We are a social species living in a world where everything is commodified, and to survive means trying to find a way to exist in that space. It creates a mindset where even a simple hobby needs to somehow create profit, because everything around us requires we have and/or create money over all of the less tangible things that actually make humans happy.
Some people have the luxury of being able to step around that mindset, even if only for a little bit, but there is less and less space for just existing.
Well said. I hear my arty/crafty friends get recommended to sell their "works". Thinking of art as an investment is a scourge.
Unfortunately money is useful, even if the game of chasing it is stupid and can be doomingly addictive. Looking after it for retirement is hell and trains one to be tight or a gambler.
The worst part is that we all know other things are more important than money: most people seem to choose jobs for their invisible benefits rather than financial outcomes. Our world runs because of our internal goals rather than money. The teacher that wants to help their students. The taxi driver that just likes to meet people. The engineer that strives for perfection. Does Matt Levine write for money?
The social incentives are whacko, and the government incentives are often insane. I have some admiration for those that find a way to get the benefits of society at the lowest time costs to themselves.
We fear we live in a purely capitalist world - yet the invisible incentives (economic surplus) are what makes everything work. The danger of seeing everyone else as a money grubber, while knowing that we ourselves are driven by better motivations.
The other factor is that there were too many "whimsical" apps, which were mostly variations of drinking beer, iphone guns, or fart apps. Apple cracked down hard on those by adding rules about similar / copycat apps or low value apps.
There were lots of those. Back when you could easily sell rubbish for 99¢ making copying popular apps possibly worthwhile. But there's still latitude for creativity. I came across this[1] Mac app at the end of last year which decorates your desktop with Christmas lights. Completely useless, but very fun and whimsical. I feel like there used to be more of this. There also used to be more creativity in functional apps too when development was less focussed on metrics/engagement. I feel like even the more fun indie apps started copying the 'big guys' with complex onboarding tutorials, gamification, and upselling. Maybe it was just because the platforms were newer and simpler back then. Maybe it's rose tinted glasses :)
I don't think that reaction was to the existence of them - merely the fact people were parting with money for them to the extent that developers were making significant money (short-term anyway). "Drinking" a pint, or blowing out the flame on a "lighter" were both quite cool moments for people when smartphones first arrived.
It was that brief window of time that ended, partly because of the iphone, that technology could be or do anything. The world of infinite possibility.
Now that costs $14.99/mo, but if you upgrade to the Pro Plus package for $23.95/mo, you get not only the fart feature, and the flame feature, but you get the flaming fart feature. Requires annual prepayment, otherwise price is $39.64/mo, excluding taxes and cost recovery fees.
I thought for a moment you were talking about https://whimsical.com/, which is productivity suite that people depend on for work. I wouldn't want to hear it's shutting down! Then I realized you're talking about the concept of whimsical things, not a company. Whew!
Is it possible that we're not as comfortable as we were a decade ago? I'll admit to having no aspirations to make that next killer app, but that's because I'm fairly financially secure, not wealthy by any means, but a decent paying job with a pension, and I know that's a privileged position the days.
People always say this but it tends to be the poor broke art kids who create some crazy cool shit for the hell of it that eventually becomes commodified.
