Sobering. It makes me realize that one of the internet movements which I appreciate the most, and also take the most for granted, is just how much more good design is stressed. Now if I find something which is ugly or non-intuitive, I really do take a step back and think about why things were shown to public like that.
Sometimes people do point and say that most web 2.0 websites look similar and uninspired, but I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing.
I think the point is just as much that you don't need the best design in the world to be successful. Just get started, even if it's not the most attractive.
That's hard to speculate on. It might not have. But at the same time, I'd like to think that if a service is revolutionary/unique enough, it will gradually get some traction.
Now if I find something which is ugly or non-intuitive, I really do take a step back and think about why things were shown to public like that.
Indeed, the bar is raised. When confronted with multiple choices, I'll pick the nicely designed and engineered (that's a bit hard to assess from the beginning)
The bar now is getting too high that start-ups are becoming expensive again.
Sometimes people do point and say that most web 2.0 websites look similar and uninspired, but I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing.