3 ms·

Why not just build something people will pay for? Quit building little one-day hobby projects that don't do anything useful, and instead build software that pe

Why not just build something people will pay for? Quit building little one-day hobby projects that don't do anything useful, and instead build software that people with money will pay for. It's not that difficult a concept to understand, yet every day you see another half dozen unjustifiable little web startups appearing with no hope of ever making money. - Build something good. - charge money for it. - Sorted.

run4yourlives 18y ago
Although I agree entirely, the direct answer to your question is: Because that's much more difficult.
- jasonkester 18y ago
  Actually I suspect the real answer is: Because it's not as much fun. S3stat pays my rent, and it took a weekend to build. It's dead boring, but there's a market for it so people pay money. Blogabond is still fun to play with 4 years in, was technically hard when I built it, and thousands of people use it and love it. When I tried putting ads on it, it brought in maybe two bucks a day. So yeah, boring stuff makes you money, even if it's not that difficult.
  - run4yourlives 18y ago
    That's a very good point. As a side note, my goodness please tell me you're putting more time and effort into S3Stat. I think you are seriously undervaluing it. Dressing it up with something prettier than webstats would, in my mind help you pay for a lot more than rent. Good work.
  - csytan 18y ago
    Seems like you managed to find some time for fun while working on S3stat :) http://www.s3stat.com/web-stats/cheap-bastard-plan.ashx http://www.s3stat.com/web-stats/cheap-bastard-plan.ashx
    - ericwaller 18y ago
      That's actually a great idea for a simple, low-tech affiliate scheme
  - aaroneous 18y ago
    I had no idea S3Stat was made by someone on HN! I've been a customer of your nifty service for about six months now. Good to hear I'm doing my part to put a roof over the head of a fellow hacker ;]
- wlievens 18y ago
  Not just difficult to build, but also difficult to come up with a decent idea.

run4yourlives 18y ago

Although I agree entirely, the direct answer to your question is: Because that's much more difficult.

jasonkester 18y ago
Actually I suspect the real answer is: Because it's not as much fun. S3stat pays my rent, and it took a weekend to build. It's dead boring, but there's a market for it so people pay money. Blogabond is still fun to play with 4 years in, was technically hard when I built it, and thousands of people use it and love it. When I tried putting ads on it, it brought in maybe two bucks a day. So yeah, boring stuff makes you money, even if it's not that difficult.
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  That's a very good point. As a side note, my goodness please tell me you're putting more time and effort into S3Stat. I think you are seriously undervaluing it. Dressing it up with something prettier than webstats would, in my mind help you pay for a lot more than rent. Good work.
- csytan 18y ago
  Seems like you managed to find some time for fun while working on S3stat :) http://www.s3stat.com/web-stats/cheap-bastard-plan.ashx http://www.s3stat.com/web-stats/cheap-bastard-plan.ashx
  - ericwaller 18y ago
    That's actually a great idea for a simple, low-tech affiliate scheme
- aaroneous 18y ago
  I had no idea S3Stat was made by someone on HN! I've been a customer of your nifty service for about six months now. Good to hear I'm doing my part to put a roof over the head of a fellow hacker ;]
wlievens 18y ago
Not just difficult to build, but also difficult to come up with a decent idea.