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Why Are All The Companies Copying Snapchat?

Andrew Orr ·

As Arielle Pardes points out, you’d think some of the tech companies were merging with the amount of features they’re copying from one another. This market is so free you guys.

Does your head hurt? Mine does, as do my thumbs, which now have three times as many platforms to scroll for short-form and ephemeral videos. I am overwhelmed with content and underwhelmed by features—at least until the next big thing comes along, and everyone lunges to copy that.

I have definitely noticed this when it comes to Facebook, if only because I don’t like Facebook. They’ve copied all they could from Snapchat. In my opinion, Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be as ubiquitous as WeChat is in China. All interactions, all commerce must flow through Facebook because Mark Zuckerberg can’t conceive of a different business model. Or, he can conceive but he doesn’t care. Why should he? We reward him by using his services.

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Take a Good Look at Your Digital File System This Holiday Season

Andrew Orr ·

Victoria Song advises that we should reexamine our digital file system and maybe reduce, reuse, and recycle our content.

Look, 2020 was supposed to be my year. I set out with what I thought were pretty reasonable New Year’s resolutions—one of which was to spend less time on my screens. And then the pandemic hit. During the endless hours that ensued, I noticed something: My digital filing system was a goddamn mess.

I’m taking this opportunity to shamelessly recommend my system of personal information management. It does use a series of structured folders but more importantly it creates a consistent way to write file names.