what is Social Media doing to us?

The flattening of intent across algorithms has created a new competitive landscape. The musician isn’t competing for attention/fandom between others in their genre. An artist being forced to be an influencer before they are an artist is not a “I think we are good” software environment. Far from it. They are competing against a pornstar on a... See more

Shitty retention is ubiquitous

First, perhaps obvious, but no wonder retention in mobile products is terrible. I’ve often written about these benchmarks for retention:

• daily retention of consumer apps: D1/D7/D28 of 60/30/15


• the % of active users — that is, DAU/registered — should be 25%


• or, for consumer/SMB subscription: M12 of >30%

When you reflect... See more

The life we call “normal” isn’t normal at all. A spouse and kids, a mortgage, a 9-to-5 job... who said that was life? What’s so great about working in a factory or a cubicle? You and I, who are artists and entrepreneurs, live a life that’s closer to natural, if you ask me. We migrate, too. We follow the muse instead of the sun.

All addictions share,

... See more

For example, a small study commissioned by Hewlett-Packard looked at the IQ of some of their workers in two situations. At first they tested their IQ when they were not being distracted or interrupted. Then they tested their IQ when they were receiving emails and phone calls. The study found that ‘technological distraction’ – just getting emails

... See more