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Believing Your Own Hype

Being a software engineer of a certain age, I get to see the same patterns repeat themselves in this field. One of the patterns is companies repeating statements that sound like they are true, want to believe they are true and try to convince others they are true, when they are not.

- Visual Basic is object orientated.
- Aspect Orientated Programing is the next big thing.
- C (or C++) is dead.
- Ruby on Rails is the best for web development.
- HTML can handle your mobile app needs.

Each has it's strength and segment of truth but have reached beyond their domain.  There is a natural desire the share ones enthusiasm with others but this can be taken to extremes where one starts believing in aspects that are not true and believe their own hype.

I've been commenting on the Linkedin forums and have found great benefit in helping others and commenting on questions and issues.  It's nice place.  I use Linkedin web site but not their mobile app.  The web site asks about it every time, so decided to check it out.  Hum, not good.  I had read the reviews from iTunes and this article on the technology and design of it and quickly decided not to install it.

When it first was released they hyped it up quite a bit.  The arstechnica.com article was very interesting but it left a bad taste in my engineering mouth and it appears in the iTunes reviews mouths too.  Even XKCD has made a cartoon out of this type of mobile app.  Popular web site but the mobile app appears to fail to deliver what users are expecting, yet it's heavily pushed on users.

Now Linkedin is not alone and they obviously know HTML inside and out.  However, it's easy for web companies to believe their own marketing and think that they can do the same thing for a full feature mobile application and users will accept it.  Facebook tried it and failed (after 2 years or work) and others will also attempt it.

My reaction of the arstechnica.com article was, "Wow, these guys are smart, but not very wise".   The technology and design was in place,  but why?  At some point in making a hybrid mobile app do you decide it's just better to go all native?  When you have a 50/50 mix of HTML / Native?  When you embed a lightweight HTTP server to interface between the two?  At what point do you take a reality check and look for a better path to success.

It's OK to believe in what you want, but it appears that a line was crossed that has led to an app where the reviewers are telling you otherwise.   Was there no one concerned for what they where doing and why they where doing it?

I wish Linkedin had a better mobile app and I'll download it when it gets re-written (in native code), but     for now I'm forced to go through the startup screen about their mobile app before I can get any work done.

Please hurry.

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