Developers are severly exploited. Even the ones who become millionaires. Hello VC.
The way out of this situation is quite simple but not obvious to many. And of those who recognise it, they get it wrong.
I'm talking about platform development.
Platforms, the kind that let everyone benefit, need to be simple, low level (ultra reliable) and flexible.
Few people can get this right. Because the lure of complexity (features) and lock-in (greed) is so great.
An OS is not such a platform.
A website is not such a platform.
A protocol, that anyone can implement just by reading the spec, is a platform.
IP (Internet Protocol) is a platform.
It's dead simple. It's free. It's old! And you are all using it.
What can you subtract from IP? Not much.
What features does it have? Not many.
And that's the beauty of it.
True platforms in this sense do not require you to jump through hoops.
Developers are severly exploited. Even the ones who become millionaires. Hello VC.
The way out of this situation is quite simple but not obvious to many. And of those who recognise it, they get it wrong.
I'm talking about platform development.
Platforms, the kind that let everyone benefit, need to be simple, low level (ultra reliable) and flexible.
Few people can get this right. Because the lure of complexity (features) and lock-in (greed) is so great.
An OS is not such a platform.
A website is not such a platform.
A protocol, that anyone can implement just by reading the spec, is a platform.
IP (Internet Protocol) is a platform.
It's dead simple. It's free. It's old! And you are all using it.
What can you subtract from IP? Not much.
What features does it have? Not many.
And that's the beauty of it.
True platforms in this sense do not require you to jump through hoops.