The claim that software is only a transaction makes my blood boil.
And I don't think it would bother me as much as it does, if it didn't elicit responses like, "Yeah, I'm right there with you," or "I miss the old days!"
Feels like revisionist history to me.
If you don't understand the relationship dynamic developers have with their audience, have you considered the possibility, that maybe you're practicing the wrong artform?
I'm sorry, but this isn't difficult, and it isn't actually about scarcity.
Instead, I want you to understand the simple reality that people fall in love with things.
Good engineering is about solving problems people actually have. And a good engineer, like a good writer, creates from a place of understanding.
A good software product translates that understanding into something useful to the person who needs it.
And when you do that well, you create something more valuable than any single transaction you will ever make.
You build a relationship.
And healthy relationships are mutually beneficial.
Take notes, my children, this is important.
As a solo developer, your business model works like this.
1. Connect with your users.
2. Give them a reason to care, and a way to come back.
3. Make a living.
That's the dream.
But that's all that there's ever been to it.
And you've probably been doing it for years without even thinking about it.
Further reading:
- - Linchpin by Seth Godin
- - The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
- - Anything Mike Masnick has ever said about the music industry