Change for change sake
A few months ago I switched from using Google as my default search
engine to Bing. I’ve been surprised by the results, and have stuck with
it ever since. While I value privacy and advocate for people to have
more control over what data is collected from them and in turn used on
them, this wasn’t the reason for the switch.
I also fairly recently switched my main email account from Gmail to HEY. Again, privacy was not really a factor
here. Gmail worked really well for me and, to be honest, email gave me
zero issues or anxiety before switching so Hey, for me, is not really
filling any niche I needed filling. So why change it up? Well, I’ve come
to realise that I just like change for change sake. I find
myself changing from service to service, not for any real perceived
value, but just to try something new. Even if that new thing is inferior
to the thing I was already using.
Take Hey as an example, seeing as I already brought it up. Have you ever
known a set of users of a service to post so many blog posts about
why they’re using something or ‘My First Month With Hey’ type
posts? These seem to be from like minded people who are using something
because it’s new, or different, despite the fact that there really are
better options out there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it works
amazingly for some people, but I’d be shocked if quite so many people
really had the issues with email that Silicon Valley folks think keep us
up all night.
Bing is another example. While it works fine, let’s be honest and say
Google is just straight up better. But am I using the better option? No
I’m using the option that has a different logo and colour scheme just
because … it has a different logo and colour scheme.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with this approach and,
in fact, it helps to create the very app and services industry that I
enjoy playing around in. I just think it’s interesting that I seem to
have this addiction for trying new stuff despite the fact what
I was using before was good, and in many cases actually superior. I
got it right first time yet still carried on looking and trying
more things. That’s like buying a Ferrari yet still eyeing up the new
Skoda in case the entertainment system in it is slightly more
interesting. I can guarantee I’m not alone in this pursuit. The amount
of posts about why others are using Hey, or DuckDuckGo or Roam or
Obsidian or Drafts is testimony to how many people know they’re just
using something else because it’s the new shiny.
While I do appreciate the reasoning, I am going to try and make a concerted effort, in some areas at least, to reduce the amount of change for change sake and shoehorning of new apps and services into a workflow or process that was already perfectly fine. Maybe then I will stop leaving a breadcrumb trail of notes, emails, todo items and dead URLs from long lost blogging services. Perhaps …