The Myth of Opinionated Software

One of my favorite apps is a to-do list called Things.

While it may look like a simple to-do list on the surface, the entire app is underpinned by a productivity philosophy called Getting Things Done (or GTD), which was created by a guy named David Allan.

Things is an example of “opinionated software” or a product that believes that guides you to use it in a certain way.

Aside from Things, a couple other examples include Roam Research and Superhuman.

• Roam is a note-taking app built on the concept of bi-directional linking. A little while back, I wrote about how it leaned into its cult status.
• Superhuman is an email app built around keyboard shortcuts geared to help users breeze through their inbox.

These apps bring their own opinions to the table. As a result, they can often charge a premium compared to generic competitors.

On the other hand, are apps that come to the table with a blank state -- allowing users to impose their own opinions.

In these cases, communities of power users often spring up with their own way of using the product.

Examples include Microsoft Excel, Notion, and Google Workspace. While these platforms usually don’t charge a premium themselves, often their superfans will charge for courses, templates, or consulting.

In the end, I’d argue that all software becomes opinionated (there are a million ways to use any program), the difference is whether that opinion comes from the company or its users.?