
The Inherent Problem with Anonymous Apps - jorgecastillo
https://medium.com/@davidbyttow/the-inherent-problem-with-anonymous-apps-2795ef0c1855
======
johnhenry
It's entirely relevant that the author's app, secret, didn't likely fail
because it was an anonymous, but rather the opposite -- there was a drop off
in usage when it became public that messages posted on secret weren't really
secret
[http://www.wired.com/2014/08/secret/](http://www.wired.com/2014/08/secret/).

------
JamilD
I think this also illustrates a huge issue with venture capital; it can be
incredibly reactive, with funding reflecting short-term trends rather than
long-term value.

Everything appears obvious in hindsight, but I wonder how Yik Yak could be
valued at even close to $400 million. I can't imagine the intrinsic value
being that high. What's the path to monetization? A solid userbase? Anybody I
know that used it, used it for maybe a week…

~~~
SixSigma
A reactionary is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the
status quo ante, the previous political state of society, which they believe
possessed characteristics (discipline, respect for authority, etc.) that are
negatively absent from the contemporary status quo of a society. As an
adjective, the word reactionary describes points of view and policies meant to
restore the status quo ante.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary)

~~~
goodJobWalrus
I think he meant _reactive_ , as in:

showing a response to a stimulus. "pupils are reactive to light"

acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it. "a
proactive rather than a reactive approach"

~~~
JamilD
Thank you both :) Corrected.

------
aftbit
The author's choice of video games to compare is extremely disingenuous. He
says:

"When a quality game releases it sees a spike in usage and attention but is
then shelved as players move on to the next thing. Such as Portal, Braid, and
Dragon Age. However, some games break this cycle and go on to become highly
valuable and lasting franchises; games like Counter-Strike, Minecraft, and
League of Legends."

Portal, Braid, and Dragon Age are all single-player games. Counter-Strike,
Minecraft, and League of Legends are all multiplayer games, and the latter two
continue to receive significant updates from their developers.

There are very few single player games that manage to have staying power, to
be replayed again and again. Halo and Half Life both managed it for a while,
but no more.

On the other hand, multiplayer games tend to last for a pretty long time,
unless their players are cannibalized by another game in the series (Call of
Duty, Battlefield).

That said, there are definitely fads in gaming. Look at something like DayZ or
Left 4 Dead 2. The "zombie shooter" game seems to have gone out of style, and
these games haven't held up as well as something like LoL, CSS, or TF2.

Oh, and of course the ultimate game with a community is Starcraft. People
still play Brood Wars today.

~~~
Jordrok
I agree, that analogy is way off base. Disregarding the fact that the way it's
set up makes Portal, Braid, and Dragon Age sound like failures, which is the
complete opposite of the truth, it totally ignores the different business
models. Those first three games all charged "full price" up front for a full
experience. On the other hand, League of Legends is free to play but charges
for other stuff and CS:GO does have a purchase cost but has tons of other
microtransactions. Minecraft is the outlier here. It has a strong community,
but it's also a very fragmented one. There are thousands (millions?) of
individual Minecraft servers and no central location which forces you to
maintain a single identity.

EDIT: The analogy breaks down even more when you try to compare any of those
games to a free app which attempts to monetize through advertisement.

------
codingdave
It seems to me that there is a yet deeper underlying problem - the expectation
that any success should translate into long-term continued relevance. That
isn't how things work. Trends wax and wane. And yes, some companies build
something that becomes pervasive enough that it doesn't go away when trends
shift... but that is the exception. If you build something and get a rapid
spike of success, grab on and monetize what you can while you can, and be glad
for it. if you can make it last longer, great... but a short-term minor
success is nothing to be ashamed of.

~~~
cookiecaper
Yes. This is especially problematic with hits-oriented industries like games.
Studios time and again have had a big hit and taken it for granted, assumed
that it was a blessing on everything they did from that point forward. It
doesn't work like that. While your reputation can add _some_ hype, you still
have to check off the elements on the hit formula or your next project will
flop, no matter how great your first project was.

Film studios understand this well and it's why 95% of the films they output
are formulaic and by-the-numbers.

------
billmalarky
4chan is one of if not the oldest large successful (regarding usage/traffic
not necessarily monetization) social media site in the US. Many non-anonymous
social sites have come and gone since it was founded.

------
iamleppert
Secret didn't fail for lack of community. It failed because once people had
their fill of playing out one of their demigod roles (shaming people, being
shamed, or inciting others to shame) behind a cloak of anonymity the initial
thrill to tell the "world" (really just your facebook friends) your "secrets"
was gone.

------
CM30
The lack of names and personal information hasn't stopped imageboards and
forums like 4chan and 8ch having thriving communities, nor 2channel (the
extremely large Japanese forum they're based on).

Obviously people on these sites have formed lasting relationships with the
community. Sometimes literally, there was a case on 2ch where two people met
in real life, didn't know each other, found each other again on the site and
ended up getting married.

But maybe the format works best on forums and sites accessed on desktop rather
than mobile apps.

------
oneloop
Isn't this the guy who used investor's money to buy a Ferrari?

