4 ms·

Is it just me, or has the commercial world gone weirder? Claim a product that does magic shit ("patriot communication!"), claim support from some famous person,

Is it just me, or has the commercial world gone weirder? Claim a product that does magic shit ("patriot communication!"), claim support from some famous person, although they can quickly deny it, and you'll probably get some suckers to pay you for the product. Or even better, investors to buy into your company. Somehow the words "self-driving cars" popped into my head. Ah, the wonders of faith-based investing. On the keyword of "faith", maybe I should start selling investments to help build a palace for Jesus that he will return to, to rule the Earth ("Endorsed by 2 Popes, promise!", or I can just pay some evangelical preachers to get their mouths to actually endorse it), and if you invest, you can have an audience with Jesus!

RL_Quine 4y ago
I think a lot of it stems from the realisation that you don't ever need to actually make a product, you just need to sell the feeling of it and that's sufficient. What's being sold here is almost certainly just shovelware on a cheap chinese phone, but the presentation of it is designed to make you feel like it is a whole lot more than that.
- euroderf 4y ago
  When you suggest that it's just lipstick on a pig, I think you're getting at the heart of much contemporary marketing.
  - idiotsecant 4y ago
    or just all marketing, across all time.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- BizarroLand 4y ago
  Well, and it's probably all being coded or rebadged by an overseas sweatshop so there's bound to be more spyware in the app store than drops of water in a rainstorm.
pathartl 4y ago
While "weird" it's certainly not surprising. Consumer protections have not kept up with the overall global economy. Snake oil products have always existed, but it's getting easier to spin up a new company that targets an uneducated consumer.
mikestew 4y ago
There was a time (some 50 years ago) that such products would be restricted to advertising in the back of comic books. X-ray glasses, "sea monkeys", and the like. A lot of it was bullshit, but when it's just a week's allowance out of a kid's pocket, who cares? When you grew up, you could graduate to the special magnet you attached to an automotive fuel to increase fuel mileage up to 20mpg! Oil companies have killed people to keep it a secret! Refer to the full-page ad in this month's Popular Mechanics. Point is, to this old guy it's the same ol' shit, just a different advertising venue and different products.
trasz 4y ago
I'm not sure if a guy who also owns largest terrorist-for-hire company in US is representative for the entire commercial world.

RL_Quine 4y ago

I think a lot of it stems from the realisation that you don't ever need to actually make a product, you just need to sell the feeling of it and that's sufficient. What's being sold here is almost certainly just shovelware on a cheap chinese phone, but the presentation of it is designed to make you feel like it is a whole lot more than that.

euroderf 4y ago
When you suggest that it's just lipstick on a pig, I think you're getting at the heart of much contemporary marketing.
- idiotsecant 4y ago
  or just all marketing, across all time.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
BizarroLand 4y ago
Well, and it's probably all being coded or rebadged by an overseas sweatshop so there's bound to be more spyware in the app store than drops of water in a rainstorm.

pathartl 4y ago

While "weird" it's certainly not surprising. Consumer protections have not kept up with the overall global economy. Snake oil products have always existed, but it's getting easier to spin up a new company that targets an uneducated consumer.

mikestew 4y ago

There was a time (some 50 years ago) that such products would be restricted to advertising in the back of comic books. X-ray glasses, "sea monkeys", and the like. A lot of it was bullshit, but when it's just a week's allowance out of a kid's pocket, who cares? When you grew up, you could graduate to the special magnet you attached to an automotive fuel to increase fuel mileage up to 20mpg! Oil companies have killed people to keep it a secret! Refer to the full-page ad in this month's Popular Mechanics. Point is, to this old guy it's the same ol' shit, just a different advertising venue and different products.

trasz 4y ago

I'm not sure if a guy who also owns largest terrorist-for-hire company in US is representative for the entire commercial world.