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golden42 · 5 months ago

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Lazy Loading Page Speed Optimization: Efficient Practices & Tips

Key Takeaways

Lazy loading can significantly improve page speed by loading only necessary content initially, reducing initial load times.

Implementing lazy loading can save bandwidth, which is crucial for users on limited data plans.

This technique enhances user experience by ensuring faster interactions and smoother scrolling.

SEO can benefit from lazy loading as search engines prefer faster websites, potentially improving rankings.

To effectively implement lazy loading, use browser-native features and ensure compatibility across different devices.

Enhancing Web Performance with Lazy Loading

In today's fast-paced digital world, web performance is more critical than ever. Slow websites can drive users away, impacting engagement and conversions. One powerful technique to boost performance is lazy loading. By understanding and implementing lazy loading, you can optimize your website's speed and efficiency, keeping your visitors engaged and satisfied.

Understanding the Need for Speed

Users expect websites to load quickly and efficiently.

Slow loading times can lead to higher bounce rates.

Improved speed enhances user satisfaction and retention.

Most importantly, speed is not just a luxury; it's a necessity. Users are increasingly impatient, and a delay of even a few seconds can cause them to abandon your site. Therefore, ensuring that your site loads swiftly is crucial for maintaining user interest and engagement.

Lazy loading offers a solution by optimizing the loading process. Instead of loading every element of a page at once, lazy loading prioritizes essential content and defers non-essential elements. This approach can make a dramatic difference in how quickly your site feels to users.

Lazy Loading: A Game Changer for Web Efficiency

Lazy loading is more than just a buzzword; it's a transformative technique for web optimization. By deferring the loading of non-essential elements, such as images and videos, until they are needed, lazy loading reduces the initial load time of a webpage.

Images and videos load only when they enter the viewport.

Reduces server requests, enhancing page speed.

Particularly beneficial for mobile users with limited bandwidth.

Besides that, lazy loading helps in conserving resources, which is particularly beneficial for mobile users who might be on limited data plans. By only loading what's necessary, users experience faster interactions and smoother scrolling, which can significantly improve their overall experience.

Eager Loading: When Immediate Isn't Ideal

Eager loading, the opposite of lazy loading, involves loading all page elements at once. While this approach might seem straightforward, it can lead to longer initial load times, especially on content-heavy pages. Therefore, eager loading is not always the best choice, particularly when dealing with large images or videos.

Lazy loading, on the other hand, ensures that your website delivers essential content swiftly, making it an ideal choice for optimizing page speed and improving user experience.

Benefits of Lazy Loading

Lazy loading isn't just about speed; it's about creating a seamless and efficient user experience. Let's delve into the various benefits it offers.

Faster Initial Load Times

By loading only the necessary elements initially, lazy loading significantly reduces the time it takes for a page to become interactive. Users can start engaging with the content almost immediately, without waiting for all elements to load.

This immediate engagement is crucial in retaining user interest. For instance, if your homepage loads quickly, users are more likely to explore further, increasing the chances of conversion.

Additionally, faster load times can have a positive impact on your website's bounce rate. Users are less likely to leave if they don't have to wait for content to load, which can improve your site's overall performance metrics.

Loading Images Efficiently

Images often account for the majority of a webpage's load time. By implementing lazy loading for images, you can significantly improve your page speed. This involves loading images only when they are about to enter the viewport. As a result, users won't have to wait for all images to load before they can interact with your content.

To do this effectively, you can use the loading="lazy" attribute in your image tags. This attribute tells the browser to defer loading the image until it is close to being visible. Additionally, consider using responsive image techniques to serve different image sizes based on the user's device, further optimizing load times.

Handling Videos and Media Content

Videos and other media content can be resource-intensive, causing significant delays in load times if not managed properly. Lazy loading can also be applied to these elements. By embedding videos with lazy loading techniques, you ensure they only load when a user scrolls to them.

For example, instead of directly embedding a video, use a thumbnail image with a play button overlay. When the user clicks the play button, the video loads and plays. This not only saves bandwidth but also improves the initial loading speed of the page.

JavaScript and CSS Deferred Loading

JavaScript and CSS files are essential for modern web applications, but they can also be a bottleneck if not handled correctly. Lazy loading these resources involves deferring their loading until they are needed. This can be achieved using the defer and async attributes for JavaScript files.

The defer attribute ensures that the script is executed after the HTML document has been parsed, while the async attribute allows the script to be executed as soon as it's available. For CSS, consider using media queries to load stylesheets conditionally based on the user's device or viewport size.

Tips for Optimizing Lazy Loading

Implementing lazy loading is just the beginning. To truly optimize your website's performance, follow these additional tips and best practices.

Use Browser Native Features

Modern browsers offer native support for lazy loading, making it easier than ever to implement this technique. By using native features, you can ensure compatibility and reduce the need for third-party libraries, which can add unnecessary overhead.

To take advantage of these features, simply add the loading="lazy" attribute to your image and iframe tags. This simple addition can have a significant impact on your page speed, especially for image-heavy sites.

Besides, using native features ensures that your site remains future-proof, as browsers continue to enhance their support for lazy loading and other performance optimizations.

Minimize Default Image Size

Before applying lazy loading, it's crucial to optimize your images for size. Large images can still slow down load times, even with lazy loading. Use image compression tools to reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.

Optimize Animations

Animations can enhance user experience, but they can also impact performance if not optimized. Use CSS animations instead of JavaScript whenever possible, as they are more efficient and can be hardware-accelerated by the browser.

Ensure that animations are smooth and don't cause layout shifts, which can negatively affect user experience. Test your animations on different devices to ensure they perform well across the board.

Remember, the goal is to create a seamless experience for your users. By optimizing animations, you can enhance the visual appeal of your site without compromising performance.

Test Across Multiple Devices

It's essential to test your website on a variety of devices and screen sizes. What works well on a desktop might not perform the same on a mobile device. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your site's performance and identify areas for improvement.

Regular testing ensures that your lazy loading implementation works as intended across different platforms, providing a consistent experience for all users.

Overcoming Common Lazy Loading Challenges

While lazy loading offers numerous benefits, it's not without its challenges. Addressing these issues ensures that your implementation is successful and doesn't negatively impact your site.

Dealing with SEO Concerns

Lazy loading can sometimes interfere with search engine indexing if not implemented correctly. To ensure your content is indexed, use server-side rendering or provide fallbacks for search engines that may not execute JavaScript. For more insights, check out how lazy loading decreases load time and increases engagement.

Ensure all critical content is available without JavaScript.

Use structured data to help search engines understand your content.

Regularly monitor your site's indexing status in Google Search Console.

These strategies help maintain your site's visibility in search engine results, ensuring that lazy loading doesn't negatively impact your SEO efforts.

Addressing Browser Compatibility Issues

While most modern browsers support lazy loading, some older versions may not. To ensure compatibility, consider using a polyfill or fallback solutions for browsers that don't support lazy loading natively.

By addressing these compatibility issues, you can provide a consistent experience for all users, regardless of their browser choice. Regularly updating your site and testing on different browsers can help you identify and resolve any issues that arise.

Troubleshooting Loading Delays

Even with lazy loading implemented, you might encounter loading delays. This often happens when elements are not optimized or when there are too many third-party scripts running on your site. To troubleshoot these issues, start by identifying the elements that are causing delays. Use tools like Google Chrome's Developer Tools to pinpoint these elements and analyze their loading times.

Once you've identified the culprits, consider compressing images, deferring non-essential scripts, and minimizing the use of third-party plugins. By doing so, you can significantly reduce loading times and improve the overall performance of your website.

The Future of Lazy Loading in Web Development

Lazy loading is set to become an integral part of web development as websites continue to grow in complexity and size. With the increasing demand for faster and more efficient websites, lazy loading offers a practical solution to enhance user experience without compromising on content richness.

"Lazy loading is not just a trend; it's a necessity for modern web development. As websites evolve, so do the techniques we use to optimize them."

As more developers recognize the benefits of lazy loading, we can expect to see advancements in browser support and new tools that make implementation even easier. This evolution will ensure that lazy loading remains a vital component of web optimization strategies.

Emerging Technologies that Support Lazy Loading

Several emerging technologies are poised to enhance lazy loading capabilities. For instance, progressive web apps (PWAs) and server-side rendering (SSR) can work alongside lazy loading to deliver content more efficiently. PWAs offer offline capabilities and faster load times, while SSR ensures that content is rendered on the server, reducing the load on the client's device.

Additionally, advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning could further optimize lazy loading by predicting user behavior and preloading content accordingly. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize how we approach web performance optimization.

The Growing Importance of Mobile Optimization

As mobile usage continues to rise, optimizing websites for mobile devices has become more critical than ever. Lazy loading plays a crucial role in this optimization by reducing data usage and improving load times on mobile networks.

By implementing lazy loading, you can ensure that your mobile users have a seamless experience, regardless of their network conditions. This is particularly important for users in regions with slower internet speeds, where every byte counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lazy loading is a powerful tool, but it can also raise questions for those unfamiliar with its implementation. Here are some common questions and answers to help you better understand lazy loading and its impact on your website.

These insights will help you make informed decisions about implementing lazy loading on your site and address any concerns you may have.

"Lazy loading can seem daunting at first, but with the right guidance, it becomes an invaluable asset for web optimization."

What is lazy loading and how does it work?

Lazy loading is a technique that defers the loading of non-essential elements, such as images and videos, until they are needed. This reduces the initial load time of a webpage, allowing users to interact with the content more quickly. By only loading elements when they enter the viewport, lazy loading conserves resources and improves performance.

How does lazy loading affect page speed and SEO?

Lazy loading can significantly enhance page speed by reducing the number of elements that need to be loaded initially. This not only improves user experience but also positively impacts SEO. Search engines favor faster websites, which can lead to improved rankings.

However, it's essential to ensure that lazy loading is implemented correctly to avoid any negative impact on SEO. This includes providing fallbacks for search engines that may not execute JavaScript and ensuring that all critical content is accessible without JavaScript. For more insights, check out this beginner's guide to lazy loading.

By addressing these considerations, you can harness the benefits of lazy loading without compromising your site's visibility in search engine results.

"Faster websites are favored by both users and search engines, making lazy loading a win-win for performance and SEO."

Therefore, lazy loading is an effective strategy for enhancing both user experience and search engine rankings.

What types of content should be lazy loaded?

Lazy loading is particularly beneficial for large images, videos, and other media content that can slow down a webpage. By deferring these elements, you can ensure that users only load what they need, when they need it.

Additionally, lazy loading can be applied to JavaScript and CSS files, further optimizing load times. By prioritizing essential content and deferring non-essential elements, you can create a more efficient and user-friendly website.

Are there any drawbacks to implementing lazy loading?

While lazy loading offers numerous benefits, it does have some potential drawbacks. If not implemented correctly, it can interfere with search engine indexing and result in missing or delayed content. To mitigate these risks, ensure that your lazy loading implementation is compatible with search engines and provides fallbacks for non-JavaScript environments. For more insights, check out Boost Your Website Speed With Lazy Loading.

How do I verify if lazy loading is working on my site?

To verify that lazy loading is working, use browser developer tools to inspect the network activity. Check if images and other media elements are loading only when they enter the viewport. Additionally, tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you analyze your site's performance and confirm that lazy loading is functioning as intended.

By regularly monitoring your site's performance and addressing any issues that arise, you can ensure that lazy loading continues to enhance your website's speed and user experience.

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sisgainuae · 5 months ago

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In 2025, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) software is transforming healthcare in the UAE, enabling healthcare providers to remotely track patients' health, improve outcomes, and reduce costs. RPM leverages wearables and mobile apps to monitor real-time health data, enhancing patient care without frequent in-person visits. For healthcare businesses in the UAE, selecting the right RPM software is key to operational efficiency and better patient outcomes. SISGAIN Provides the Best Remote Patient Monitoring Software, offering customizable, secure, and user-friendly software that supports advanced health monitoring and AI-powered alerts. Explore how RPM is shaping healthcare services in the UAE and improving accessibility for all.

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onlineappreviews · 6 months ago

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asestimationsconsultants · 3 months ago

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The Digital Shift | How Tech is Redefining Industrial Estimating Service

Introduction: The Role of Technology in Modern Industrial Estimating The industrial sector, once reliant on traditional methods of estimating project costs, has entered a new era where technology is reshaping how projects are planned, managed, and executed. In particular, industrial estimating services are benefiting from the integration of cutting-edge technology that enhances accuracy, efficiency, and overall project outcomes. As industries adopt advanced digital tools, the way cost estimates are generated and managed has evolved significantly, streamlining workflows, improving decision-making, and reducing the risks associated with manual errors and outdated practices.

The Shift from Manual Estimating to Digital Tools For many years, industrial estimating was a manual process that involved spreadsheets, paper-based plans, and extensive calculations. While these methods worked, they were time-consuming and prone to human error. Today, however, digital tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), 3D modeling, cloud-based estimating software, and artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming how industrial projects are estimated.

These technologies provide estimators with more powerful, accurate, and efficient means of calculating project costs. For instance, BIM allows for the creation of detailed, 3D models of a project, enabling estimators to visualize the design and identify potential issues before construction begins. This can lead to more accurate estimates and fewer surprises during the construction phase.

Building Information Modeling (BIM): Revolutionizing the Estimating Process BIM has revolutionized the way construction projects are designed and estimated. In industrial projects, BIM provides a detailed, virtual representation of the entire project, including every structural element, material, and system. This digital model allows estimators to see the project in its entirety and calculate accurate costs based on real-time data.

BIM helps estimators identify potential conflicts or inefficiencies in the design early on, reducing the likelihood of costly mistakes. For example, by modeling the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in 3D, estimators can spot clashes or design issues that may lead to delays or cost overruns. This proactive approach allows estimators to adjust the design or budget before construction begins, improving the overall accuracy of the estimate.

Moreover, BIM allows for seamless collaboration between different stakeholders, such as architects, engineers, and contractors. Estimators can share the digital model with the entire project team, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goal.

Cloud-Based Estimating Software: Collaboration and Accessibility Cloud-based estimating software has become a game-changer for industrial estimating services. Unlike traditional desktop-based software, cloud-based solutions allow estimators to access project data from anywhere, at any time. This enhances collaboration between team members, contractors, and clients, as everyone can work from the same platform and update the estimate in real time.

Cloud-based software also provides the flexibility to store and organize vast amounts of project data, including cost breakdowns, material lists, and labor schedules. This data is securely stored in the cloud, ensuring that project details are accessible and up-to-date, even as changes occur during the project's lifecycle.

Additionally, cloud-based software can integrate with other project management tools, such as scheduling and procurement software. This enables estimators to track changes in real-time and adjust the cost estimates accordingly. For example, if there is a delay in material delivery, the estimator can update the estimate immediately, helping to keep the project on track and prevent cost overruns.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Predictive Estimating Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly being used in industrial estimating services to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cost predictions. By analyzing vast amounts of historical data, AI and ML algorithms can identify patterns and trends that human estimators may overlook.

For example, AI can help predict material costs based on historical pricing data, accounting for factors like inflation and market fluctuations. This allows estimators to generate more accurate cost projections, even in volatile markets. AI can also help identify potential risks, such as supply chain disruptions, that may impact project timelines or costs.

Machine learning algorithms can continuously improve over time as they are exposed to more data, allowing estimators to refine their predictions and enhance their accuracy. The ability to leverage AI and ML in the estimating process helps reduce the likelihood of cost overruns and ensures that projects stay within budget.

Real-Time Data and Analytics: Making Informed Decisions In the past, estimators relied on static data, such as historical cost records and vendor quotes, to generate project estimates. However, with the rise of real-time data and analytics, industrial estimators now have access to more dynamic and up-to-date information that can impact their cost predictions.

For instance, cloud-based platforms and integrated project management systems allow estimators to access live pricing data, including current material costs, labor rates, and equipment rental fees. This real-time information helps estimators make more accurate predictions and adjust their estimates based on the latest market conditions.

Real-time data also allows estimators to track project progress more closely, monitoring any changes in scope or schedule that may affect costs. With up-to-date information at their fingertips, estimators can make informed decisions about how to adjust the budget or timeline, ensuring that the project stays on track and within budget.

Digital Integration with Supply Chain and Procurement Technology is also enhancing the way industrial estimating services interact with supply chain and procurement systems. With digital tools, estimators can easily integrate their cost estimates with procurement data, allowing them to track material availability, supplier lead times, and pricing fluctuations in real-time.

This integration helps prevent delays caused by supply chain disruptions and ensures that estimators can adjust their cost estimates as material prices fluctuate. For example, if a material becomes more expensive due to a global shortage, the estimator can immediately update the cost estimate and notify stakeholders of the potential impact on the project budget.

By streamlining the procurement process and connecting it directly to the estimating system, industrial estimators can avoid costly delays and keep the project moving forward.

The Future of Industrial Estimating: Virtual and Augmented Reality Looking ahead, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) are set to play an even more significant role in industrial estimating services. With VR and AR, estimators can create immersive, 3D simulations of the project, allowing them to visualize the construction process and identify potential issues before the project begins.

For example, by using AR glasses, estimators can overlay digital models onto the physical site, providing a real-time view of how the project will look once completed. This technology can help estimators identify issues related to space, design, or logistics that may not be apparent in traditional 2D drawings.

Incorporating VR and AR into the estimating process allows for better decision-making and a more accurate understanding of how the project will progress. As these technologies continue to evolve, industrial estimating services will become even more precise and efficient.

Conclusion: Embracing the Digital Shift for Better Industrial Estimating The digital shift is transforming the way industrial estimating services operate, bringing about improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and collaboration. From BIM and cloud-based software to AI and real-time data, technology is enabling industrial estimators to generate more precise cost estimates, reduce risks, and streamline the estimating process.

By embracing these digital tools, industrial estimating services can provide more reliable estimates that help projects stay within budget and on schedule. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for further improvements in estimating accuracy and efficiency is immense, and those who adopt these tools will be better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern industrial construction.

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paintedbutton · 6 months ago

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In the interest of making good on my plan regarding making an informed decision about writing software, I've spent quite a bit of time lately watching videos, reading blog posts, trawling reddit and tumblr and the like. And ... oh boy. My main takeaway is that I am clearly behind the times. This stuff is not being made for me.

My criteria were pretty simple (I thought):

NOT browser-based

NOT subscription-based

not prohibitively expensive (I am an adult with a decent paying job, I am okay with spending money. I am not going to be spending 200€ + on a writing software that I can't even trial beforehand, sorry)

optional if any AI features

ideally works on both Windows and Android

has some upgraded features for novel writing compared to bog-standard Word (and does not look like it was made in 1995 - looking at you YWriter)

Criteria 1 and 2 disqualify almost everything, I've found. Is it really that hard to fathom that one might not always have an internet connection? Or hell, that I want actual files on my computer that I can "touch" so to speak?

With all that said, the options I was left with were Obsidian or Scrivener. That's it.

While Obsidian seems like a pretty comprehensive program, which you CAN write novels in, it didn't really strike me as being what I was looking for. It's markdown based and thrives on connection between individual files. Probably pretty decent to build up a worldbuilding bible, if one wanted to do that.

I know Scrivener's pretty much the gold standard, so I'm not surprised it ended up here. The lack of mobile support is a bit of a problem for me since I don't own a laptop anymore, so writing on the go will always have to happen on my tablet. Guess I'll have to give it the good old try to figure out whether the pros outweigh the cons.

Mostly, this has made me sad for the state software development is in at least in this niche. I wasn't really looking for a holy grail, I thought. Guess I was wrong about that.

#writing software #personal #and with a deep deep sigh i look at microsoft word #which - yes - is technically also subscription based (we have a 365 subscription as a family so the cost factor is negated there)#it still does all i want it to do #and my only real complaint beside the push for ai #is that the mobile version does not support custom formatting styles #which is annoying #guess scrivener better have some spectacular features?

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glasierinc · 7 months ago

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How to Build an Online Marketplace? 8 Steps from an Idea to Launch

AI and ML development company eCommerce development company Hire Shopify developers Custom software development company

#app development cost #ios application development services #app development #website #ai in manufacturing #ai development solutions #saas software solutions #AI in agriculture #AI development solutions #AI/ML development service #Custom AI development solutions #online marketplace development #ecommerce development company

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technology-trends-by-mellisa · 8 months ago

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Generative AI: Use cases, Benefits and Models in 2025

AI development service

AI/ML development solutions

Hire AI developers

Hire Chatbot developers

Hire LLM developers

Hire neo4j develoeprs

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phantomrose96 · 1 year ago

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If anyone wants to know why every tech company in the world right now is clamoring for AI like drowned rats scrabbling to board a ship, I decided to make a post to explain what's happening.

(Disclaimer to start: I'm a software engineer who's been employed full time since 2018. I am not a historian nor an overconfident Youtube essayist, so this post is my working knowledge of what I see around me and the logical bridges between pieces.)

Okay anyway. The explanation starts further back than what's going on now. I'm gonna start with the year 2000. The Dot Com Bubble just spectacularly burst. The model of "we get the users first, we learn how to profit off them later" went out in a no-money-having bang (remember this, it will be relevant later). A lot of money was lost. A lot of people ended up out of a job. A lot of startup companies went under. Investors left with a sour taste in their mouth and, in general, investment in the internet stayed pretty cooled for that decade. This was, in my opinion, very good for the internet as it was an era not suffocating under the grip of mega-corporation oligarchs and was, instead, filled with Club Penguin and I Can Haz Cheezburger websites.

Then around the 2010-2012 years, a few things happened. Interest rates got low, and then lower. Facebook got huge. The iPhone took off. And suddenly there was a huge new potential market of internet users and phone-havers, and the cheap money was available to start backing new tech startup companies trying to hop on this opportunity. Companies like Uber, Netflix, and Amazon either started in this time, or hit their ramp-up in these years by shifting focus to the internet and apps.

Now, every start-up tech company dreaming of being the next big thing has one thing in common: they need to start off by getting themselves massively in debt. Because before you can turn a profit you need to first spend money on employees and spend money on equipment and spend money on data centers and spend money on advertising and spend money on scale and and and

But also, everyone wants to be on the ship for The Next Big Thing that takes off to the moon.

So there is a mutual interest between new tech companies, and venture capitalists who are willing to invest $$$ into said new tech companies. Because if the venture capitalists can identify a prize pig and get in early, that money could come back to them 100-fold or 1,000-fold. In fact it hardly matters if they invest in 10 or 20 total bust projects along the way to find that unicorn.

But also, becoming profitable takes time. And that might mean being in debt for a long long time before that rocket ship takes off to make everyone onboard a gazzilionaire.

But luckily, for tech startup bros and venture capitalists, being in debt in the 2010's was cheap, and it only got cheaper between 2010 and 2020. If people could secure loans for ~3% or 4% annual interest, well then a $100,000 loan only really costs $3,000 of interest a year to keep afloat. And if inflation is higher than that or at least similar, you're still beating the system.

So from 2010 through early 2022, times were good for tech companies. Startups could take off with massive growth, showing massive potential for something, and venture capitalists would throw infinite money at them in the hopes of pegging just one winner who will take off. And supporting the struggling investments or the long-haulers remained pretty cheap to keep funding.

You hear constantly about "Such and such app has 10-bazillion users gained over the last 10 years and has never once been profitable", yet the thing keeps chugging along because the investors backing it aren't stressed about the immediate future, and are still banking on that "eventually" when it learns how to really monetize its users and turn that profit.

The pandemic in 2020 took a magnifying-glass-in-the-sun effect to this, as EVERYTHING was forcibly turned online which pumped a ton of money and workers into tech investment. Simultaneously, money got really REALLY cheap, bottoming out with historic lows for interest rates.

Then the tide changed with the massive inflation that struck late 2021. Because this all-gas no-brakes state of things was also contributing to off-the-rails inflation (along with your standard-fare greedflation and price gouging, given the extremely convenient excuses of pandemic hardships and supply chain issues). The federal reserve whipped out interest rate hikes to try to curb this huge inflation, which is like a fire extinguisher dousing and suffocating your really-cool, actively-on-fire party where everyone else is burning but you're in the pool. And then they did this more, and then more. And the financial climate followed suit. And suddenly money was not cheap anymore, and new loans became expensive, because loans that used to compound at 2% a year are now compounding at 7 or 8% which, in the language of compounding, is a HUGE difference. A $100,000 loan at a 2% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, accrues to $121,899. A $100,000 loan at an 8% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, more than doubles to $215,892.

Now it is scary and risky to throw money at "could eventually be profitable" tech companies. Now investors are watching companies burn through their current funding and, when the companies come back asking for more, investors are tightening their coin purses instead. The bill is coming due. The free money is drying up and companies are under compounding pressure to produce a profit for their waiting investors who are now done waiting.

You get enshittification. You get quality going down and price going up. You get "now that you're a captive audience here, we're forcing ads or we're forcing subscriptions on you." Don't get me wrong, the plan was ALWAYS to monetize the users. It's just that it's come earlier than expected, with way more feet-to-the-fire than these companies were expecting. ESPECIALLY with Wall Street as the other factor in funding (public) companies, where Wall Street exhibits roughly the same temperament as a baby screaming crying upset that it's soiled its own diaper (maybe that's too mean a comparison to babies), and now companies are being put through the wringer for anything LESS than infinite growth that Wall Street demands of them.

Internal to the tech industry, you get MASSIVE wide-spread layoffs. You get an industry that used to be easy to land multiple job offers shriveling up and leaving recent graduates in a desperately awful situation where no company is hiring and the market is flooded with laid-off workers trying to get back on their feet.

Because those coin-purse-clutching investors DO love virtue-signaling efforts from companies that say "See! We're not being frivolous with your money! We only spend on the essentials." And this is true even for MASSIVE, PROFITABLE companies, because those companies' value is based on the Rich Person Feeling Graph (their stock) rather than the literal profit money. A company making a genuine gazillion dollars a year still tears through layoffs and freezes hiring and removes the free batteries from the printer room (totally not speaking from experience, surely) because the investors LOVE when you cut costs and take away employee perks. The "beer on tap, ping pong table in the common area" era of tech is drying up. And we're still unionless.

Never mind that last part.

And then in early 2023, AI (more specifically, Chat-GPT which is OpenAI's Large Language Model creation) tears its way into the tech scene with a meteor's amount of momentum. Here's Microsoft's prize pig, which it invested heavily in and is galivanting around the pig-show with, to the desperate jealousy and rapture of every other tech company and investor wishing it had that pig. And for the first time since the interest rate hikes, investors have dollar signs in their eyes, both venture capital and Wall Street alike. They're willing to restart the hose of money (even with the new risk) because this feels big enough for them to take the risk.

Now all these companies, who were in varying stages of sweating as their bill came due, or wringing their hands as their stock prices tanked, see a single glorious gold-plated rocket up out of here, the likes of which haven't been seen since the free money days. It's their ticket to buy time, and buy investors, and say "see THIS is what will wring money forth, finally, we promise, just let us show you."

To be clear, AI is NOT profitable yet. It's a money-sink. Perhaps a money-black-hole. But everyone in the space is so wowed by it that there is a wide-spread and powerful conviction that it will become profitable and earn its keep. (Let's be real, half of that profit "potential" is the promise of automating away jobs of pesky employees who peskily cost money.) It's a tech-space industrial revolution that will automate away skilled jobs, and getting in on the ground floor is the absolute best thing you can do to get your pie slice's worth.

It's the thing that will win investors back. It's the thing that will get the investment money coming in again (or, get it second-hand if the company can be the PROVIDER of something needed for AI, which other companies with venture-back will pay handsomely for). It's the thing companies are terrified of missing out on, lest it leave them utterly irrelevant in a future where not having AI-integration is like not having a mobile phone app for your company or not having a website.

So I guess to reiterate on my earlier point:

Drowned rats. Swimming to the one ship in sight.

#chrissy speaks #long post #-gestures broadly-

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