unwashed masses. Clearly everything that was before is now terrible, our new icons resemble the very essence of our business/existence/the human condition, and we will deign to allow you to experience it. Bonus points if they fit "growing the brand" in there somewhere!