Kirk’s Response 5

I think this article was well written, albeit mildly infuriating at times. Somers comes off as a typical entitled brogrammer during certain parts of the article, but he does a decent job at mitigating this by downplaying his “genius” as a programmer to being simply adept at using the tools given to him. I think that developers and programmers are vital to an enjoyable and functional online experience, but they’re not researching cancer cures. Although the current state of affairs may not be a “bubble” per-se, it does seem to be inflated and devoid of value in many regards. Brainstorming ideas for apps that replace what mom used to do for you doesn’t make you brilliant. How many different food delivery apps does a given city really need? Many of these startups are simply collections of kids with mid-level programming experience who are looking for easy VC money. Living at the epicenter of this whole fracas gives me a unique perspective on the issue as many of my friends work as software engineers, programmers and developers. I think a bit of humility goes a long way. I think you’re all doing a great job of updating Tumblr’s interface, but I don’t think you’re a genius.