<story><title>Stop trying to make social networks succeed</title><url>https://ploum.net/2023-07-06-stop-trying-to-make-social-networks-succeed.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>xeromal</author><text>This is a huge tangent, but I&amp;#x27;ve started harboring similar feelings for video games. Go read comments for the latest game and 90% of the comments will be about item drops, skins, loot drops, whatever. It&amp;#x27;s absolutely mind boggling because all those things IMO suck the fun out of the game which it to kill something, kill someone, or explore some world.</text></item><item><author>mattbuilds</author><text>I think the VC world&amp;#x27;s obsession with growth has tainted how we (me included) view things, especially stuff like social media. There is a fixation with growing and doing it rapidly that I believe is harmful. I don&amp;#x27;t know when this switch flipped, but I&amp;#x27;ve felt it gradually building up over time.&lt;p&gt;Things can just be what they are, grow naturally and then die naturally. I suspect that injecting cash and attempting to achieve an unnatural growth is probably not good for both the quality of the product and the long term stability of it.&lt;p&gt;I would love to see more niche things grow organically and fill a role for some people, at some time and not try to be everything for everyone. Because when that&amp;#x27;s the case, does anyone really enjoy it?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>epiccoleman</author><text>I winced hard at the $70 price tag on Tears of the Kingdom - but damned if I didn&amp;#x27;t get more than my money&amp;#x27;s worth. One of the things that makes that game so fun is that the whole thing is just there in front of you and you are largely allowed to approach the game however you want. One of the best games ever in terms of respecting the player&amp;#x27;s intelligence and creativity - just gives you a set of tools and says &amp;quot;fuck around and find out.&amp;quot;</text></comment>
<story><title>Stop trying to make social networks succeed</title><url>https://ploum.net/2023-07-06-stop-trying-to-make-social-networks-succeed.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>xeromal</author><text>This is a huge tangent, but I&amp;#x27;ve started harboring similar feelings for video games. Go read comments for the latest game and 90% of the comments will be about item drops, skins, loot drops, whatever. It&amp;#x27;s absolutely mind boggling because all those things IMO suck the fun out of the game which it to kill something, kill someone, or explore some world.</text></item><item><author>mattbuilds</author><text>I think the VC world&amp;#x27;s obsession with growth has tainted how we (me included) view things, especially stuff like social media. There is a fixation with growing and doing it rapidly that I believe is harmful. I don&amp;#x27;t know when this switch flipped, but I&amp;#x27;ve felt it gradually building up over time.&lt;p&gt;Things can just be what they are, grow naturally and then die naturally. I suspect that injecting cash and attempting to achieve an unnatural growth is probably not good for both the quality of the product and the long term stability of it.&lt;p&gt;I would love to see more niche things grow organically and fill a role for some people, at some time and not try to be everything for everyone. Because when that&amp;#x27;s the case, does anyone really enjoy it?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>EA-3167</author><text>The key is to just pass on those sorts of games, because there are still plenty of others that don&amp;#x27;t play with the customer that way.</text></comment>