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I thought it was a great piece. Most of the "innovation" we see is total bullshit. Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, all of these things are NOT new ideas, and NOT

I thought it was a great piece. Most of the "innovation" we see is total bullshit. Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, all of these things are NOT new ideas, and NOT lifechanging services, but they're valued in the millions and billions of dollars. It feels like we're in the middle of another dot-com bubble, and sooner or later it's going to pop, and we're going to realize how little we've actually contributed to society.

deleted 12y ago
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dmix 12y ago
And these apps are a small percentage of the entire tech industry but get 100% of the press on sites like Techcrunch. Most products and technology are boring. It doesn't mean the 1% fringes aren't doing exciting things. Such as robotics, automated cars, automated surgery, machine learning/NLP services, VR (ala oculus/Magic Leap), smart AI assistants are improving rapidly (Siri/Cortana). Business intelligence and data mining are new massive industries. Nor does the fact one niche (social networks/mobile apps) becoming saturated with products means that tech innovation is dead. IF most of the applications of software are boring and software is to 'eat the world' then there is at least another decade or two of purely boring stuff needing to be transferred to software. For ex: no-one is tweeting about advances in business automation.
- normloman 12y ago
  It is a small percentage of the tech industry. But it's a good percentage of startups. A good percentage of yCombinator companies. A good percentage of what we discuss on Hacker News.
  - dmix 12y ago
    > it's a good percentage of startups Have you looked at any portfolios on VCs websites of startups they invested in? The majority of them are all boring companies, and you'd never hear about them even when they sell for a $1 billion. Many people on HN work at startups building boring software. They just dont site here discussing it because it is boring. And lots of the articles here are a reflection of the tech journalism, not industry. That being said there are tons of articles on HN discussing robotics, automated cars, magicleap, etc.
aw3c2 12y ago
They might not be life changing technologically but at least WhatsApp has had a profound impact on the lives of many of my friends and relatives in terms of every day casual conversation.
- mcjiggerlog 12y ago
  I wanted to say this too - Whatsapp has made a HUGEimpact on the world. It's completely changed how I interact with my friends and family, massively for the better. Pretty much everywhere other than the US it has completely replaced SMS for most people.
shostack 12y ago
The reason I don't think we're in a bubble is because people are either paying money for these things, or advertisers value their inventory enough to continue buying where the users are. Wasn't the primary issue with the last bubble that there was often no revenue behind the idea? There is revenue here.
arh68 12y ago
I agree, and think the bit about the boss really hits that lack of change home Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, except this one is very concerned that you see him as a positive force in the universe. Certain conversations can only be had in an echo chamber, at the expense of other discussions. It's easy to ask what does the Internet give us? but I think the author does a really good job describing what the Internet can take away. (s/Internet/Technology of Choice/g) But who wants to hear anything negative about the Internet? (..on the Internet, of all things) You could speak your mind, .. But if you did that, you’d upset the prevailing good vibes and come off like a sickly paranoiac in desperate need of some likes.
Florin_Andrei 12y ago
Perhaps this is how our global creativity works. Perhaps we need to generate tons and tons of garbage, for the occasional diamond stone to pop out. Perhaps I'm wrong.
- sebkomianos 12y ago
  I agree - even pure creatives have to do a lot of "digging" before they get to their diamonds.

deleted 12y ago

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dmix 12y ago

And these apps are a small percentage of the entire tech industry but get 100% of the press on sites like Techcrunch. Most products and technology are boring. It doesn't mean the 1% fringes aren't doing exciting things. Such as robotics, automated cars, automated surgery, machine learning/NLP services, VR (ala oculus/Magic Leap), smart AI assistants are improving rapidly (Siri/Cortana). Business intelligence and data mining are new massive industries. Nor does the fact one niche (social networks/mobile apps) becoming saturated with products means that tech innovation is dead. IF most of the applications of software are boring and software is to 'eat the world' then there is at least another decade or two of purely boring stuff needing to be transferred to software. For ex: no-one is tweeting about advances in business automation.

normloman 12y ago
It is a small percentage of the tech industry. But it's a good percentage of startups. A good percentage of yCombinator companies. A good percentage of what we discuss on Hacker News.
- dmix 12y ago
  > it's a good percentage of startups Have you looked at any portfolios on VCs websites of startups they invested in? The majority of them are all boring companies, and you'd never hear about them even when they sell for a $1 billion. Many people on HN work at startups building boring software. They just dont site here discussing it because it is boring. And lots of the articles here are a reflection of the tech journalism, not industry. That being said there are tons of articles on HN discussing robotics, automated cars, magicleap, etc.

aw3c2 12y ago

They might not be life changing technologically but at least WhatsApp has had a profound impact on the lives of many of my friends and relatives in terms of every day casual conversation.

mcjiggerlog 12y ago
I wanted to say this too - Whatsapp has made a HUGEimpact on the world. It's completely changed how I interact with my friends and family, massively for the better. Pretty much everywhere other than the US it has completely replaced SMS for most people.

shostack 12y ago

The reason I don't think we're in a bubble is because people are either paying money for these things, or advertisers value their inventory enough to continue buying where the users are. Wasn't the primary issue with the last bubble that there was often no revenue behind the idea? There is revenue here.

arh68 12y ago

I agree, and think the bit about the boss really hits that lack of change home Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, except this one is very concerned that you see him as a positive force in the universe. Certain conversations can only be had in an echo chamber, at the expense of other discussions. It's easy to ask what does the Internet give us? but I think the author does a really good job describing what the Internet can take away. (s/Internet/Technology of Choice/g) But who wants to hear anything negative about the Internet? (..on the Internet, of all things) You could speak your mind, .. But if you did that, you’d upset the prevailing good vibes and come off like a sickly paranoiac in desperate need of some likes.

Florin_Andrei 12y ago

Perhaps this is how our global creativity works. Perhaps we need to generate tons and tons of garbage, for the occasional diamond stone to pop out. Perhaps I'm wrong.

sebkomianos 12y ago
I agree - even pure creatives have to do a lot of "digging" before they get to their diamonds.