I find the term "users" that is common in the tech industry to not be a great term.

· Bits and Bobs 6/16/25
  • I find the term "users" that is common in the tech industry to not be a great term.
    • It feels like talking about people who are addicted to a drug.
    • "users" and "consumers" are not about humanity, it's about the slice of the human that is commercial activity.
    • So much of our activity is now implicitly or explicitly commercial, so it's dominated our humanity.
    • If you had to pick one term for humanity, these words are kind of gross.
      • Instrumental, not sacred.
      • Finite not infinite.
    • What if we stopped being consumers, primarily?
      • What if we were people?
      • Or humans?
    • What about members?
      • Emphasizes a collective ownership and destiny over the service they're taking part in.
      • An active choice to be a part of the experience.

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