If any product you create doesn’t inherently allow for a degraded version—one that pulls in eyeballs, that keeps users locked in and interacting—you won’t survive without having to build artificial barriers against the relentless forces of capitalism. Because the game, at its core, isn’t about delivering value anymore; it’s about maximizing attention. And if your product doesn’t serve that need, if it doesn’t have the built-in mechanism to trap people in an endless cycle, it won’t be long before you’re left scrambling to keep up. The market isn’t looking for solutions; it’s looking for a way to keep users hooked. Without that, the product won’t matter, no matter how good it is.

Antiques dealer, machine psychologist. http://www.musicinphasespace.com

You have the insights - when are you gonna release the bravo9000 app?

Thank goodness - we could really use getting back to the care of craftsmanship not exploit of psychology for blitzscaling

Apps are a zirp phenomenon—built for a time when money was cheap and endless growth felt inevitable. Like vinyl, they might stick around as niche artifacts, but their golden age is probably behind us