Opinionated Software Is the Best Software
More and more often I notice how companies, over the years, get lost in the woods of added features. I blame it on the fact that VC-funded SaaS has become the new default. The main downside of this model is the need to demonstrate constant growth, so the software is never truly complete.
As a professional customer support person and a regular in various support forums and communities, I see how often people ask for one thing in particular. One of the most common questions is: how do you use this {insert any app name here}? They’re looking for guidance and ideas, hoping others will share how it should be done. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great way to get inspired and discover new approaches.
However, the constant bombardment of new features, the ever-expanding catalogue of AI models showing up in the most unexpected apps, and the myth of modern productivity all contribute to a creeping sense of FOMO. People begin to believe there’s a “correct” way to use software -- some ideal workflow they’re missing, some magic combination they haven’t yet discovered. And before they know it, they’re spending more time tinkering with their setup than actually doing the work they got the software for in the first place. Marketing hype, polished demo videos, and productivity influencers with meticulously optimized setups only add fuel to that fire.
But the truth is simpler: there’s no single right way to use a piece of software. If it helps you get things done, think more clearly, or feel more in control -- then it’s doing its job. If it works for you, you’re doing it right.
And if we ride that train of thought a bit farther, I’d add this: opinionated software is the best kind of software. It’s not software shaped by endless A/B tests or metrics-driven development. It’s not software that tries to please everyone. It’s not software that bloats over time just to justify another product update. And I don’t need to visit Reddit to figure out how to use it -- because the people who built it already baked their perspective into the product and invited me to try it their way.
That’s why I love it: it knows what it wants to be and shows me how to use it. And that's enough for me.
As a professional customer support person and a regular in various support forums and communities, I see how often people ask for one thing in particular. One of the most common questions is: how do you use this {insert any app name here}? They’re looking for guidance and ideas, hoping others will share how it should be done. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great way to get inspired and discover new approaches.
However, the constant bombardment of new features, the ever-expanding catalogue of AI models showing up in the most unexpected apps, and the myth of modern productivity all contribute to a creeping sense of FOMO. People begin to believe there’s a “correct” way to use software -- some ideal workflow they’re missing, some magic combination they haven’t yet discovered. And before they know it, they’re spending more time tinkering with their setup than actually doing the work they got the software for in the first place. Marketing hype, polished demo videos, and productivity influencers with meticulously optimized setups only add fuel to that fire.
But the truth is simpler: there’s no single right way to use a piece of software. If it helps you get things done, think more clearly, or feel more in control -- then it’s doing its job. If it works for you, you’re doing it right.
And if we ride that train of thought a bit farther, I’d add this: opinionated software is the best kind of software. It’s not software shaped by endless A/B tests or metrics-driven development. It’s not software that tries to please everyone. It’s not software that bloats over time just to justify another product update. And I don’t need to visit Reddit to figure out how to use it -- because the people who built it already baked their perspective into the product and invited me to try it their way.
That’s why I love it: it knows what it wants to be and shows me how to use it. And that's enough for me.