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I'm trying to brainstorm what I think is a "toy" in today's tech market, and I can't think of much. Tech pundits who have seen 30 years of crazy endeavors are t
by schnevets 7y ago
I'm trying to brainstorm what I think is a "toy" in today's tech market, and I can't think of much. Tech pundits who have seen 30 years of crazy endeavors are taking everything overly seriously. Companies have the resolve to invest billions in "jokes" (like Facebook Portal) stubbornly refusing to recognize a sunk-cost fallacy.
Instagram is the most recent example of a revolutionary toy - when everyone thought social media was a puzzle solved by Facebook, Instagram cut the fat and became a more elegant tool to getting a message across (and making some money in the process).
I could see Slack's fun approach to workflow automation and collaboration take off, but maybe I'm biased by what I'm investing my own time into learning.
- umeshunni 7y agoSome examples of 'toys' in today's market - AR/VR, Drones, Another factor is that investment in tech is dramatically higher today that it was 20 years ago (partly due to success that early investors had) and people are willing to invest in anything that looks like a 'toy' in the off chance it pays off.
- outworlder 7y agoAre drones still considered 'toys'? At least in photography, they have long ceased to be toys. Given that you have big companies working on them (like amazon for deliveries), I'm wondering if they are still in the 'toy' phase. VR is. The incremental changes are not yet enough to make them practical for non-gaming use (and even gaming, they are amazing, but cumbersome). AR is firmly still in the toy camp.
- iamwil 7y agoJust look at what's polarizing, what you might dismiss without looking deep into it. Cryptocurrencies is a good candidate. So is VR and AR.