False Urgency (opens in new tab)

When I think of false urgency, I think of the infamous shoulder-tap-management style. Illustrated best here: http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-interrupt-...

Shoulder tapping someone to say "hey I just sent you an email about the thing" is the very definition of false urgency.

If you do that, stop.

They'll see the email eventually. It can wait an hour.

Interesting article, I agree with it generally. The constant stimulation culture of today really can mess us up - we have some sort of an addiction to entertainment/stimulation, whether it's checking email or twitter, reading short online articles, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this environment has lead to mental issues being more common, but I haven't ever researched it.

This is a far better 'culture' document then the Airbnb don't fuck up the culture memo.

It speaks to an important and specific norm for programmers. Plus, it doesn't read like the setup for a Greek tragedy, where hubris and self fulfilling prophecy loom large.

Urgency is demanding attention. Attention is achieved by raising interest in other humans. For products, this raising of interest is known as 'marketing'. There is a very fuzzy line between passive marketing and active marketing in products. If you turn on a notification in your app just so the user uses your app again, you've crossed the line and are contributing to a global 'arms race' of marketing behavior that is slowly eroding everyone's joy. Please stop what you are doing and just make your software great.