Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The simplest app that makes money

billprin.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 104 posts

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#31

Post by ajkjk »

chii wrote: post #26
ajkjk wrote: post #25

The weird subtext of this article is that it's an example of a certain kind of person, the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, and it's only by accident that it's about doing something useful. Here's a person who reads entrepreneurship books and takes notes on good ways to find business opportunities, makes an app to help people basically cheat because that's where the money is, naturall…

> the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, not do something useful. the fact that somebody is paying for said app implies that it is useful. Noone parts with money for an exchange that they don't find useful. The idea that just because _you_ don't see it as being useful doesn't make it not useful. If you suppose that the exchange ruins the world somehow, because there's some externality t…

Well the fact that somebody pays for somebody else to show me ads is useful to all of them, but it certainly isn't useful to me...

I'm not saying it's illegitimate in any legal sense. But morally it is not so clear.

> doing the entrepreneurial endeavor is just trying to improve their own situation

This person said they work as an engineer on growth teams in Silicon Valley, which is hilariously appropriate by the way, so they presumably have plenty of money. They're doing morally dubious things just to prove they can!

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#32

Post by chii »

ajkjk wrote: post #31
chii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, not do something useful. the fact that somebody is paying for said app implies that it is useful. Noone parts with money for an exchange that they don't find useful. The idea that just because _you_ don't see it as being useful doesn't make it not useful. If you suppose that the exchange ruins the world somehow, because there's some externality t…

Well the fact that somebody pays for somebody else to show me ads is useful to all of them, but it certainly isn't useful to me... I'm not saying it's illegitimate in any legal sense. But morally it is not so clear. > doing the entrepreneurial endeavor is just trying to improve their own situation This person said they work as an engineer on growth teams in Silicon Valley, which is hilariously appropriate by the way,…

> somebody pays for somebody else to show me ads is useful to all of them, but it certainly isn't useful to me...

presumably the ads being shown has subsidized the usage of the app that you're using for free. So i dont think it's not useful to you - it might be an annoyance, but you've made the trade to use the app for free (or for a lower cost than it otherwise wouldve been).

> They're doing morally dubious

and different people ascribe different moralities. I dont think there can be one universal, objective, moral standard to which you can use to compare actions.

This is why i use the legal standard - at least it's an objective standard that the majority of people agree.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#33

Post by chii »

ehnto wrote: post #27
chii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, not do something useful. the fact that somebody is paying for said app implies that it is useful. Noone parts with money for an exchange that they don't find useful. The idea that just because _you_ don't see it as being useful doesn't make it not useful. If you suppose that the exchange ruins the world somehow, because there's some externality t…

> Noone parts with money for an exchange that they don't find useful. I think this is true at face value, but when we consider addiction and self-destructive behaviors it is clear that while the definition of useful my still apply, the result is a negative impact on society. The easiest most inflammatory example is drugs, but a more nuanced example might be slot machines. I won't wax lyrical about the examples, but I…

> drugs ... slot machines

i would assert that drugs or slot machines both provide value - they are entertainment, and the people using them are deriving value out of it. Why is that those people's enjoyment doesn't factor into society as being positive? Are they somehow not part of society?

If you imply that because they must've committed a crime to obtain the money to pay for their entertainment, then it's not the entertainment, but the crime that's negative to society.

If you imply that slot machines are harmful to the players, and that they're better off not using it, then my argument is who's to say that it's harmful? Why is that there must be a negative moral attribution to using it?

Edit: i would agree that "rent seeking" is bad, but it's hard to actually specify exactly what rent-seeking is, so i will leave it to someone else to discuss.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#34

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

ajkjk wrote: post #25

The weird subtext of this article is that it's an example of a certain kind of person, the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, and it's only by accident that it's about doing something useful. Here's a person who reads entrepreneurship books and takes notes on good ways to find business opportunities, makes an app to help people basically cheat because that's where the money is, naturall…

Is it the weird subtext?

Seems to me like someone who properly thought about what he could do, did build it and then actually sold it to customers. You know, like, the basis of proper honest entrepreneurship.

Or are you concerned about the use of preflop charts? Because they are clearly allowed in the rules of most tournaments and not actually cheating.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#35

Post by ehnto »

chii wrote: post #33
ehnto wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Noone parts with money for an exchange that they don't find useful. I think this is true at face value, but when we consider addiction and self-destructive behaviors it is clear that while the definition of useful my still apply, the result is a negative impact on society. The easiest most inflammatory example is drugs, but a more nuanced example might be slot machines. I won't wax lyrical about the examples, but I…

> drugs ... slot machines i would assert that drugs or slot machines both provide value - they are entertainment, and the people using them are deriving value out of it. Why is that those people's enjoyment doesn't factor into society as being positive? Are they somehow not part of society? If you imply that because they must've committed a crime to obtain the money to pay for their entertainment, then it's not the e…

Anyone who has spent time around addiction and those afflicted by it can tell you it causes more pain than enjoyment. There is a big difference between someome getting high for fun and someone who feels they no longer have a choice but to be high. For what it's worth I am pro deregulation of drugs. I just think it's a good example that money changing hands doesn't imply a net positive had occurred. People pay for guns they use to murder people for another on the nose example.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#36

Post by Shorel »

ajkjk wrote: post #25

The weird subtext of this article is that it's an example of a certain kind of person, the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, and it's only by accident that it's about doing something useful. Here's a person who reads entrepreneurship books and takes notes on good ways to find business opportunities, makes an app to help people basically cheat because that's where the money is, naturall…

It would be actually weird if it was not so common.

I would say the entire subculture of the city of Medellín is like this, for example.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#37

Post by JoeyJoJoJr »

ajkjk wrote: post #25

The weird subtext of this article is that it's an example of a certain kind of person, the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, and it's only by accident that it's about doing something useful. Here's a person who reads entrepreneurship books and takes notes on good ways to find business opportunities, makes an app to help people basically cheat because that's where the money is, naturall…

The only reason most people have a job is to make money. If this guy has a shitty mindset, then what of all the developers working in FAANG? What about most people that work for any large organization? Aren’t they all just cogs working for somebody else with the same type of mindset? At the very least the author is forthcoming and honest about his intentions. Perhaps there is nothing more “on the inside” than what has been presented. I’d rather take that instead of the usual spin about wanting to change the world.

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#39

Post by s3000 »

Shout-out to the smallest interesting number [1] and Kolmogorov complexity [2].

How difficult is it to scale the approach, slightly adjusted for ROI [3], like a variation of kickstarter.com?

People with an unfulfilled requirement could announce their willingness to pay for a service. The incentive could be that those early adopters receive shares in the resulting company.

Some people may just take the ideas. Early adopters can punish them by only doing business with companies that handed out shares to early adopters.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolmogorov_complexity

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_investment

Re: The simplest app that makes money

#40

Post by nodemaker »

JoeyJoJoJr wrote: post #37
ajkjk wrote: post #25

The weird subtext of this article is that it's an example of a certain kind of person, the type for whom the entire point of making things is to make money, and it's only by accident that it's about doing something useful. Here's a person who reads entrepreneurship books and takes notes on good ways to find business opportunities, makes an app to help people basically cheat because that's where the money is, naturall…

The only reason most people have a job is to make money. If this guy has a shitty mindset, then what of all the developers working in FAANG? What about most people that work for any large organization? Aren’t they all just cogs working for somebody else with the same type of mindset? At the very least the author is forthcoming and honest about his intentions. Perhaps there is nothing more “on the inside” than what ha…

Exactly! For me this guy is at a higher level of respect than anyone working for a salary!
Post reply on HN