When I look back at what the tech industry has spent its time on in the last 10 years, I am deeply disappointed. The entire industry has become dreadfully distracted.

📝 Distracted
https://lmnt.me/blog/distracted.html

⚠️ I welcome replies about this topic, but please consider posting tangential thoughts elsewhere.

Distracted

@louie let's team up and fight back!
@glotcha what are you proposing?
@louie to do something to promote software as an art form, I think this early book has an interesting point of view https://archive.org/details/elementsoffriend00heck
The elements of friendly software design : Heckel, Paul : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Bibliography: p. 193-202

Internet Archive
@glotcha go on then!
@louie quick brainstorm... software pioneers
software heroes
software genius
software hall of fame
software savants
killer developers
software visionaries
the crossroads
software equalizers
software democracy

@louie I feel this deep in my bones. I definitely don't feel like I've turned into a "get off my lawn" curmudgeon because I do think there's a lot of good hardware/software/web tech around today, and I don't wish to return to some nostalgic memory.

But it really does seem like, on the whole, the tech industry has completely lost the plot. Adrift in almost every conceivable way, a parody of themselves. It's shocking. And it's hard to say what the solution is…

@jaredwhite I don’t want to return to the past either, but I think we maybe weren’t all too far off with regards to the way we thought and approached things a decade ago. I want to see an alternate universe were we didn’t take this specific path. I think something deeply fucked up about 10-15 years ago, and it’s a shame it’s led us to this moment.
@louie @jaredwhite the “something” that happened 10-15 years ago is the Great Financial Crash and the zero interest rate phenomenon that came afterwards. It had effects far beyond the texh industry (ask anyone looking to buy a house or fund a third-level education in 2024)

@jaredwhite @louie I'm leading the way toward a solution (and it seems Louie is as well). I've been building a network of people who believe in a bright future and wants to try out creative, bold strategies, in the face of others creating average ones.

It's a small step but I'm active on social media providing quality content to tech companies with an eye toward creating a substantial business model and quality product. "Get Focused!" in other words.

@louie holy shit this is so on the money

thanks for putting the latent emotions ive had about tech into text for a while

all these companies are just chasing money, incentivised by capitalistic greed to Just Make That Money, ROI, and other bullshit, while completely leaving tech behind all the same while

meanwhile software programmers get passed off from startup to startup to make absolute bullshit that doesnt stand the test of time

and meanwhile that same culture is infecting established large tech companies, eroding their product

urghhh

@louie Totally agree. I'm a tech lead and self-described business-leader-in-training, so I've been trying to find a tech company to join with solid customer demand and positive revenue stream.

Unfortunately most seem to not have a focus. They stuff job ads with all sorts of perks, yet stumble when I ask the most basic question, "what value do you provide people?"

I'm not a "free software for everyone," but I believe we've devalued (and underprice) tech.

@louie Wonderful essay and I agree completely. I have to wonder if the problem is all the speculative money (sorry ... "investors"...) is the root of the issue. You used to have to make a complete product (or at least close) and have a compelling story and sales proposition to make to the market of customers. Now it seems like the audience is "the money people" and they only care about a turn and burn and actual people are left with the wasteland of half baked everything.