this iphone app will get you fired for being an idiot
September 1, 2009
I came across a review on TechCrunch today that has me thinking the apocalyptic vision of a moronic society featured in the movie Idiocracy isn’t light years away from occurring if these kinds of products keeping cropping up (ouch my balls, anyone?).
The makers of Button, a new iPhone application that consists of pushing a big red button over and over to possibly win a prize, said that while performing research on their new game they came across some unintentional (and in my opinion, horrifying) results. Per TechCrunch:
The game is about as simple as they come. There is a big button on the screen, and when it lights up, you push it. So why would anyone want to play that game? No, the world isn’t going to end if you don’t, but you will potentially miss out on some free prizes. And pushing the button may just help you get through some mundane tasks throughout your day as well.
Button was created by Blank Software, which is a side project of MobileCrunch editor Greg Kumparak. He thinks of it as a passive game, that you pick up and play at various points throughout the day. But he notes that while they were testing it out, they began to notice feedback from testers mentioning that playing the game helped them with their normally mundane tasks at their jobs. The thought is that the effort required to open up and play Button on the iPhone was just enough brain stimulation to keep people engaged in whatever boring tasks they may be doing. Also, knowing a reward was possibly coming for pushing the button made it interesting to users.
Yes, you read that right. People are so bored at their jobs that they become invigorated by pushing a button 
over and over. Are these the same people that made iFart the number one iPhone application for several months straight? Let’s hope their jobs don’t involve saving lives or teaching our children.
