

Stop Making Apps - hypr_geek
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/11/start-making-sense/

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signalsignal
Stop Writing on the Internet

There are a bunch of Techcrunch articles though I have no clue what they are
about. These articles are about but aren’t limited to; Dropbox, CrunchBase,
Facebook, Twitter, and many more whose names I can’t even remember.

Occupying valuable internet real estate are also a bunch of articles whose
purpose I remember only because they were written by people I know or am
friends with, but that I sadly never read. And in some cases I really wish I
did, because it would make my friends happy and the world a better place.

Dispersed throughout the article ghetto, or the neighborhood ten or so links
past the Techcrunch homepage, are articles I’ve glanced over for work,
articles about startups that people joke about (Color, Path), new articles
that startups people are still trying to figure out (Batch, Oink) and
perfectly legitimate articles that lend themselves to more casual conversation
(Uber, Quora, Yelp). And all the articles that fit into one or more of those
categories. Oh, and I just read an article about Camera+ (not to be confused
with the review of Camera Plus) — it’s not homepage worthy just yet though it
might just be the best pieces of gossip I’ve ever read.

~~~
rpicard
In my U.S. Government and Politics class in high school we went over how the
media influences the political agenda by choosing what to cover. I think the
same principle applies here.

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anjc
"""Stop making apps, or gimmicks, things that don’t solve problems"""

I hate the false sheen of 'altruism' that seems to be pervading start-up (i
can't think of a better word to describe it) circles. Solving problems.
Changing the world. Fundamentally, if it's making the app-author money, it's
solving a problem. If you don't like it, don't buy it, and if you're right
that crap-apps are a problem, the market will sort it out.

~~~
Timothee
I think "solving problems" is fine because for the most part that will be why
people will use what you built. But I'm with you on "changing the world". When
I hear about wannabe entrepreneurs who say they are out to change the world
with their photo-sharing app ("we're gonna change the way people share and
communicate with their close friends!"), in a way I'm impressed by the
dedication and motivation, but wonder if they're just saying that to appear
confident and motivated or if they're just delusional.

Someone was telling me that they were working on something that could become a
fundamentally new mean of communication comparable to emails or SMSs. I later
worked on said product and it was of course nowhere near the hype (though
still cool).

~~~
anjc
It really does come across as either naive, delusional, or socially
maladjusted, sometimes.

Ah and you're right on the 'solving problems' thing, it'd have to solve
_somebody's_ problem to get any sales.

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Timothee
Thinking that installing "Pimple Popper" is a good idea might be the root of
your problem of home screen overcrowding.

Sure there are a lot of crap apps, the same way there are a lot of crap
websites or crap restaurants, because there will always be some people who
think they know better or enough to start something and some people, like the
author, who will install them hoping for at least a minute of fun.

This pseudo-rant could be about "stop making clothes and decoration gadgets"
if the author never cleaned her room and found her house very cluttered with
crap she doesn't need.

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jstanderfer
Reminds me of when I first got a modem and was able to connect to local BBSes
and discovered shareware. Huge selection of things that sounded cool but only
ended up running once or twice.

~~~
anjc
You'd be surprised at how much regular money some of the shittiest looking
shareware made/makes people. And i guess that's the same case with the app
store, there's a lot of crap that you and I will never need, but if we look
for some niche thing, find it, pay for it, we have something we want and the
author gets money...the system works! Sounds to me like the article writer
needs to delete apps he doesn't like, pretty simple.

------
gks
Just because there are apps doesn't mean you have to download them all. I made
a point of removing all apps I hadn't used daily when I wiped it clean for iOS
5. I then installed the apps that were previously on my homescreen. Beyond
that, I only installed the apps when I needed to use them. This meant that
apps I'd never use again were never reinstalled. I have a folder of 4-5 games,
a couple social networking/communication apps (facebook, google voice, and
twitteriffic) in their own folder. A utilities folder for things like Dropbox
and other similar apps. The total screen space? Not even two screens thanks to
the folders.

For the most part, i never go beyond the first page. But the apps on page two
are useful and i use them maybe once a week.

Again, just because you have a billion apps at your disposal doesn't mean you
have to have them all installed. Remove them for christs sake or quit your
bitching.

