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Wouldn't this mean that you just become another blogging service to trust? Even if the users have their own domains, if you close up shop, their blogs will clos

Wouldn't this mean that you just become another blogging service to trust? Even if the users have their own domains, if you close up shop, their blogs will close since you have all the contracts with AWS/whatever. How will you manage the transfer of them to the users? Or is the idea that the tool registers an account to a server provider for the user? So the user has to pay both you (for the tool) and the server provider (for the server). Maybe I have misunderstood the aim? In any case, due to what you mentioned, I think it's a difficult niche, since technical people can set up their own and I'd guess most non-technical people don't really care enough.

chubs 6y ago
The idea is that there's no trust required: My app handholds people through the process of setting up on AWS/Azure, then it uploads to their account via their API key. So if i close up shop, they wouldn't even notice (although they might notice a lack of new features after a while). So yes they'd be paying me and the server. However the server fees would be cents a month. I would aim to present this as a strength to the user: you get billed direct by AWS/Azure because you're not at ransom to me - you hold the keys to the kingdom. I suspect you're right though: Technical people will DIY, and nontechnical won't care, and will simply use Wordpress (it's the IBM of blogging: "nobody got fired for buying Wordpress")
pier25 6y ago
> Wouldn't this mean that you just become another blogging service to trust? Indeed. At some point the desktop app will need updates too. If the developer stops updating it it will be as good as dead.
- chubs 6y ago
  You're spot on right, especially with the pace of change in macOS. I was thinking that i could angle this as a good reason to charge for the product: "If you want this app to stick around for the long term, paying will ensure that". Combined with some sort of code escrow perhaps, plus a hugo or jekyll export as an 'offramp', i think it could be presented as reasonably 'safe-enough'.
  - pier25 6y ago
    > especially with the pace of change in macOS Exactly. Windows and Android apps last forever. Not so much in Apple land. It's not only that though. For example, something could be deprecated in the AWS SDK. If the app has to deploy somewhere it will be coupled to that too.

chubs 6y ago

The idea is that there's no trust required: My app handholds people through the process of setting up on AWS/Azure, then it uploads to their account via their API key. So if i close up shop, they wouldn't even notice (although they might notice a lack of new features after a while). So yes they'd be paying me and the server. However the server fees would be cents a month. I would aim to present this as a strength to the user: you get billed direct by AWS/Azure because you're not at ransom to me - you hold the keys to the kingdom. I suspect you're right though: Technical people will DIY, and nontechnical won't care, and will simply use Wordpress (it's the IBM of blogging: "nobody got fired for buying Wordpress")

pier25 6y ago

> Wouldn't this mean that you just become another blogging service to trust? Indeed. At some point the desktop app will need updates too. If the developer stops updating it it will be as good as dead.

chubs 6y ago
You're spot on right, especially with the pace of change in macOS. I was thinking that i could angle this as a good reason to charge for the product: "If you want this app to stick around for the long term, paying will ensure that". Combined with some sort of code escrow perhaps, plus a hugo or jekyll export as an 'offramp', i think it could be presented as reasonably 'safe-enough'.
- pier25 6y ago
  > especially with the pace of change in macOS Exactly. Windows and Android apps last forever. Not so much in Apple land. It's not only that though. For example, something could be deprecated in the AWS SDK. If the app has to deploy somewhere it will be coupled to that too.