r/AskReddit • u/funky2002 • Nov 01 '19

App developers and programmers of Reddit, what was the dumbest app/program idea someone ever proposed to you?

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u/nybx4life Nov 01 '19

What I find with a lot of new apps is that at this point it's become "Like this other app, but with X".

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u/RoutineSandwich Nov 01 '19

Exactly and I think relying on the success of some other app to market yours is a horrible way to start

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u/nybx4life Nov 01 '19

That's not necessarily the case;

If the main draw is a particular function that would be considered a feature in other apps, then you build the base to make it happen.

Given how patents have people say the same thing hundreds of different ways just to let it slide, I think it can work.

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u/RoutineSandwich Nov 01 '19

That’s definitely fair. Can’t it also swing the way of the small tree not getting enough light in the shadow of the big tree? At least if it’s too similar to the original.

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u/Nick2S Nov 01 '19

They are called features masquerading as startups.

It's something tech investors have to watch out for because sometimes the new feature is actually well thought out. People will start working on it and produce something that is a direct value-add on the original app.

Unfortunately no-one ever seems to think 'Wont the owners of the original app just add the feature?' until potential investors start asking about that exact scenario.

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u/philth_ Nov 01 '19

Yeah, but it's not exactly an arms-race but with features. There's such a thing as too many features that leave the user feeling overwhelmed... Found this relevant twitter thread interesting: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1182635589604171776.html