To me the popularity proves that branding works. My reading: There’s a clear identity – visually and in how it’s framed. Also a clear social signal (“this is w

To me the popularity proves that branding works. My reading: There’s a clear identity – visually and in how it’s framed. Also a clear social signal (“this is what developers like you use!” plus a social status feel). One central site. The social attention mechanics: I see this, I get the sense that others have seen it or will see it. Doesn’t feel eccentric. Crafted to give a feeling of a common substrate. Slightly indie take on a clean and colorful look with a cartoon character that has mild stylistic tension in a very common art style – it’s palatable. It’s reassuring and tells a story. The PRO messaging also seems to successfully indicate that “because this costs money it’s worth something”. And while it’s all very programmer-normcore it’s also slightly unusual in all these respects and this induces curiosity. It’s easy to install too.