Goodbye Paste 👋
Tribute to Paste
After a couple of years, it seems WeTransfer is discontinuing its presentation software, Paste. Paste was a fantastic presentation product and has been of immense value to me throughout the years, hence why I’m writing this tribute.
No one discontinues an Axe or a wheelbarrow, no one says look I’ve had it up to here with the Pickaxe, I’m removing it from service. It’s easy to forget that Software products are just code on a server somewhere requiring upkeep and tending to. They come to feel like more than that over time as we use them. They begin to feel like an integral part of our workflow and by extension of ourselves. Like the saying “Let the sword become an extension of your arm.” you come to feel like a samurai with your chosen tool.
There are certain software that I can't imagine not being a part of my workflow such as Hey the email service and Waking Up the Meditation app. Paste was a great product that reduced the mental load of creating a deck layout, a key factor in designing products is progressive disclosure, the ability to gradually reveal complexity. And Paste did this masterfully. Paste allowed its users to create decks by automatically formatting inserted content. Reducing the cognitive load of designing layouts.
I have used Paste throughout the years for various projects and tasks it’s always been my first choice for showcasing work. It’s not quite as feature-rich as Pitch or PowerPoint, but I thought it always struck the balance between functionality and ease of use. Wetransfer makes exceptional products in this category, such as Paper and Collect and I’m sad to see that Paste won’t be one of them going forward.
At the end of the day, even great products that can’t find a business case sometimes have to go (or do they, cc: Wetransfer).