Amazon faces a paradox. It has 1 million robots (more than the US Army has active duty soldiers), the world's largest product catalog, and unmatched delivery infrastructure. And yet, its AI shopping assistant fails at basic tasks, small sellers feel squeezed out by Amazon-branded competitors, and AWS is losing ground in AI workloads to Azure and Google. The company best positioned for AI-native retail is fumbling the capabilities that would expand its moat.

There's a strange contradiction at the heart of Amazon in 2026.

The company just deployed its one millionth robot. Its new Shreveport fulfillment center runs on AI and cuts costs by 25%. Scott Galloway calls it "not a robot workforce, but a robot nation."

And yet. If you ask Rufus, Amazon's AI shopping assistant, for product recommendations, you often get results weaker than a standard search. With none of the filtering or sorting options you'd expect.

What's going on here?

Why does the world's largest cloud provider have a broken AI assistant?

I use Amazon almost daily. It's one of my go-to shopping apps. So I've tried Rufus multiple times, hoping it would make product discovery easier.

It doesn't.

Most times, Rufus gives me results that are much weaker than a standard search. No filtering. No sorting. And here's the part that really gets me: the AI often just says, "Sorry, I can't help with that."

In an era where AI models are almost comically eager to please, bending over backwards to keep users engaged, Rufus throws its hands up. What is it missing in that equation?

Amazon sits on potentially one of the richest customer databases in the world. Buying patterns. Financial data. Browsing history. Reviews. Returns. If anyone should build a world-class conversational commerce experience, it's them.

And yet, Rufus recommendations are reportedly 83% self-serving and only 32% accurate. Sellers complain the AI gives "disparaging false info" about their products while praising competitors.

It boggles my mind why Amazon is simply not leaning into its capability here. They have the data. They have the infrastructure. They have 250 million users who've tried Rufus. The gap isn't resources. It's product obsession.

The marketplace squeeze is real

While AI stumbles, Amazon's relationship with sellers is fracturing.

The pattern goes like this. A small business builds a successful product on Amazon. Sales grow. Reviews accumulate. The category starts showing promise. Then Amazon notices.

One seller described it this way: "We spent years developing our product and building our brand. Then Amazon created a nearly identical item, priced it 20% lower than we could afford to, and suddenly our sales dropped by 60% overnight."

This isn't an isolated story. Amazon has leveraged its data to identify high-demand products with low competition, then created private-label versions under AmazonBasics or Amazon Essentials. These products get prime placement in search results, often above the original sellers who proved the market existed.

The financial squeeze compounds. Standard commissions. Fulfillment fees. Advertising costs just to stay visible. Many sellers report feeling like they're building businesses on shifting sands, never knowing when a policy change or new Amazon-branded competitor might undermine years of hard work.

Amazon essentially gets to test the potential of products using other people's risk, then take a platform advantage in categories where they see good margins and growth. It's a rational strategy. It's also eroding trust with the 500,000 businesses that move 60% of merchandise on the platform.

The bright spot is robotics

Credit where due. Amazon is crushing it in robotics and fulfillment automation.

Here's a number that stopped me: Amazon now operates more robots in the United States than the US Army has active duty soldiers. Over 1 million robots versus roughly 480,000 troops. Scott Galloway put it bluntly: "One of the fears about AI is that it could build a robot army that turns on us. It's here, it's Amazon, and (so far) it's not looking to kill us. It will replace a lot of us, though."

The DeepFleet AI model coordinates robot movement and reduces fleet travel time by 10%. The Blue Jay system handles 75% of stored items and cuts repetitive lifting. The Shreveport model will roll out to 40 facilities by end of 2027, saving an estimated $4 billion annually.

This is Amazon's heritage. Operational excellence at scale. Fast, predictable, high-volume fulfillment. The Prime promise, reinforced.

But here's what the robotics story misses: fulfillment is table stakes. Every serious competitor will automate. The moat isn't in moving boxes faster. It's in understanding what customers want before they search for it.

AWS should dominate AI infrastructure. It doesn't.

This is the part that's truly mind-boggling.

AWS is the world's largest cloud provider. 30% market share. Roughly $126 billion in revenue. They essentially invented modern cloud infrastructure. Every startup I've worked with over the past decade has started on AWS.

And yet, when it comes to AI workloads, companies aren't gravitating to Amazon.

The numbers tell the story:

That's not a small gap. That's a structural shift happening in real time.

Azure is winning because of its OpenAI partnership. Customers want ChatGPT, Copilot, and the ecosystem Microsoft is building around them. Google Cloud is winning on AI/ML tooling. Vertex AI, BigQuery, and years of machine learning research are paying off.

What is AWS offering? Bedrock gives access to multiple foundation models. Trainium chips are competitive. But the developer experience? The ecosystem energy? It's not there.

If builders perceive AWS as cumbersome for AI, they'll prototype and scale elsewhere. That compounds into talent drift, ecosystem loss, and a weaker flywheel for Amazon's own AI products. Including Rufus.

Why isn't Amazon doing more to make AWS the default choice for AI infrastructure? They have the scale. They have the customers. They have the capital. Other providers are eating their flank, and the response feels muted.

What this means for founders

If you're building in e-commerce, AI, or marketplaces, Amazon's fumble is instructive.

1. Data doesn't equal insight. Amazon has more shopping data than anyone. Rufus still fails at basic recommendations. The gap is product thinking, not data access.

2. Seller relationships are strategic assets. The best platforms create conditions where third parties win. When your success depends on squeezing partners, you're borrowing from the future.

3. Operational excellence is necessary but not sufficient. Amazon's robotics lead is real. But discovery, personalization, and trust are the moats that matter now.

4. Don't cede emerging categories. AWS had every advantage in AI infrastructure. The slow response to Azure and Google's moves is costing them share in the most important growth market of the decade.

Key takeaways

• Rufus AI is 32% accurate despite Amazon's unmatched data advantage. Often just says "sorry, I can't help."
• Small sellers feel squeezed. Amazon studies successful categories, then launches competing private-label products with prime placement.
• 1 million robots deployed. More than US Army active duty soldiers. $4B in projected annual savings.
• AWS growing at 18% while Azure (39%) and Google Cloud (32%) gain ground in AI workloads.
• The paradox: Best positioned for AI retail, underdelivering on discovery and infrastructure.

The irony is sharp. Amazon could win AI-native commerce and AI infrastructure. It has the data, the scale, the capital. What it lacks is the product obsession to translate capability into experience.

That's the ball they're fumbling.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Amazon's AI assistant Rufus so bad?

Rufus is only 32% accurate despite Amazon having one of the richest customer databases in the world. The gap isn't data or infrastructure. It's product obsession. Amazon seems to be treating Rufus as a feature checkbox rather than a core differentiator. The AI often refuses to help entirely, which is bizarre in an era where AI assistants bend over backwards to keep users engaged.

Is Amazon copying products from third-party sellers?

Yes. Amazon has been documented using marketplace data to identify successful product categories, then launching competing private-label versions under AmazonBasics or Amazon Essentials. These products often get prime placement in search results, above the original sellers who proved the market existed. Many sellers report 40-60% sales drops after Amazon enters their category.

Why is AWS losing to Azure and Google in AI?

AWS grew 18% last year while Azure grew 39% and Google Cloud grew 32%. The gap is the AI ecosystem. Azure has the OpenAI partnership powering ChatGPT and Copilot. Google has Vertex AI and decades of ML research. AWS offers Bedrock and Trainium, but the developer experience and ecosystem energy aren't matching competitors. For AI-first workloads, builders are increasingly choosing Azure or Google.

Sources

• Amazon Rufus accuracy concerns - ConsumerAffairs
• Amazon seller challenges 2025 - SmartScout
• How Amazon is killing its platform for sellers - Marketplace Valet
• Prof G - Big Tech Stock Pick 2026: Amazon
• Amazon robotics cost savings - Morgan Stanley via CNBC
• AWS cloud market share - Statista
• Cloud Quarterly: Azure AI pop, AWS supply pinch - SiliconANGLE

I came across a video on Reddit last week that stopped me cold.

Lyman, Ukraine is fully covered in a web of fiber-optic cables left by Ukrainian and Russian drone operators
byu/GREATD4NNY inThatsInsane

The Ukrainian city of Lyman, covered in a web of fiber optic cables. Spaghetti lines sprawled across streets and rooftops. Left behind by Ukrainian and Russian drone operators.

At first it looked surreal. Then I realized what I was looking at: battlefield ingenuity under pressure. And a signal of what's coming next in defense tech.

Why are drones using fiber optic cables?

Here's the core problem. Traditional drones use radio frequency (RF) links. RF is vulnerable to jamming and interception. In modern EW-heavy battlefields, control links have become a chess match of jammers and countermeasures.

Fiber-linked drones sidestep that board entirely.

These platforms spool fiber optic cable during flight. Instead of relying on radio, they trail a physical line that can stretch tens of kilometers. The version in the demo I saw claimed ranges upwards of 50 km.

Here's a product demo showing how the fiber spool system works:

The result:

1. Near-zero latency. Optical fiber delivers stable, high-fidelity control signals.
2. Jam-resistant. Physical tethering makes command links nearly impossible to jam or spoof.
3. Extended range. 50 km control extends mission profiles well beyond typical line-of-sight.
4. Self-managing. Auto-release mechanisms reduce entanglement risk.

What does this mean for the future of warfare?

This is the part that made me pause.

War, for all its human cost (one I don't take lightly), forces invention. Constraints become catalysts. And what we're seeing in Ukraine is a live R&D lab with real consequences.

It's not just about quadcopters and FPVs anymore. It's about the system around them. Control links. EW resilience. Logistics. Recovery.

Think about how GPS, drones, and even internet routing matured through defense needs. Fiber-linked control is following the same pattern.

Where does this technology go next?

I've been tracking this space because the spillover potential is significant.

In defense:

• Semi-autonomous modes that shift to fiber only in contested EW zones
• Hybrid control architectures with RF for flexibility, fiber for reliability
• Novel countermeasures targeting onboard compute instead of the link

In civilian applications:

• Industrial inspection drones for mines and tunnels where RF is unreliable
• Subterranean operations and emergency response
• Critical infrastructure monitoring where signal integrity is paramount

The human element

I want to be clear about something.

There's a human price at the core of every battlefield innovation. Lyman's streets became a living diagram of fiber-linked flight control. That's technically fascinating. It's also deeply sobering.

My aim is to learn from the ingenuity without losing sight of the lives affected.

What I'm watching next

The web over Lyman is just the start. This space is moving fast.

If you're tracking EW-resistant drones, fiber spooling systems, or defense tech innovations, I'd love to compare notes.

Sources:

• Reddit: Fiber-linked drones over Lyman
• YouTube: 50 km fiber optic drone demo

Praveen Babu

Founder of Altorise. Two decades in global sales and marketing. SaaS, AI, fintech, mobility, blockchain. Unfiltered ideas on business, growth, and everything in between.

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I came across Katie Deighton's piece in the Wall Street Journal last week. The headline caught me: "Companies are desperately seeking storytellers."

Google building a storytelling team for Cloud. Microsoft hiring a senior director of narrative. Vanta posting a "Head of Storytelling" role at $274,000.

Reading it, I felt a mix of validation and frustration. Validation because this is something I've been pushing founders on for years. Frustration because so few of them listen until it's too late.

Why this matters for founders

As someone who's spent a decade helping early-stage founders with marketing, storytelling is one of the first things I try to get them to work on.

And it's one of the first things they deprioritize.

I get it. When you're caught up in fundraising, product development, and figuring out sales, sitting down to craft your narrative feels like a luxury with uncertain results. Some even cringe at the thought of sounding immodest and unbelieving in their personal stories being so pivotal. Eventually it's something founders decide to get to later. After the next funding round is closed.

But here's what I've noticed across hundreds of founders I've worked with: the successful ones almost always have a strong story. Not necessarily a polished one. But a clear one. A story they can tell in 60 seconds that makes you lean in.

What is this "new storytelling" everyone's talking about?

LinkedIn job postings mentioning "storyteller" doubled in the past 12 months. On earnings calls, executives mentioned "storytelling" 469 times this year. Up from 359 last year.

The reason is simple. Traditional media is shrinking. Newspaper circulation is down 70% since 2005. There are fewer journalists to pitch. The free publicity channel that companies relied on for decades has narrowed.

So companies are becoming their own publishers. And publishers need storytellers.

And with AI making content creation easier than ever, the bottleneck has shifted. Anyone can generate words now. What they can't generate is a story worth telling. The founders who win will be the ones with a compelling narrative that their team can bring to life across every channel, with AI as an accelerant.

But here's what most get wrong. They think storytelling means better marketing copy. It doesn't.

What are the elements of good storytelling?

The companies winning at this understand something fundamental. Good storytelling isn't about your product. It's about transformation.

For founders, the core elements:

1. A hero (the founder or the people you serve)
2. A struggle (the problem that made you start this)
3. A guide (the insight or experience that qualifies you)
4. A transformation (the change you're creating in the world)

"We increased efficiency by 40%" is not a story. But "I watched three sales teams I worked with struggle with the same problem. I knew there had to be a better way." That's a story. It has stakes. It has a reason to exist.

When Chime posted their storytelling job, they got 500 applications. Most were former journalists. People who understand narrative structure instinctively. But founders can learn it too.

Why storytelling is directly connected to founder-led sales

Here's the pattern I keep seeing.

The founders who can tell a compelling story close deals faster. Not because they're better salespeople. But because storytelling and selling are the same skill.

When you pitch an investor, you're telling a story. When you demo your product, you're telling a story. When you recruit your first engineer, you're telling a story.

Founder-led sales is the biggest lever most early-stage companies have. And storytelling is what makes that lever work.

The gift keeps giving too. Even if your current startup doesn't work out, the storytelling muscle you build stays with you. I've watched founders fail at one company and succeed at the next, largely because they learned how to communicate their vision clearly the first time around.

How can founders become better storytellers?

You don't need to hire a $274K storytelling executive. But you do need to shift how you communicate.

Start with your origin story. Not "we founded the company in 2019." But "I was sitting in a meeting watching our sales team struggle with the same problem for the third time that month. I thought: there has to be a better way."

Collect customer stories obsessively. The best content you'll ever create comes from your customers' words, not yours. Ask them: "What was the moment you knew this was working?"

Stop leading with what you do. Start with why it matters. "We help companies automate invoicing" is forgettable. "Finance teams waste 11 hours a week on tasks a machine could do in minutes" is interesting.

What is one benefit of internal storytelling?

The job postings focus on external storytelling. But the biggest benefit might be internal.

When your product team understands the customer story, they build better features. When your sales team can tell transformation stories, they close faster. When new hires understand the founding narrative, they make better decisions.

Notion just merged their internal comms, external comms, social, and influencer teams into one storytelling function. The story needs to be consistent everywhere.

At Altorise, we've seen this play out repeatedly. The clients who nail their internal narrative first. Who can explain "why we exist" in one sentence. They're the ones whose external content actually resonates.

The bottom line

We're in a noisy world. Every platform is saturated. Every inbox is full.

The companies breaking through aren't the ones with bigger ad budgets. They're the ones with clearer, more authentic stories.

I'm grateful Katie Deighton wrote that piece. It puts a spotlight on something I've believed for a long time: storytelling isn't a nice-to-have. It's a founder's most underrated superpower.

And unlike product-market fit, it's something you can start working on today.

Follow me on X for more thoughts on growth and marketing. Subscribe to my newsletter for new posts and updates.

Sources:

• Katie Deighton, Wall Street Journal: Companies are desperately seeking storytellers
• The Guardian: How the world's oldest job became the hottest new corporate job title
• Morning Brew: What's the story with all these storytelling jobs?

Another day, another service hacked – if you haven’t been affected by it, how long before it hits you? It’s been little over a month since we were shocked by the Celebrity Photo Leak, from an apparent hack of weak iCloud backup passwords. Today we have the Snapsaved leak, where possibly 98,000 user accounts have been violated, and about 200,000 photos are now out in the wild. The news that many of the revealing pictures could be of those of minors makes the whole affair even more alarming. Just hours after this hit the news cycle, another shockwave that Dropbox has been breached, or at least 6.9 million user’s passwords have been hacked. Details are still emerging about each hack, and there’s a lot of buzz on 4chan and reddit that is yet to be culled.

Feels like we’re back in the wild west days of the web, everything about everyone is up for grabs. On the one hand you’re constantly being coaxed into trying out new apps on phone and online, while on the other hand all it takes is just one slip-up that can lead to anything from a mild embarrassment to lasting phsychological trauma. There’s only so much we can do, and here are some tips on how you could better protect yourself online.

1. App Login Mania – Another download, another login, feeling password fatigue yet? It’s only fair to feel the urge to use just our existing facebook, twitter, linkedin or google profiles to quickly login and get started with every exciting new app. Sadly that’s precisely where things can go wrong. Once apps have access to your social profiles, these apps can wreak havoc if they’re not managed responsibly. While this is quite rare, and most developers take the responsibility quite seriously, one needs to be cautious when letting apps connect to their social accounts.

Here’s what you can do, occasionally conduct some spring cleaning to remove any Apps and websites you don’t use often from continuing to have access to your facebook, twitter, google and linkedin profiles. Also, if you’re just testing out an app for a short time, use an email (preferrably not your primary email) to sign up.

2. What’s In A Click – A lot, tell me if this sounds familiar – A funny cat video rolls-up into your facebook feed, a friend of your’s has shared it with you, you hit the prominent play button, but instead of playing the video, you find yourself on another site asking you to just a wee bit more before you can finally see that kitten unload it’s furry cuteness. This is an incredibly popular method used to hijack and breach your privacy, lovingly called click baiting, it’s used by marketers and malicious users alike as an altogether unpleasant experience where you’re baited and then switched (misdirected) away from the content you where originally there for, and often leave your social account open to all kinds of exploits. Facebook has been cracking down on these links, but they’re still many floating around on all your social networks at this very moment.

Your best defense is your common sense, if the content seems odd, doesn’t fit what your friends usually post, has a weird URL in the link, or takes you to another site without your permission, or just requested you for access to your profile – you should tread carefully, flag it for spam, close the window and sit back and breathe in relief with the close call you just had.

3. One Password To Rule Them All – We all have that one password we love above all others, it’s funny, it’s been here forever, and is still the one that you use to access a lot of other services. It also sends your social profiles falling over like dominos even if one account’s been breached. Despite how quick and convenient it might seem to have just that one password, you really need to ditch that password in the fiery pits of Mount Doom. Using different passwords for accounts is often a great piece of advice we ignore most often. A password loses it’s potency for a variety of reasons – you could have used it on an infected computer, it was captured over an insecure wifi connection at your local café, someone was just looking over your shoulder as you keyed it in, or maybe it was an emergency and you needed to ask someone to login to your email to check your airline reservations. There are a million dumb ways to kill your security, but protecting it is a lot easier.

Services like LastPass and 1Password have long since offered reliable services to generate and manage multiple accounts and passwords. If configured and used wisely, these tools allow you to quickly and painlessly enjoy the joys of online security. Note: As an added precaution, I also recommend frequently downloading your passwords in encrypted backups and saving them someplace safe.

4. Alright, It’s You…Now Prove It – Two-factor authentication or Multi-factor authentication is an incredibly effective method to stop blackhat hackers in their tracks. After you’ve entered your password for a service, it essentially prompts you for a one time confirmation code to check if you really are who you claim to be. It challenges you for this authentication code if you use your password on a new computer, an unfamiliar smartphone, or even if you’re traveling overseas and login from a different country. Bet you’re starting to see how this can stop an intruder in their tracks even if they’ve somehow managed to get their hands on your password.

Facebook, Gmail and many other services offer multi-factor authentication as an added precaution to secure user accounts. It’s always a good idea to enable this feature to ensure you’re safe. Popular authentication services that allow this feature include Google Authenticator and Authy.

5. Common Sense Above All Else – If you have a picture you’d rather never show anyone on the phone tucked away in our pocket, frequently stuff a text file or email draft full of key passwords and credit card numbers, use a simple password for phone backups, you’re on thin ice. Protecting your data is your responsibility before all else. While phones become our sole passports for travel, financial payments, health and work they also share space with millions of apps growing each day – caution is only necessary. Lightning fast 4G LTE speeds spirit away photos and videos from our phones to their cloud backups before we’re even done using the camera app. Mobile and web technologies are new, it’s potent and it’s evolving rapidly, we need to keep pace with it. In the end however, let your common sense prevail.

Do you have a system or method to ensure your information is safe online? Let me know in the comments.

“When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it.” 

― Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

Mid 2008 and my first job hunt wasn’t going too well. I had just decided not to run that final MBA lap of my academic race. Instead, I’d focus my efforts on gathering some much needed work experience. After all, before stepping into high school, I’d made a promise to myself that I’d get started with entrepreneurship when I turned 30. Seemed a good idea at the time, and looked even better as time went on. And so began step one – get a great job.

I’d intently scour the web for opportunities and end up applying to every silicon valley co. with an office in India. While also wading through interviews my father had lined up flipping through his rolodex. Didn’t take me too long to figure out that my desire to blend marketing qualifications with self-taught tech skills wasn’t the stuff typical job descriptions were made of. But, my 30th birthday was barely a few years away and the calendar seemed to be skipping whole weeks.

Meanwhile, Obama had just won the 2008 Presidential elections and as I cheerfully watched his acceptance speech live on CNN, I set yet another personal goal – I’ve got to find my dream job before President-elect Obama took charge of his own at the Oval Office. President Obama probably doesn’t realize how close our race really was – and how close he came to winning it.

Over dinner one evening, my father mentioned that I’d probably be hearing from Anand Mahurkar, a colleague of his from Datamatics. Anand, my father told me, had relocated to Boston few years back and was planning to start his own business – and, quite unlike my father, he added – ‘since you like marketing, there probably isn’t a better mentor you could have than Anand.’ I’d learn more about Anand in the following days – his work ethic, dedication, his meteoric ascent at Datamatics and more. Finally on a lazy Friday evening, the kind you can only have when you’re unemployed and living with your parents, Anand called me on the home phone.

April 2009, and I’d receive a formal letter of appointment to join Findability Sciences India as Executive, Marketing & Research. I was tasked with engaging opportunities for ‘Findability’ in the Indian & US markets. Over the past many months since our call, I’d been learning the ropes from Anand and Rob Matthews. Rob, to whom I’d report, is in my book the most brilliant business development guru and mentor. Between him and Anand, I’d pick up marketing and business development skills that I couldn’t have ever dreamt of picking-up at any b-school’s new fangled MBA program.

The findability idea had excited me since Anand first hinted on it during our maiden call. Connecting structured and unstructured content to reveal insights, so users can actively ‘find’ information they need intuitively. The possibilities were endless, and as we’d soon realize, it would give us the early mover advantage when Big Data captured the imagination of the global market in the years to come.

Over the next few years, I worked closely as part of the leadership team at FS as we went through each startup phase – from an incubator at Hubli, Karnataka, to the fully geared development hub at Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Working with clients across the globe, we helped solve innumerable challenges for higher-ed, nonprofits, publishing, retail, banking, utilities and more. I was enjoying every moment. But when my 29th Birthday came and went, I’d try to visualize the goal I’d set for myself a long time ago.

At a dinner hosted by Anand in Boston, I got to meet Anand’s cousin and Advertising industry torchbearer, Ravi Deshpande. Ravi had just recently shaken the industry with his announcement to step-down from his role as Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at one of India’s most prestigious agencies. Rumors and speculations about his plans were running wild in the press. And yet here I was listening to him lay-out his careful plans to build a new creative agency – one that integrates the strengths of technology (Findability Sciences, Boston), Creative Design (Seenk, Paris) and Talent (Ecole Intuit Lab, Paris, Mumbai & Aix-en-Provence) – and find great talent to craft a new agency that would become ‘Whyness.’ 

I wasn’t even remotely prepared for what I was offered next, Anand suggested I join Ravi on his journey to form and grow Whyness as it’s Director of Big Data. It was strange really, I knew my deadline was just a few months away, and here I was being presented the opportunity to be part of another groundbreaking startup. In the blink of an eye, I had jumped in and was sailing with each foot firmly planted in both Findability Sciences and Whyness. Challenging? Yes. Unsteady? Never.

In just a few months Ravi and his new team at Whyness set the track ablaze winning creative assignments from iconic brands worldwide. The creative insights our team at Whyness presented to brands left little room for speculation. With Whyness leading the charge, and with close support from FS, Seenk & Ecole Intuit Lab – success was inevitable. I was thrilled to be able to bring my technology, creative and marketing insights into pitch meetings and brainstorming sessions. But, that persistent tugging feeling I’d been feeling in my belly never really went away. Stay hungry, stay foolish?

It all came back to me on a long flight back to Mumbai from Paris with my wife, where I’d been collaborating with Seenk on Big Data ideas. I took a long sip of my drink and turned to talk with my wife – who’s been my faithful co-pilot and navigator for many tough journeys during our 10 years together. By the time our flight touched down in Mumbai, I was convinced I’d have to take the leap of faith now. Couldn’t wait for tomorrow, the temptation to stay was just too strong. So, I called my folks from the terminal and shared my idea, and as they’ve done my whole life, I’d have their love and blessings. Drawing strength from my family, while leaning over the baggage cart, waiting at the carousel, I’d draft the hardest email I’ve written so far – announcing my decision to step out of the FS+Whyness fold, an email I titled – ”Turning a new chapter.”

That was December 2013 and after helping with the transition, I stepped out FS & Whyness in April this year. Now, I’m ready to keep a very old promise I’d made to my 16 year old self. Wish me luck.

Last week Facebook decided this was as good a time as any for its global mobile users to download it’s dedicated messenger app. They promptly turned-off the messaging feature within the main Facebook app, and decided to let fuzzy cartoon animals break the news to users. While we’ve seen this coming a long time, it still didn’t do much to dull the annoyance many users felt – myself included.

A lot of you, like me, hadn’t felt the need to inflict Facebook’s standalone messenger upon your already strained smartphone. Between the default texting apps – iMessage/Hangouts and the single-feature Apps like WhatsApp, Line, Skype and <insert your go-to messaging app here> – it’s quite reasonable to assume that we really didn’t need this new app that does exactly the same thing, albeit with a possibly wider, more carefully curated circle of friends.

A lot of brands are taking this route, often based on the understanding that users associate each mobile app, even the popular ones with typically just one or – if they’re lucky – a few key functionalities. While unbundling divides an app’s hard-won user-base between multiple apps, marketers and company bosses hope the headline features can stand on their own strengths and even succeed in drawing in more users helping brands focus their services even more effectively in the long run. This is all about the bigger picture, just like we saw when recently Fourquare spun-off check-ins to its new Swarm App.

But, is it really in the interest of the users? I’ll venture 5 key reasons why this really isn’t a good strategy.

1. Stiffer Competition – Quickly now, name 3 apps that support chat on your phone. There already? Alright, name 2 more. A bit harder, but you’ve probably got five names of popular chat apps. The story is pretty much the same with a lot of other apps – you don’t get to over 1.2 million apps on the App Store without having a handful of close substitutes. When pitted against mature single-feature apps, newly unbundled apps tend to quickly lose their sheen when they’re plucked from the protective embrace of their nurturing parent app.
2. Clutter – There’s something to be said about having to swipe back and forth between mobile screens littered with apps and a bunch of folders before you finally stumble across that sneaky app you’ve been hunting for. Even despite the occasional spring cleaning, smartphones are apt to get bloated with too many apps weeks after they’re unboxed. Chances are, the parent app, like in Facebook’s case notches a spot on the home screen, while the lesser siblings get relegated into the wilderness of many apps – rarely ever seen again, and – out of sight is out of mind.
3. Power to the people – This one I especially find hard to digest – how some brands don’t bother softening the blow to their users, it’s how they take choice out of the equation. When apps unbundle and we are left with no choice, are we still in control? Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to continue support for a low-fi version of the feature while reminding and enticing users about the awesomeness awaiting them on the standalone app? Rather than the more ham-handed approach of ‘what you’re looking for is over there now, go fetch!’
4. Resource Economics – Basic economics, unlimited wants and needs but limited resources – also so true with mobile phones today. Your smartphone despite its incredible specs is often barely able to last you the day. Prompts, alerts, badges, banners and all those other jiggers love to play fast and loose with your battery unless you’re careful. If apps keep unraveling as they are doing today, chances are you’re devices are in for tougher times ahead. Devices today beg for a more efficient use of their resources – power, network usage, push notifications, storage – just to name a few areas that need urgent assistance while we await better tech innovations.
5. What did Mobile do to deserve this? – Wasn’t the original promise of going mobile letting users have the same desktop experience they’ve come to love in an even more seamless and intuitive way on the go? Why must brands throttle, split, twist and maim the desktop’s features when they make the jump to the smaller screen? It would be sad if we found ourselves gravitating towards the web version of websites in-spite of these otherwise brilliant apps, just because thats the only way we can stave off that 60MB app download over mobile data.

Meanwhile, I’ve arranged all of Facebook’s iOS app offerings into a folder. And once Instagram’s new Bolt app arrives on iOS (as of this article on a limited release in few Google Play Store markets), I’ll probably need to make a new folder to accommodate the growing Facebook, Inc app influx.

Bonus quiz: How many billions in Facebook acquisitions do you count between those icons?