

Why Aren’t App Designers as Famous as Chefs?  - mrgintl
http://on.wsj.com/1ftgcQr

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edj
Simple: cooking is extremely relatable. Everybody has prepared food at some
point.

And it's easy for people to tell - crucially, in a half-hour TV show - that a
star chef is doing amazing things with food.

Programming is just the opposite: inaccessible to non-programmers, very
specialized, very technical, abstract.

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pan69
And time consuming...

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swayvil
Because programming isn't cool and never will be. I know we try, calling our
more productive autistics "rockstars" and such - but no, never gonna happen.

It's something to do with the process I think. So narrow. Insectile even. Not
pretty. It warps people, or attracts warped people, or both.

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Spooky23
The premise is flawed. Not many chefs are famous, 99% toil anonymously in hot
kitchens. The chef's who are famous locally usually get that way by spending
lots of money. Self-promotion drives traffic to the restaurant.

This works in other markets too. If you're unfortunate to live in an area
where Billy Fuccillo owns a car dealership, you're painfully aware of his
presence via incessant advertising, which somehow drives traffic to his
dealerships.

Apps are more like tools than restaurants or car dealerships. Nobody has ever
bought a wrench because it was made by a celebrity machinist. Likewise, I
generally don't give a hoot who actually develops an app. (I may have brand
preference or choose apps based on affinity with other apps.)

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herbig
Totally subjective concept. This person knows of a lot of chefs and not a lot
of app designers, and has projected his worldview onto everyone else.

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ale7714
As everyone else, we believe that the world sees the world the way we see it.

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coldcode
In the 80's people put the names of the people who built the apps into the
about page/section/etc. It didn't mean much but made a nice resume addition.
It's pretty rare to see that today.

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Spooky23
EA's original business model was to be the equivalent of a gaming record
label. The design studios were like bands.

I remember my favorite game at one point (StarFlight) had a picture of the
programming team in a jet cockpit. The 6 year old me thought it was the
awesome bridge of a spaceship.

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cylinder
Silly question. Why aren't architects/engineers/doctors/lawyers as famous as
chefs?

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awwstn
There aren't many famous chefs, just TV stars who cook. Chefs like Grant
Achatz and René Redzepi are only famous within the world of food.

Mark Cuban is to Gordon Ramsey as Rasmus Andersson is to René Redzepi.

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jamesjyu
I'd watch Iron Designer if that show existed.

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adamio
Today's secret ingredient: {random block of code}

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sirkneeland
I can't name a single "great chef." I can, however, name some celebrity
chefs...

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otikik
I don't know any Chef.

