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The main problem is that these silly websites and applications are making money. I know it's hard to believe, but people don't want value. They want trendy. Wha

by mrcold 12y ago

The main problem is that these silly websites and applications are making money. I know it's hard to believe, but people don't want value. They want trendy. What's popular now. Build the perfect social network and nobody will use it. Build a shitty one with a gimmick and people will come in droves. Unless you hit their sweet spot, people will not support you. They pay for value out of need, not because they want to. Most people want toys, not tools. The market is just delivering.

miguelrochefort 12y ago
I don't believe people actually want "new and trendy". It just happens that nobody is giving them what they need, so they have no choice but to find the new "hot" thing. Because social networks are so disconnected and fragmented at the moment, it only makes sense for people to use social networks that others use, and that's why we see trends. Most consumers are satisfied with "the Internet", and as far as I know, not many are looking for alternatives. Most people use Google, they don't change their search engine every few months. People in the US speak English, and I don't see many people learn other languages based on trends. In a world of apps, where people can't think in any other way, sure the gimmicky app is going to win. They know that they will never find what they need, why not having fun doing so? With a slightly different mindsets, one in which you realize that there's no point in having so many apps, you think differently and your values change. People will find diversity in content, not containers. Are all businesses writing their own crappy internal management systems because it's trendy? Are banks spending millions to build a crappy banking system that's more or less a clone of any other bank's for fun? Are the millions of different "User" classes programmed by people who thought theirs was better/cooler? Society has taught people to think wrong. Instead of thinking about what they need, they go straight to thinking about how they need it. Then, once they're offered a solution that does exactly what they need, they reject it because it doesn't match the solution they imagined. And we're talking about people that can't think of a solution themselves, and can only pick examples from their past. We're in a world where people ask "I want to buy an iPad from Amazon.com" instead of asking "I want an iPad", or better "I want to browse the web and watch movies in my bed". That said, I would still like to understand why you believe that people want toys and trendy. Is it a symptom of something else, or are these features intrinsically valuable to them?
- mrcold 12y ago
  They are intrinsically valuable to them. People get bored with things. We always want a new toy, a new experience or a new adventure. Even if you do create the perfect tablet, people will not buy it unless you appeal to their playfulness. Show them a pretty dream to which they can aspire. And after a while, they will start demanding the next iteration. Something even better. Because the old one lost its shine. Regarding the way things get built now, it's just pure greed. Business people promise bullshit to each other. And then they hire engineers to build something to fulfill the contract. The engineers are pressed by time and lack resources. So the product ends up shitty. Quality is never considered because it costs too much. Don't get me wrong. I agree with you. I'm currently in my third year of building an awesome product. And where everybody else decided to cut corners, I'm polishing like crazy. And guess what. It takes huge amounts of time and energy. And everybody is saying how great it is, but very few actually get their wallets out. People say they want perfection. But they aren't willing to pay for it. Instead, they are more than willing to shell out money for a pipe dream. This is why a shitty product with great marketing will bankrupt an amazing product with shitty marketing. It's all about what people dream about. Not what they hold in their hands. How we could change this? Probably by having a technocratic society. Where execution is valued and promises are ignored.

by mrcold 12y ago

miguelrochefort 12y ago

I don't believe people actually want "new and trendy". It just happens that nobody is giving them what they need, so they have no choice but to find the new "hot" thing. Because social networks are so disconnected and fragmented at the moment, it only makes sense for people to use social networks that others use, and that's why we see trends. Most consumers are satisfied with "the Internet", and as far as I know, not many are looking for alternatives. Most people use Google, they don't change their search engine every few months. People in the US speak English, and I don't see many people learn other languages based on trends. In a world of apps, where people can't think in any other way, sure the gimmicky app is going to win. They know that they will never find what they need, why not having fun doing so? With a slightly different mindsets, one in which you realize that there's no point in having so many apps, you think differently and your values change. People will find diversity in content, not containers. Are all businesses writing their own crappy internal management systems because it's trendy? Are banks spending millions to build a crappy banking system that's more or less a clone of any other bank's for fun? Are the millions of different "User" classes programmed by people who thought theirs was better/cooler? Society has taught people to think wrong. Instead of thinking about what they need, they go straight to thinking about how they need it. Then, once they're offered a solution that does exactly what they need, they reject it because it doesn't match the solution they imagined. And we're talking about people that can't think of a solution themselves, and can only pick examples from their past. We're in a world where people ask "I want to buy an iPad from Amazon.com" instead of asking "I want an iPad", or better "I want to browse the web and watch movies in my bed". That said, I would still like to understand why you believe that people want toys and trendy. Is it a symptom of something else, or are these features intrinsically valuable to them?

mrcold 12y ago
They are intrinsically valuable to them. People get bored with things. We always want a new toy, a new experience or a new adventure. Even if you do create the perfect tablet, people will not buy it unless you appeal to their playfulness. Show them a pretty dream to which they can aspire. And after a while, they will start demanding the next iteration. Something even better. Because the old one lost its shine. Regarding the way things get built now, it's just pure greed. Business people promise bullshit to each other. And then they hire engineers to build something to fulfill the contract. The engineers are pressed by time and lack resources. So the product ends up shitty. Quality is never considered because it costs too much. Don't get me wrong. I agree with you. I'm currently in my third year of building an awesome product. And where everybody else decided to cut corners, I'm polishing like crazy. And guess what. It takes huge amounts of time and energy. And everybody is saying how great it is, but very few actually get their wallets out. People say they want perfection. But they aren't willing to pay for it. Instead, they are more than willing to shell out money for a pipe dream. This is why a shitty product with great marketing will bankrupt an amazing product with shitty marketing. It's all about what people dream about. Not what they hold in their hands. How we could change this? Probably by having a technocratic society. Where execution is valued and promises are ignored.