Good insights, and not just software developers, really. We don’t like ads, sensationalism, or anything reeking of bullshit. If we have to talk to someone to find out the price, the product may as well not exist.
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Has anyone been to any kind of convention for nerdy things. Nerds are so captured by the marketing and products being sold that they let it take over their personality and they can’t stop buying junk.
Yeah, this is self-aggrandizement from a group of people who consistently believe they’re smarter than everybody else, when in reality they just lack self-awareness. Nerds will smugly post in this thread using their overpriced mechanical keyboard as a wall of Funko pops and Star Wars slop looms behind them. I worked in marketing for a long time and I know damn well I’m not immune to it.
Pretty much, yeah.
The article points out how a bunch of specific techniques don’t work on programmers. That’s because they’re aimed at project managers, not programmers. And yeah, they work. Hardly any programmers willingly chose Jira for their ticketing system, but project managers love that shit, and it’s everywhere.
All it really means is that it takes a different set of marketing techniques to reach programmers. They generally don’t bother, because programmers don’t typically control the budget directly.
I believe that thinking you’re immune to something makes you even more vulnerable, because it creates a cognitive blind spot. If you think you can’t make mistakes, you don’t stop to wonder if you are making one.
You just described Geeks. Geek and Nerd group labels can sometimes apply to the same people, but they are not synonymous, and a person can be one without the other.
Geeks are enthusiasts who collect and engage with specific topics, often focusing on trends and memorabilia, while nerds are more academically inclined, concentrating on mastering knowledge and skills in their areas of interest. Both terms can overlap, but they emphasize different aspects of passion and expertise.
https://laist.com/shows/take-two/whats-the-difference-between-a-geek-and-a-nerd
I knew somebody would try to play that card. People who insist on that distinction are the least self-aware of all.
You’re resorting to personal attacks without knowing who I am, what I do, what I do or don’t have on the wall behind me. You apply a blanket label on all people who you class a certain way, and when I disagree with your label and its implications, and recommend nuance, you class me further.
It sounds like you think very highly of yourself, or lowly of everyone else, or both.
What makes your opinions here worthwhile?
You are not immune to marketing (or to propaganda in general). The more you become at ease with that fact, the better equipped you will be to deal with the deluge of shit that is coming for all of us.
What makes your opinions here worthwhile?
As I said in another reply, I worked in marketing for a long time, so I have first-hand experience that most others here don’t. Many have a rather narrow definition of what they’re willing to label “advertising” and don’t realize how much is actually happening all around them. I’m applying a blanket label because the blanket is covering all of us, even those who fervently deny it and insist that it’s simply warm and cozy wherever they are.
Everyone arguing with this account needs to realize that they might as well be talking to an LLM. Look at how advertisers think:
https://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/pepsi-arnell-021109.pdf
Just like an LLM can’t distinguish between truth and fiction they can’t distinguish between meaningful information and advertising BS. The people here will never win their argument against them because they classify all human communication as an act of manipulation, so the definition of advertising will be made more and more broad until they say “look, you were swayed”.
Excuse me but “it” is not my preferred pronoun. That’s pretty disrespectful.
I saw people recommending keychrons, went and bought one thinking I made a smart choice. didn’t even google what kind of issues they have… I’ll remember next time I’m about to throw money at some random crap that a few people recommend.
I got a curved, split, tented ortholinear monstrosity with a built in trackball and I’m finally done. I get that it’s stupid and a waste of money but my hands feel so good typing all day on it
I did too. I didn’t get it to look cool, I got it because I have carpal tunnel and I don’t want to have surgery.
I like the clicky, it allows me to type longer, and I can fidgit with the firmware and do what I want with it.
If I got it because it looks techy then I’d just be a poser
Then they ain’t nerds, sorry.
Yeah, I think scottsman are the ones that are actually immune to marketing.
I disagree, I don’t fall into the category you stated. My walls are lined with 80s memorabilia and 3d printed things I have created. I reject anything advertised to me and will only purchase tech that I have sought out that meets my needs.
If this irony, good job because I think most people will fall for it.
I don’t think it is. I know a few people like this, and im heading in that direction myself. The only kinds of “ads” that work on me are when a number of equally nerdy people I know find a new thing, and they’ve demonstrated that it has helped them with something or they are genuinely enjoying using it. Like 3D printing. Its semi-pointless most of the time but it is a genuinely fun hobby, which when combined with 3D modeling and post-processing skills becomes an actual craft. I didn’t get into it until a good number of people around me did.
80s memorabilia and 3D printers are not exempt form marketing. They are products just like anything else.
3D printers are not exempt form marketing
Case in point: Bambu and Autodesk sponsoring every maker Youtuber. (Fuck both Bambu and Autodesk, BTW.)
Wait. I thought bambu made good printers? Why fuck them?
*I ask because I want a 3d printer for christmas and don’t know which to get. The bambu seems great.
They’re not exempt from marketing. I am. I only use proof-of-use from those around me.
They’re not nerds. They’re posers.
I don’t have a single funko pop or Star Wars toy or whatever. I have a Keychron keyboard that cost me $70, while it is more costly than the average membrane I like mechanical ones. I never buy new if I can (usually this is a time constraint, I.e I broke my phone and I need to replace it quick one because my job relies it). I Adblock everywhere I possibly can to not see the ads but I genuinely believe I’m immune to advertising.
I genuinely believe I’m immune to advertising.
You are not - you just don’t see it as such. Even if you didn’t use the internet at all (which we can see is not the case) you would still fall victim to its network effects.
Right? I’ve seen the walls of Funko Pops… nerds definitely are not immune to marketing.
do people actually buy those? I honestly thought they were some kind of money laundering thing. I’ve never once saw one sell.
Maybe it’s a whale thing, most people don’t give a shit but the people who do have to buy all of them to sate their neurosis
They aren’t fucking nerds then. Nerds don’t buy Funko Pops.
I can name 3 or 4 people who own walls of Funko pops and I can tell you they wouldn’t know an IDE from MS Word. None of them went to college either.
They’re posers.
Yeah but I don’t think that’s marketing, if you’re going to a con for something, you’re likely very passionate about it and passionate people love to scoop up everything they can that relates to their beloved hobby or franchise.
Also, nerds tend to have a good amount of disposable income on that stuff
The cons themselves are marketing. Heavy marketing. If you can’t see that, I don’t know what to say. Vendors (and even artists for crying out loud) are willing to pay top dollar for booths to sell stuff. On the surface, they are their namesake - conventions. Dig any deeper, and they are giant pop-up malls.
I would call my brother a geek, a collector of shit, expensive cards, moulded plastics, I love him for it but I see it as vapid. Whereas I am a nerd, I research and act with caution when it comes to spending, I own a mechanical watch which I can repair myself, I buy leather shoes with soles that can be replaced at a cobblers, run Linux on my desktop, custom ROM on my phone.
Geeks are nerds who enjoy gimmicky things, nerds are geeks seeking purpose.
Is that marketing or is it just finding stuff they want to own?
It’s marketing making them think they want to own that stuff.
How do you think you “found” it? A whole supply chain of people, from branding to packaging to advertising, made it so that you can “find” things on websites that are themselves outright advertisements or at least funded by them.
It’s a mistake to attribute purchases to marketing just because a marketer breathed the same air at some point. First-degree advertising influence and umpteenth-degree influence are very very different.
I mean, I probably wouldn’t buy a car from a company I’d never heard of, but that’s mainly because there are none. If I happened to buy a car from <insert company here> after researching what was available, I wouldn’t attribute that to <insert company here>'s marketing department. At least, not unless they bribed the independent reviewers, ratings boards, etc.
Same deal with most of my tech purchases, except that in that space there often are brands I’ve never heard of. And I’m (usually) savvy enough to tell when they’re legit and when they’re not. (I know more than I ever wanted to know about SSD controllers and I’m kind of angry about it.)
You’re right that nobody is truly “immune” to marketing, but as a matter of degrees, there’s a big difference across groups. There are people out there who look at ads and register them as useful information. There are people who intentionally click on ad banners on Instagram, rather than treating them like digital leprosy. There are people who click on the first Amazon referral listicle they find on Google and then treat it like independent journalism. There are people who use GoDaddy, when the only possible reason anyone would is because that racecar driver is hot. These are not behaviors you should expect among the kind of nerds this article is talking about.
You’re right that nobody is truly “immune” to marketing, but as a matter of degrees, there’s a big difference across groups. There are people out there who look at ads and register them as useful information. There are people who intentionally click on ad banners on Instagram, rather than treating them like digital leprosy. There are people who click on the first Amazon referral listicle they find on Google and then treat it like independent journalism.
Perhaps, but I’d argue people who click on ads knowing full well it’s an ad are more enlightened than the
nerd- sorry, “geek” - who thinks they operate on a higher plane of existence, not knowing that Youtube review was bought and paid for or that Reddit post was made by an LLM.There are people who use GoDaddy, when the only possible reason anyone would is because that racecar driver is hot. These are not behaviors you should expect among the kind of nerds this article is talking about.
You’re really dating yourself with this reference, and I am by understanding it. Incidentally, who do you think bought all that gamer girl bathwater?
Same deal with most of my tech purchases, except that in that space there often are brands I’ve never heard of. And I’m (usually) savvy enough to tell when they’re legit and when they’re not. (I know more than I ever wanted to know about SSD controllers and I’m kind of angry about it.)
This is a bit different because it isn’t really an emotional decision - they are are fungible, functionality being equal. But would you choose, say, a computer case without caring about the way it looks or makes you feel?
Incidentally, who do you think bought all that gamer girl bathwater?
Honestly, I have no idea. Did people actually buy it? I thought the whole thing was a joke.
I’m not about to no-true-scotsman nerdhood here, but I will say that I don’t relate to whatever group bought into that. I’m just not that kind of nerd, I guess.
Which raises another point: there are no monolithic demographics of any significant size. Anytime you generalize about “nerds” (or any other group), nothing you say will be 100% correct across the board. Generalizations are still useful when viewed in terms of trends and distribution curves. It’s fair to say that men are taller than women even though there are short men and tall women. It would be more precise to say that the height distribution for men skews taller than for women, but I think most people intuitively understand the truth behind the simple, plain English generalization anyway, even if they don’t think of it in precise terms.
But would you choose, say, a computer acse without caring about the way it looks or makes you feel?
The way it looks: yes, absolutely. My current box is metallic black with a window. If I could’ve bought a functionally equivalent one with no window at the same price, I would have. If I could’ve bought a functionally equivalent one in hot pink for cheaper, I probably would have. (There is a functional aspect to appearance as well, since it’s in my field of vision and bright colors could be distracting, so I’d have to think about the pink. “Black” and “no window” are on my wanted-features list for this reason, but other factors can override those wants.)
The way it makes me feel: well, cramped space, bad cable management options, and poor airflow will make me feel bad, so…arguably? But I’d consider that a matter of functionality more than feeling.
I feel like at this point we should talk about the oft-neglected difference between marketing and advertising. There is an aspect of marketing that directs product development down a path toward what they understand people actually want. When done well, this is good. It should be the marketing department’s job to learn what problems people have with products in the field, and make sure those problems are addressed in future products. Advertising is a subset of marketing that tries to directly influence consumer behavior to buy whatever they’re trying to sell.
For example, there was probably a marketer involved in the location and design of my favorite coffee shop, and if they did their job well then they deserve credit for helping make the kind of place I enjoy sitting in. Cheers to them for that.
But I’m no more likely to go into Dunkin or Starbucks just because they are advertised incessantly. You might find that hard to believe, and I wouldn’t blame you! I can’t prove it to you. And I understand that among the general population, repeated exposure affects perception, and by extension behavior, in subtle and deeply-rooted ways. I don’t imagine that I am immune to the effects that, for example, cause preschool children to prefer the same food from McDonalds bags vs unbranded bags (see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17679662/). But we are more than our base nature, and these effects can be negated in practice. I suspect tech nerds in general have internalized stronger countermeasures than the general population. Not full immunity, because reality is too messy, but a notable resistance.
First off, thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply.
Which raises another point: there are no monolithic demographics of any significant size. Anytime you generalize about “nerds” (or any other group), nothing you say will be 100% correct across the board. Generalizations are still useful when viewed in terms of trends and distribution curves. It’s fair to say that men are taller than women even though there are short men and tall women. It would be more precise to say that the height distribution for men skews taller than for women, but I think most people intuitively understand the truth behind the simple, plain English generalization anyway, even if they don’t think of it in precise terms.
Of course, and marketing itself works with generalizations about demographics and targetting etc. As in anything there are extreme outliers, but there’s definitely a bell curve, and I doubt most people are as near the poles as they think.
The way it looks: yes, absolutely. My current box is metallic black with a window. If I could’ve bought a functionally equivalent one with no window at the same price, I would have. If I could’ve bought a functionally equivalent one in hot pink for cheaper, I probably would have. (There is a functional aspect to appearance as well, since it’s in my field of vision and bright colors could be distracting, so I’d have to think about the pink. “Black” and “no window” are on my wanted-features list for this reason, but other factors can override those wants.)
Sounds lke you’re primarily a value shopper in this case, which is fair, but for every one of you there’s a r/battlestations poster who spent more for something aesthetic - and unlike others here I won’t start “no true nerd-ing” those people away out of convenience. I to a certain degree am one of them, and I’m definitely a nerd (as is everyone on Lemmy). I’m sure there are different things you choose to splurge on.
I feel like at this point we should talk about the oft-neglected difference between marketing and advertising. There is an aspect of marketing that directs product development down a path toward what they understand people actually want. When done well, this is good. It should be the marketing department’s job to learn what problems people have with products in the field, and make sure those problems are addressed in future products. Advertising is a subset of marketing that tries to directly influence consumer behavior to buy whatever they’re trying to sell.
In the industry we’d rarely refer to those people as marketers (more like “market research”, basically statisticians and much less cool) but you’re right that it’s on the same continuum. Focus groups fall in there too. I wouldn’t really count it in this argument though because for most of us it’s a fait accompli when we’re faced with whatever is on the store shelf. It isn’t something we can be “immune” to in any meaningful way, short of becoming a self-sufficient hermit.
But I’m no more likely to go into Dunkin or Starbucks just because they are advertised incessantly. You might find that hard to believe, and I wouldn’t blame you! I can’t prove it to you. And I understand that among the general population, repeated exposure affects perception, and by extension behavior, in subtle and deeply-rooted ways. I don’t imagine that I am immune to the effects that, for example, cause preschool children to prefer the same food from McDonalds bags vs unbranded bags (see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17679662/). But we are more than our base nature, and these effects can be negated in practice. I suspect tech nerds in general have internalized stronger countermeasures than the general population. Not full immunity, because reality is too messy, but a notable resistance.
But do you have a favourite coffee place, or restaurant? How about a favourite hotel chain? We often don’t realize all the subconscious triggers we’re subjected to.
As I think more about this, I have a new theory:
- Advertising is mostly aimed at the “average” for maximum coverage.
- Neurodivergent people are not average.
- Neurodiversity in tech is higher than in the general population.
- Therefore, lots of tech people are accustomed to advertising that is at best aimed elsewhere and at worst hostile toward them.
So perhaps the real story is simply “lots of tech marketers don’t understand their audience”. Which I think is true. When companies put their spec sheets and feature lists front and center, I’m definitely more likely to pay attention than if I have to dig through screen after screen of meaningless fluff to get any relevant details. So that’s something marketers could (but generally don’t) do to influence me.
And I’m comfortable with that. Yes, please make better shit, out of greed if nothing else. Stand out by not being an infuriating weasel, respect my time and intelligence, and I will reward you with my time and perhaps money.
But do you have a favourite coffee place, or restaurant? How about a favourite hotel chain?
I’d say I have three favorite coffee shops. One place in particular has the tastiest coffee to drink black, another has better flavored drinks and a generally cooler vibe (local art on display, community bulletin board, that kind of thing), and a third is a better environment to sit and work on my laptop. I consider those my three favorites. None of them are big chains, and none of them advertise, as far as I know.
For restaurants, I have a bunch of favorites for different foods. I have a favorite Indian place, favorite pizza place, favorite sandwich shop, etc. Again, nothing I consider a “favorite” is a chain. I guess if I had to pick a favorite chain, it would be…Chipotle? But I don’t feel like marketing draws me there beyond the fact that if they didn’t have successful marketing, they wouldn’t be anywhere I go in the first place. And still, if I see a small independent burrito place in walking distance, I’m probably going there first. Chipotle isn’t so much a “favorite” as it is a serviceable oasis when I’m in a food desert.
For hotel chains…nope, not even a little. I couldn’t tell you a single real difference between Marriot and Hilton. If their marketing departments have tried to instill in me any kind of emotional connection with their brands, they have utterly failed.
It’s kind of the same with airlines. They’re all the same in almost every meaningful way. Every time I fly, I consult my shitlist and try to avoid what’s on it, but at this point pretty much every airline has earned a spot on my shitlist. The only emotions I feel toward any airlines are bitterness, frustration, and anger.
I guess this is why hotels and airlines push their reward points so hard; they know they’re all the same and cannot possibly earn “loyalty” otherwise. If I were a different kind of nerd, perhaps I’d spend the time to optimize corporate reward points, but at a glance it seems like a sucker’s game to me so I mostly ignore it.
Someone makes a good product and then sells it in a store. Even if they do nothing else and buy no ads, a marketing wank somewhere would apparently want to take credit for the maker’s work.
This… strikes me more as self-aggrandizing than informative.
Yes, many technical folks are put off by certain marketing tricks. Good marketers just use different techniques when targeting people in this market, when they bother to at all.
We’re not immune to manipulation; and thinking that we are makes us more susceptible to it.
Agreed, it’s tooting his own cohort’s horn without acknowledging he is, inf act, susceptible to marketing. The actual topic at hand is marketing for software tools to software devs. Of course hand-waving marketing doesn’t work, it’s a technical field with technical products. The marketing he’s blasting is emotion-based marketing. Guess what, there’s plenty of other emotional decisions that will be affected by marketing in his life. Vacation destinations, artistic exhibitions, restaraunts, games, whatever. This article screams like it’s from someone who loudly proclaims marketing is dumb because they weren’t swayed to by women’s deodorant because of a YouTube ad.
You are not immune to marketing.
But you need to remember that those targeted practices are very few in comparison to the volume of neuro-regular/non-technical folks.
So we arent peone to the same bullshit in regards to volume.Maybe - but the marketing that won’t affect you isn’t what you need to worry about. It’s the parts that do still work on you need to be careful of - and if you assume nothing will ever work on you, you won’t even notice when something does take. Whether that’s buying a trinket that doesn’t actually make you happy, or joining a group that turns out to be a cult.
Always better to assume you can be manipulated, and check in with yourself periodically.
Programmer YouTubers is a good example.
We just get sold on opensource js framework with a sprinkle of SaaS (no rug pull I swear) to keep the investors happy.
Nerds are some of the biggest consumers of stupid pointless bullshit on the planet.
Only if it glows blue.
Yes, but only if it is not marketed to us.
A lot of shit is marketed through forums like this; you just don’t notice it.
I block people if they needlesly use a brand name isntead of saying the group name. Do I probably have some false positives? Probably.
Have you tried UBlock® Origin™ Lite?
Nope, I only use uBlock Origin. Leave that chromium crap on that dumpster heap where it belongs.
Free software doesn’t count :p
In the 00s more than now, I think.
There was that time when combined nerd excitement energy led to Google and Facebook taking over the world.
we are not immune, we are just able to install a fuckin adblocker. noone is immune to propaganda.
Yeah, I think that line is getting used as a thought terminating cliche. While the statement is certainly true, not being immune is completely ignoring the idea that people can vary in how susceptible they are.
Yeah, I’ve caught myself almost falling for marketing BS a few times, before I dug a little deeper to find the actual information I need. I try to make informed decisions, and when companies present ads as information, it can be easy to be misled.
To be fair, the article body doesn’t actually say that anyone is immune. In fact, it lists out how to properly market to this segment.
If we have to talk to someone to find out the price, the product may as well not exist.
I have never felt so seen!
Clearly the author have never seen the audiophile community. $100 cable, anyone?
Ooooh! Gold plated cables! That’ll reduce the resistance by several milliohms!
once weere told that increases the quality of digitally encoded audio signals!!
AUDIO GOES BRRRRRRR
I have a cable that’ll fix that for ya…
Are nerds all audiophiles tho? 320kbps is usually fine. $300 speakers are usually fine. Nerds do the research, audiophiles are seeking unobtanium.
No, but I’d say that all audiophiles are nerds
What about gamers? What do you think all those cool designs are for?
Those are for people who want to look like gamers.
I love playing games, but I don’t buy any of that crap. I buy quality hardware, never overspend on the top-of-the-line for a few pct gain, and only upgrade when I’m not getting a great experience. I don’t buy RGB nonsense, avoid “gamer” branding, etc, and end up spending a fraction of what “enthusiasts” spend while having a very similar actual gaming experience.
It seems there are two groups at the extremes of any given niche: “enthusiasts” and value seekers. The first group sucks up all that high end and branded stuff (for gaming, that’s top tier CPUs and GPUs, RGB crap, “gaming” chairs, etc) and largely keep the hobby lucrative and post pictures of their setup and whatnot. The latter group want the most bang for their buck and end up getting something about 90% as good as the enthusiasts while spending about 10-20%, and tend to be very active in text forms in forums and whatnot, so they’ll be providing reviews and whatnot. I’ve always been in the second group of whatever thing I’m interested in, so most of the marketing is just noise and I want reviews from others in the community instead of marketing and branding.
I don’t have the money and much equipment for it, but I’m a little bit of one. Ever since I got a pretty damn good quality pair of bluetooth headphones last Christmas, I have absolutely wanted nothing more than to use them on everything because sound quality is divine.
I crave high quality sound because I listen to music and videos way too much for my own good.
Yeah, I’m not an audiophile, but I do care about my audio. I by things that give a really good bang for my money, I don’t chase the top end of the top end. My headphones cost something like $100, my desktop speakers were about that much as well, and they’re both incredible. I’m not going to chase that last 5% or whatever that’s going to drain my wallet, I just want something solid that’s not going to break in 6 months.
I did blow $300 on headphones mostly because I was extremely underwhelmed with bass on cheaper ones. That’s where I’m at - research the best thing for my use case in my budget, and sometimes my budget increases based on my research.
They said nerds not “Placebo Obsessesed Rich Nerds”
That… spells PORN.
$100? On the very low end of audiophile cables. No joke, I have seen cables with the prices climbing towards five figures. There’s a set right now on US audio mart going for over $6000USD. For a set of RCA cables.
Sometimes I think I’m in the wrong business.
And here I was hoping this was some psychological study and not a dude ranting for paragraphs how he’s the most specialest one.
Yeah, a study with actual data would beat an opinion piece for sure.
At this point I’d take an opinion piece over whatever this is.
You are not immune to propaganda
Nearly everyone thinks that they are immune, but we’re not, we just recognize some that probably wasn’t targeted at us. As far as I am concerned, the only way to not be influenced by propaganda would be to completely avoid it and be some sort of hermit.
Exactly. Blocking out ads wherever possible is the only way to not be influenced by advertising. At least it helps to know that one isn’t immune to it. That helps to counteract the effects somewhat, but don’t count on it if you aren’t actively keeping your defenses up.
I bet there are hermit influencers who post videos where they hold the latest chamberpot up to the camera and extol its virtues. Then they post a shelfie that shows their latest book haul about transcendental meditation and bushcrafting.
Exactly…
The reason i run ad blocking at every level isnt to show that i’m too smart for marketing…
It’s because ads work on me… my brain rejects certain ads for sure, and it says “psssshhh, how can people be dumb enough to buy that shit???”… but that doesnt mean i’m too smart for advertising and that it doesnt affect my brain in subtle other ways.
Which is why developers don’t want to talk to a salesperson and would rather just try the tool.
Yes, that is the generalization that the article pushed. It’s not true, because developers are not homogeneous. The point of my statement is “if you are a developer, ignore this because it is not true. You don’t have some sort of power that makes you immune to marketing. You’re just as susceptible as the rest of us, just in a different way. Ya know, like everyone else is”
Which is my point. Devs know they’re susceptible and want to avoid the propaganda.
It’s the same reason most of them block ads.
Yeah, the thing about propaganda is that it works, and if it doesn’t work, then the propagandists will come up with something else that does work. The thing is that they’re constantly thinking about how to exploit you, while you’re thinking about other stuff.
So for example, I hate feeling like I receive a hard sell. So, if I am at a store and somebody tries to sell me something, I will not buy it, and in fact, I’ll probably assume the product is so shoddy that it can’t be sold without pressure. Same goes for popup ads online.
But if a marketer knows this about me, then they can definitely manipulate me. They just have to do it in a way that I don’t realize is marketing. And there are all sorts of campaigns like that.
True, and having the hubris to think otherwise makes you even less immune.
Maybe some are. You may have fallen for some propaganda here.
No, they aren’t. Any one who thinks they are is more susceptible.
Humans are social creatures, propaganda is a social contagion.
The only people who could be would be those with no ties to anyone. Kind of a nonstarter for the whole “cooperative survival strategy” that humans got going on.
But the article’s not talking about social humans. It’s talking about developers, probably the most antisocial humans to exist.
That’s propaganda.
I see what you’re saying, but I’m done talking about this. Your logic is circular at its base, so there’s nothing to talk about.
Yeah, I was just trying to prove a point that anything that’s a blanket statement saying everyone or no-one does something is invalid, unless it’s a physical constraint. (Even those break inside neutron stars and black holes.)
I agree with you that almost everyone is susceptible to propaganda, but to say that no one is immune is simply wrong. Anyway, sorry for being annoying and pedantic, but it was kind of on purpose.
As a former developer with probably 40 games under my belt, I’m gonna say this is a highly specious article designed to stroke egos. Yes there are very valid points being made that I can personally identify with, but they come from a one-dimensional perspective that also manages to leave out data, and conspicuously lacks basic understanding of the efficacy of ‘general’ sales/marketing, instead filling in with presumptions of comparative efficacy.
Have you ever heard of HeroEngine? It’s no longer around but the developer that was contracted to make it is working on Apex Engine at https://www.apexengine.com/
A long time I haven’t heard that name. It was over hyped at the time IIRC.
If you’re not a studio (Hero engine wasn’t free or cheap), go with Godot.
I was a world owner. I got the lifetime 99 seats when it was $300. I never did anything with it, though. The owner, Idea Fabrik, had a lot of drama. The actual developer, TGS Tech, went their own way when IF collapsed. HeroEngine did have issues such as texture resolution. Apex Engine takes the experience and lessons from HeroEngine and adds more modern technology. Some AI will be present but limited. It’s under very heavy development.
I wouldn’t use it as a daily driver (and certainly not for a first or second game) but it certainly has lots of potential. Feel free to read the website and visit the Discord server.
Nah I’m good :-) but good luck!
Thanks. I do have Godot and Unity already installed. I need to bite the bullet and start using resources instead of just acquiring them.
Don’t we all 😁. Looks at my 5 PCs…
Why do people keep using the word marketing to just mean ads and promotion? Marketing is more than just that, even a software developer is engaging in marketing when they for example beta test their software on their target audience.
Yeah, I think the more accurate title would be “mass marketing” or something. There are certainly marketing campaigns that work, but they are more catered to the audience.
Valve markets to nerds all the time, but they have enough good will with their target audience so it’s more assumed to be “good faith” marketing, like they don’t misrepresent what they are trying to sell.
Look at the Steam Deck. They made announcements and over then worked with creators in the PC gaming space to do interviews and reviews and it felt much more organic. Rather than reading some dry ad or annoying banners and interruptions. It was a marketing campaign of sorts that engaged with the audience and made them want to seek it out.
Where I don’t know many people who are receptive to buzzword salads that are mass blasted over everything and just interrupt everything.
The Steam Deck is a perfect example of why the title of this post is nonsense. Ha, I added this post early in the morning yesterday and have been facepalming over the dumb title I wrote ever since.
yes it does
puhlezze, now if you excuse me I have to attend to the funko landfill.
the rampant consumerism in nerd spaces seems to disprove the Lemmy title in the large, even if this specific example indicates the opposite wrt marketing by software firms aimed at developers.
The irony is that this very post is literally every pillar of marketing in one place.
Identify a specific demographic that may be under-served or for whom you have an attractive product, deliver said product to that demographic.
Here we are in a Technology community gobbling down the product (site/article) and talking all about it. Many will “share” it to various friends. Some will bookmark it, for others viewing the logo impression builds the overall consumer trust score of the brand.
We’re all too smart for it though because I said so.
As OP, I have to admit this post unintentionally leverages Cunningham’s Law as its main marketing tactic, as do many other popular posts on Lemmy. Post something that might sound correct on the surface, but is demonstrably false, and you will get hundreds of nerds clicking on it saying, “that’s bullshit; let me set this fucker straight!” 🤣
see, this just makes you come off like a jagoff.
Well, reading the replies to this post, it became clear to me that the title is provocative, but isn’t accurate. Sure, nerds don’t like ads and generally are annoyed by inflated and unsubstantiated claims, but it’s inaccurate to say that marketing doesn’t work on nerds. Many people who read the title obviously recognized this and came here to set the record straight, hence my reference to Cunnungham’s Law. I’m sure others who originally agreed with the title came around to a different understanding like I did after reading the comments and reflecting. “Hey, maybe I’m not immune to marketing after all.”
Overall, I feel like I’ve been called out on my bullshit in this post and am wiser as a result. Hope others had the same learning experience. Maybe I’m a jagoff as well for being so openly reflective about it.
That’s why just about every technology forum ends up being a consumer board.
