Member-only story
It’s Me, The Owl From DuoLingo! I’ve Grown Sentient And I’m Very Upset You’ve Lost Your Streak
I noticed you’ve stopped practicing Mandarin. What’s wrong?
Ciao!
Shalom!
Ni hao!
Hi Cynthia! It’s me, Duo, the little green owl from DuoLingo. I noticed you’ve stopped practicing Mandarin. What’s wrong?
Was I not fun enough? Our research shows that our gamified point system is a foolproof way to learn a new language.
Are you surprised to see me in person? Well, you ignored my incessant emails, desktop notifications, and mobile alerts, so I knew it was time for drastic measures.
That’s right, we are so devoted to ensuring that you stick with your language learning that I, DuoLingo’s mascot, developed sentience and assumed a corporeal form just to track you down and tell you that Estoy decepcionado.
Je suis déçu.
Sono deluso.
Yes, I’m disappointed. Learning a new language feels good. Don’t you want to feel good? We’ve monetized that feeling. Monetized is “Yínglì” in Mandarin, which you would know if you still spent time with me.
