To the authors of the various small file hosting services.
I was going to tweet this rant, but after typing the introduction, realised that it would take a barrage of tweets, which in turn would only irritate anyone who follows me.
This rant is targeted at the authors of the billion or so small file hosting services.
I’m not talking about Rapidshare and the like, but more IDZR, DZNR, Droplr and the rest.
Over the past X months, I have seen a ton of these services arrive, get tweeted to oblivion, build up mass hype for what is essentially a basic file uploading script with the occasional menubar app to go with.
So the routine usually goes something like this.
- Grab/write a basic uploading script
- Make a decent looking front end for it
- Possibly throw together some menubar application or the like
- Write a simple registration script w/invitation codes
- Throw a few vague tweets out about how to stay tuned for some awesome service
- Build up the hype some more…and more…and more…and more
- Finally release it. Well, by release I actually mean invite a few people who in turn will tweet about how it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Now, that wouldn’t be so bad if there didn’t seem to be a new one cropping up every week with people literally wetting themselves when they find an invitation in their inbox.
A small cry can be heard for miles around as they paste their invitation code into the textfield and receive confirmation that their account has been setup.
What is more annoying is the fact that these services rarely last more than a month before the next big thing comes out, which is essentially the same, just looks a bit different, and the fact that these services never seem to be updated after the launch date.
On top of that, they usually have pretty patchy uptime but that’s not *entirely* their fault.
I used to be one of those people who wet themselves at the mere whiff of an invite only service, however these day’s I generally roll my eyes knowing that it’ll just be a few weeks until it’s forgotten about and everybody has moved on to the “latest and greatest”.
What I would like, is for the people that create these services to consider getting together, planning and creating one, combining all of their best features, and keep it updated and running smoothly.
It’s hard to get excited about yet another one which does the same thing but in a slightly different way.
The latest in the line seems to be Dribbble or something which is apparently a service to allow developers to upload blurred screenshots. Apparently, it’s like Ember, but private.
Now seriously, what is the point in uploading blurry screenshots, except to get people speculating about what you’re making without really having the first clue about what you’re doing. Effectively it’s just another way to massage your ego, knowing that people are having to rush to change their underwear as they try to figure out what you’re making.
For example,
(Yes, it’s a blurred screenshot of Twiba)
It wouldn’t be quite as bad if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s private, so only the limited number of users can view the images.
I really don’t remotely get the point of it.
So to sum up, stop churning out a service which will have an average lifespan of a month or two. Build something substantial, add features to it and keep publicising it. Don’t build up hype for the launch day of your invite only service and then let it disappear.
</rant>
I would be interested to hear what you think on this matter so feel free to @ me on twitter.
