It’s all about FOMO - the Fear of Missing Out.
I usually determine if there are any feature sets that will actually make me want to change apps. More often than not, it’s about FOMO. Am I missing out on anything if I don’t get the new app that is the new darling in the Discourse forums/podcasts/blogs?
I do fall prey to app switching every once in a blue moon. I see a lot of posts/mentions from MPU, The Sweet Setup, and MacStories to give me possible FOMO. MindNode seems to be the mind map darling right now. I already have iThoughts. I did do a demo run with MindNode and found that most (if not all) of my needs were met by iThoughts which I already paid for. The FOMO went away after a month and I’m still with iThoughts.
I also saw FOMO with Things 3 and OmniFocus 3. I find it amusing and maddening when I just follow people on Twitter/YouTube/Facebook/Discourse forums as they hop from Things to OmniFocus back to Things back to OmniFocus to Todoist to 2Do and then to whatever new task manager comes out. Users think that a special UI or UX will change everything. It will to some degree but not as much as we are led to believe. Yeah, there are many things I’d like to see in OmniFocus 3.x but it does 80-90% of what I want to do. No task manager FOMO for me. If I see a workflow in Things 3, I’ll try to see if I can duplicate it or find a workflow that will get the end results I want.
I did an experiment like that with Things 3 vs. OmniFocus 3. TL;DR: I tried Things 3 and experimented with ways to replicate a Things 3 experience in OmniFocus 3.
When it comes to apps, if an app can do 80% of what I need, I’m OK with that. Will I miss a unique feature or UX from a competing app? Sure! But I might not use that feature after all. Or I’ll learn to adapt myself to a new mindset and new workflow.
Here’s an example. I wished OmniFocus had nagging reminders. It has multiple reminder notifications but I prefer nagging reminders to tell me to take out the trash bin every 30 minutes on Wednesday nights until I mark it complete. I use the Due app to take care of that for me.
Feature X might be a selling point for a competing app but I don’t know i it’s enough for me to switch. Do I miss Photoshop? Yep! But Affinity Photos does about 80% of what I need. I’ll figure out another way if I don’t have Photoshop. No more Photoshop FOMO for me.
Developer support is also a must have for me. I prefer OmniFocus as my task manager because I see a vibrant Discourse forum and Slack channel that gets a lot of involvement from end users. I also see the developers sometimes chiming in as well. The Agenda app developers are responsive on their Discourse forums as well. If I see activity on an app developer’s Twitter timeline or Facebook wall, I’m confident that they’re taking in customer input and prioritizing feature requests. Yes, not all my feature requests are high up the wishlist but I’m hopeful to see something get addressed.
Read this post about Launchbar vs. Alfred as an example:
Does a new app have a place in my life? Do I already have an app that takes care of 80% of what I need? I’ve thought about that recently when I was comparing:
- Things vs OmniFocus
- MindNode vs iThoughts
- BusyCal vs Fantastical
- Affinity Photos vs Pixelmator
- iA Writer vs Ulysses
- Launchbar vs Alfred
I’ve tried demos and usually stayed with the app I already purchased previously. The new app that was introduced didn’t have anything big enough for me to change. I think I might change if an app went subscription only. But sometimes an app that does go subscription is important enough for me to accept the new business model.
I don’t worry about missing Feature X, Y, or Z in a new update. Most of these competitors will leapfrog each other and become the new media darling. Everyone was buzzing about Things 3 when it came out in 2017. We couldn’t get enough press coverage about Things 3 and the wonderful new feature set. OmniFocus 3 came out in 2018 and they took the center spotlight for a while as well. They’ll leapfrog each other in terms of feature sets such as task sharing, a web version, email to task manager, Apple Watch version, iPad keyboard interactions, etc. I’m pretty sure Cultured Code and Omni Group will match each other in terms of feature set and introduce a new method. I don’t get FOMO because both companies are capable developers and will respond with something similar. It’s just a matter of patience waiting for the feature request to get fulfilled.
I do like SetApp and the idea of having access to all these awesome apps that I’m tempted to try. But I don’t have a place in my life for most of these apps. I’m not one to get an app and try to find a problem to solve. If I have a problem, I’ll find an app. But I won’t try out an app if I don’t have a problem for it. I might make a note of a new app that is announced in any one of the various Mac Tech podcasts/forums but I won’t play with it until I have a problem I want to solve.
I don’t have a SetApp subscription but it is nice to see developers being able to get a steady income stream from it. It’s just not for me (at least not yet).
FOMO is the worst thing I can have. FOMO appears in social media. What event am I missing if I don’t check my Twitter feed, Facebook wall, or Instagram stream? If it’s important enough, someone will tell me. If I miss it, oh well. I can catch up later or hop on the bandwagon when I’m ready.
FOMO appears in our app selection as well. Am I missing something if I don’t get the Apple Mac App Store App of The Year?
Many of the tech writers’ job is to try out apps and share their discoveries with us, the audience. I’m not getting paid to switch apps or to try new apps. I’m not going to change apps just because a podcaster talked about it for an entire episode. If I have a need for an app, a quick Google search will help me find an app for me. But it’s nice to be aware of new apps. But not enough for me to want to jump bandwagons.
I do enjoy listening to the podcasters talking about an app and helping me discover its feature set. But I won’t immediately download it until I need it. I used to have a lot of .dmg files in my Download folder and apps populating my Applications folder. I think i can get a lot of information now watching a YouTube video or listen to a podcast talking about the new features.
I’m not a podcaster and I’m not paid to try new apps. I’ll leave that to the tech writers and a quick Google search to sort that out for me.
I won’t discard what they have to say. But I am being thoughtful of the apps I use instead of just downloading it and leaving it in my Applications folder. Without podcasters/bloggers, I wouldn’t have discovered a place for Drafts in my life. It did take me a while to find its place but I’m glad I have it.
Be thoughtful about new apps. Does it have a place in your life? Do you already have an app that does 80% of what you need already?