It's okay to make something nobody wants
zhangluyao.com
It's okay to make something nobody wants
1–10 of 208 posts
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#2"I think it’s okay to make something that nobody wants. All you need to do is to make sure you’ve fully expressed your emotions in this product."
Having hobbies is fine, but it's not a business model.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#3"I think it’s okay to make something that nobody wants. All you need to do is to make sure you’ve fully expressed your emotions in this product." Having hobbies is fine, but it's not a business model.
You're right. Having hobbies IS fine. Totally agree.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#4I like the message, but I feel like the article doesn't support the headline. Instead, it seems to be saying that you should make something that you are passionate about, and in return other people will want it. I have not found that to be true personally, although I would like for it to be true.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#5> It's okay to make something nobody wants
I tell this to my mom often
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#6Lately i have been wondering about the weird projects that people make- the “I built a web application framework in brainfuck” or “I built a text based bitmap image editor” or “I loaded an LLM on a Speak’n’Spell” kind of projects (I made up all of those but see similar on HN every day).
I understand passion projects and the article hints that might be the reason, but I just don’t understand why people would spend such enormous amounts of effort on such weird projects.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#7Lately i have been wondering about the weird projects that people make- the “I built a web application framework in brainfuck” or “I built a text based bitmap image editor” or “I loaded an LLM on a Speak’n’Spell” kind of projects (I made up all of those but see similar on HN every day). I understand passion projects and the article hints that might be the reason, but I just don’t understand why people would spend suc…
Because they find it fun? Interesting? I don’t understand how the opposite can be true. “Everything is a product” is a terrible mindset that too many people exhibit, especially those new to tech.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#8I think my recent project https://consciousness.social fits into the category of making something for the pure pleasure of it. But the medium of self-expression is the web, not the platform itself.
It’s like saying that the painting you are splashing color on is a medium of self-expression. I would rather say that painting itself is the medium.
>> Different expressions, conceived by various minds, undergo a form of natural selection, with the surviving expression being the one that resonates most with users. I mean “survival” is a relative term. A painting may not survive, but the ideas encapsulated within that painting may come to inspire others to paint in a particular way. Does that mean that the initial painting survived? In some black and white definition, no. But look closely, and you may see some form of survival.
That’s why I wouldn’t necessarily see the most successful projects as those who attract the most attention. They may be obviously successful, but if something gives you pleasure to do and you “put your entire being” into it, it may be successful in more subtle ways that may not be obvious to you or anyone, really.
A friend of mine recently said that one of the books that I wrote changed the way he looks at the subjects the book was broaching. He asked me how many people I knew that were influenced by the ideas in the book. I replied that if it changed the view of even one person, then it’s enough for me, more than enough.
The most successful projects are those that change lives for the better…even for just one person, even in a non-obvious way. And you’re right, can’t see such things getting made without at least a bit of feeling.
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#9[deleted]
Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants
#10"I think it’s okay to make something that nobody wants. All you need to do is to make sure you’ve fully expressed your emotions in this product." Having hobbies is fine, but it's not a business model.
A fellow I knew would build boats. Sailboats. I don’t know much about boats but I’d say that these were something like 25-30 foot boats. These were not dinghies.
He started from raw plans, build the hull ribs, layer on the fiberglass for the hull (he bought his resin in 50 gallon drums). Now, of course, he has to sand and finish the fiberglass.
Once he got to that point, he’d build a rig around the hull out of wood that allowed the hull to rotate in place around its axis with a hydraulic Jack. He did all of this alone.
Once upright, he’d have about 5000 lbs of lead delivered to be placed and secured in the keel. At this point he gets the top parts of the hull and deck in place so he can weatherproof the interior.
The interior is all hardwood. Mahogany and such. His two car garage was a dedicated woodworking and cabinetry shop. The boat was in his fenced backyard.
When it was all said and done, 4-5 years later, a truck and a crane would come, lift it out of the backyard, and take it to the local harbor, 30 miles away.
Then, he’d sell it, start over, and make another.
He didn’t sail.
I know he made at least 3 of them. I’m sure he profited on raw materials, not so sure on time, certainly not on time/value of money.
He was a software developer by trade. He wrote accounting systems.