Yeah the early internet really spoiled us. We're so used to "Free" being the default that anything else is instantly a disappointment. I'm kind of glad we're moving away from that though, from content to music to services, everything's being turned into a paid/stick-around model rather than a free-for-3-years/go-bankrupt one. Look at how much money it's made for app creators alone.
Yeah, we're not really moving away from that. And even if we were, it's hard to see why you'd be glad, unless you hate freedom.
Almost none of the money that online distributors pull in (music, video, content vendors) makes it back to the actual content producers. So I can't say I'm sad to see this particular iteration of the industry crashing and burning.
Thank you for opening my eyes. I just realized I hated freedom all this time. At first I though maybe I liked people getting paid for the things they made. I guess the millions of people selling their music/art/movies/games/scripts on codecanyon/steam/kickstarter/amazonmp3/bandcamp/gumroad are not getting paid at all. They're all being tricked. What suckers... Everyone should just live like you, a collage student without a job or bills yet who values the "free" in freedom and the ability to share and consume whatever you want without those evil corporate snobby rich people getting tons of free money.
I'd like more gumroad services where the author sees more of the profit. That's what I hope the future of the internet is like, just totally cutting out egregious middlemen and leaving services that take some small percentage.
>Everyone should just live like you, a collage student without a job or bills
You're awfully presumptuous for someone who can't spell "college" correctly.
The problem is there is still a giant gap between what makers and sellers earn. It is no longer the case that distribution costs are prohibitive, makers no longer need massive upfront investment to sell things. So why is it acceptable to you for such exploitation to continue?
Dude it's 2013, Gumroad & Kickstarter only take 5%, Steam and others take 30%, Amazon and ebay take 11% to 25%. Online distributers are not record labels.
Your argument that "Almost none of the money that online distributors pull in (music, video, content vendors) makes it back to the actual content producers." is complete nonsense. It's no excuse to want everything for free or hate paid content. You really are a young entitled college student that wants everything for free. We all were. I was. Money was tight and went towards noodles and living expenses and we pirated everything because we couldn't afford it. Life changed, we grew up, graduated, got jobs, appreciate an income and now pay for things. One day when you bust your ass making something you'll appreciate someone paying you for it.
You have no idea who I am, what I do, or my economic situation.
And further, even if I were a broke college kid that wouldn't itself invalidate my actual argument. It's a fallacy to discredit a point because of the social status of the point-maker.
Reading through your blog, I understand why you're so invested in the irrational position you hold.
After seeing that I've hit a soft spot with you, that you refuse to listen to common sense, that you assume distribution platforms operate like record companies in the 90s. I'm going to take the high road and apologize. I'm sorry if I made fun of your economic situation and I hope you find peace in whatever you are going through. The truth is, I am on the side of the reptilian shapeshifters and I really do hate freedom. We've been trying to destroy it for several decades. We've tried everything from wars to assassinations but in the end, the answer was right underneath our scaly noses. The paywalls.
The WSJ is doing quite well with a leaky paywall and online and print paid subscriptions. Last I checked, WSJ print and digital circulation were up every year for the last half-decade and ad revenue is increasing by double-digit rates y/y.
Their "new business model" is quite successful and the envy of the industry.
However, it seems like the paywall only works because it's so leaky in the first place.
I'd imagine before the internet, you may have sneaked a peak at a friend's issue of the WSJ or read one at a coffee shop. I suppose the leaky paywall is the modern equivalent.
I hate to add another nail to the name coffin, but I instantly thought this was regarding the ruby unicorn web server. I continued to think this until I came back to the comments to verify.
Your pricing is what failed it for me. I can get a 512MB VPS from DigitalOcean for $5/month.
I love this idea, though. I just feel that your approach of giving a full VPS is a bad idea. People who want a full VPS will buy a full VPS for much cheaper than the 20GBP you're offering it for.
What you need to do is multi-tenant your hosts, and isolate them from each other. Then you'll get costs savings that you can pass on to your customer; which will put you in line competitively with the likes of HipChat and Campfire.
The cheapest Campfire plan is $12 per month and the second cheapest is $24. HipChat is $2 per user per month. 20 euros per month with no user limit is entirely in line with this pricing.
I firmly believe that art is subjective. However, I also think that art should be a communication of a thought to others through a non-standard medium.
The only thing that was communicated during this process was a loud, unsurprised sigh when nothing came to fruition, as many had predicted.
Remember folks, There is no better way to over power a trickle of doubt than a flood of naked truth.
People like you are the reason we need the rule of law. I am not defending the scammers, but vigilantes are insidious. You may claim you were being ironic, but a mob with its passion inflamed by a sense of righteousness has no time for subtlety. Please tone it down before innocent people get hurt.
Don't worry, I'm probably just provoking a response from you, but to be sure, you can send me $1,000 and I promise I won't murder you, if I was going to.
you know, i wrote a slightly sarcastic response to this, but then i deleted it because i can't be sure you're not serious. now i'm seriously considering calling the police, just to make sure you're not actually a crazy person. i'm not sure what point you were trying to make, but i am sure there's a more effective way to make it.
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I really hate to play the douchebag card here, but the US DOES have several very good reasons to think it's the center of the tech world. Just don't make me start naming names...
I'm not saying the contrary.. but I'm a dev, an engineer (the real kind), and also a scientist.. I know how amazing entities in the US are at those fields, but I've also seen how well places outside of the US can keep up right behind. I think the legislation in the US has helped it keep is head start in alot of ways, as the environment just isn't up to par in many countries. But as far as raw skill of individuals goes, there are many many outside of the US who can keep up, or completely blow us away in all of those fields
Sorry, I wasn't being sarcastic. The links on the top right aren't standard. The footer also has a funky styling. Check out the page to see. Just from reading my comment and not examining the styling I see how it could sound sarcastic.
I thought you were being sarcastic too; these are all very common trends. The problem here isn't the fact that the layout is original (it's not), it's that the code is being ripped straight from the site.
Have you set expectations yet? I think you need to first discuss why he isn't pulling his weight, and tell your partner that if things don't change, then you are going to have to figure out how to continue the business without him. First tell him what you expect, and if he doesn't agree and you can't come to a compromise, then give an ultimatum.
At this point, it probably doesn't make sense to get in a legal fight. I think worst case scenario is you break off and continue on your own, and jettison the minimal contribution your partner has made to the project. It doesn't sound like the business is at the point where he is going to lawyer up and sue you. It would cost you both more than its worth at this stage.
