•  Harold   ( @Harold@beehaw.org ) 
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    131 year ago

    They didn’t even really need need to make a better app to make more money. If the objective is getting the telemetry for ads by forcing the use of the official app, they could have the equivalent just via APIs and user-specific tokens. The backend would be key, and it would take advantage of an established app market. They could additionally monetize the API, if they approached it more reasonably. They could have the data and have developers pay a toll. Maybe hindsight is 20/20, but the animus they’re displaying here is self-defeating.

    • Yes, but then they would need to hire mature devs. I interviewed at Reddit a few years ago and the “staff” engineer was a smug 25 year old. Their engineering culture is one of elitism and a shocking lack of humility. IMO, the rot from the CEO goes all the way down. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone had your idea, but the organization is incapable of execution.