{"id":177,"date":"2017-04-24T16:12:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T20:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/?p=177"},"modified":"2017-04-24T18:26:41","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T22:26:41","slug":"a-short-rant-on-overpromising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lennycheng.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/24\/a-short-rant-on-overpromising\/","title":{"rendered":"A Short Rant on Overpromising"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every day we are bombarded with hundred of ads promising to solve our deepest worries, some sincere and some ludicrous. Have wrinkles? Don\u2019t worry, we can solve that! Need a loan? Sure thing, we\u2019ve got you covered! Need a new spouse? Oh boy do we have a solution for you! All you need to do is sign up for a monthly payment of $99.99 and your problems will immediately disappear, guaranteed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many ads don\u2019t just promise to solve your problems; they also promise to solve them immediately, right here right here. They sound good and make us want to buy the advertised products but there\u2019s one big problem: they overpromise and under-deliver. We\u2019ve all heard jingles along the lines of \u201cBuy now and never again worry about your body weight\u201d and \u201cYou want it, and you want it now\u201d and so we buy but quickly discover that the products fail to deliver the promised results.<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

if there\u2019s a large discrepancy between what the product could actually do and what was promised it, then to \u201coverpromise\u201d is to \u201cdeceive\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Overpromising is a marketing technique used to attract more viewers and engage more people to purchase the advertised product. Overpromises manipulate customers\u2019 trust by telling them how great the product is despite knowing it\u2019s not nearly as good as claimed. Some people say that \u201coverpromising\u201d is the same as \u201cexaggerating\u201d and so it shouldn\u2019t be so bad, but I think that if there\u2019s a large discrepancy between what the product could actually do and what was promised it, then to \u201coverpromise\u201d is to \u201cdeceive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Here are some common sources of overpromises:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Clickbait titles<\/strong>, such as \u201cThis one man can save the world\u201d and \u201cThis girl did something nobody has ever done before\u201d. These titles are certainly catchy but more often than not, the quality of their articles don\u2019t live up the expectations set by their titles<\/li>\n
  • Pompous self-help articles<\/strong>. I support self-development and the pursuit to grow. However, I don\u2019t enjoy reading articles that start with titles like \u201cDo This Hack and You Will Become a Millionaire\u201d or \u201cThis Single Trick will Make You Successful\u201d because the advice, although occasionally reasonable, is usually one-sided, too exaggerated, or simply impractical. I would rather read from Steven Covey, Jack Canfield, or Jim Rohn \u2013 people who actually know what they\u2019re talking about \u2013 than a snobby article about success<\/li>\n
  • Resumes<\/strong>. I support putting our best foot forwards and polishing the way we phrase our accomplishments; however, it\u2019s extremely annoying to read an overly-exaggerated resume. Please don\u2019t write \u201cProficient in C++\u201d if one has never heard of templates before, or \u201cExcellent with Linux\u201d if the only Linux experience come from a 30-minute school lab, and above all, for the love of Mother Earth, please don\u2019t self-proclaim to be a \u201cGuru at Technology X\u201d unless others truly believe you are one. Do put your best foot forwards when writing a resume, but please make sure that it\u2019s still your foot<\/li>\n
  • Grossly hyped exaggeration<\/strong>. \u201cOur product is ground-breaking and innovative. It is the future of customer billing\u201d\u2026..uhhh, I\u2019m not so sure about that, it looks like another advertising platform; \u201cOur AI uses bleeding edge technology so that it can build any software on its own\u201d\u2026\u2026uhhhh, I understand you work in marketing but can I speak to someone from engineering instead? (not trying to insult marketers!); \u201cThe end goal is to change the world by doing X, Y, Z!\u201d\u2026\u2026uhhhh, that sounds nice but didn\u2019t you tell me last week that your real end goal was to get investors, IPO, become rich, and then quit the company?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    I\u2019ll stop my rant now. What I\u2019m trying to say is: don\u2019t overpromise when you know you won\u2019t be delivering the promise. And if we do accidentally overpromise, at least put the effort to try to deliver through.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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