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I think he’s wrong in attributing the tendency to overestimate success to the software industry or the app store alone. The author makes the perfect comparison

I think he’s wrong in attributing the tendency to overestimate success to the software industry or the app store alone. The author makes the perfect comparison when he compares it to the Gold Rush. No one was walking around New York circa 1850 screaming "There’s Gold in California." What did happen is a few people got rich quick and word of that spread fast (because everyone is looking for a way to get rich quick). So whatever app store hype exists was largely inevitable. I don't recall Apple ever promising riches to developers. There have always been people who jump on the "get rich" bandwagon. If there are more of them in the software industry it’s only because there are virtually no "cost of materials" in software development (particularly with digital delivery)

markerdmann 17y ago
Your comment inspired me to brush up on the California Gold Rush, and this quote from Wikipedia made me chuckle: "Sutter was dismayed by this, and wanted to keep the news quiet because he feared what would happen to his plans for an agricultural empire if there were a mass search for gold. However, rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan. The most famous quote of the California Gold Rush was by Brannan; after he had hurriedly set up a store to sell gold prospecting supplies, Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" With the news of gold, many families trying their luck at Californian farming decided to go for the gold, becoming some of California’s first miners."