It's okay to make something nobody wants • Hacker News Board

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#161

Post by HeyLaughingBoy » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 4:57 PM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #22

spencerflem wrote: post #12

That's not making something nobody wants - its making something one person wants a lot :) On a less happy note, there are definitely jobs I've had where I felt like nobody wanted what I was making and its kind of miserable

I have that feeling trying to improve dev practices in a shop that had none. Years of effort and we’re barely at the point my previous place was at before I even started there.

Ugh. I feel you. I left my last job in large part because I concluded that I had done as much as I ever would be able to in terms of improving things. Staying would just have led to increasing frustration. Better off leaving when I could feel good about the improvements that I made.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#162

Post by shrimpx » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 4:59 PM UTC

chronicsonic wrote: post #88

hermannj314 wrote: post #81

I wasted a lot of my life being too scared to make something out of fear. This community especially can be very toxic to people that are starting out, that aren't geniuses, that didnt make every perfect decision for their product. Life is more enjoyable in a create-fail-learn loop than a consume-criticize-gloat loop. I wish I'd learned that sooner.

That’s why I like the Saveitforparts YouTube Channel. He’s the antimatter of those slick YouTube build channels, where everything is perfect. Just a laid-back bloke building stuff in his garage, without giving a shit what other people might think about it. https://m.youtube.com/@saveitforparts

YouTube influencer with 138k followers, I think he probably gives a shit.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#163

Post by AlbertCory » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:07 PM UTC

SyberShock wrote: post #96

hermannj314 wrote: post #81

I wasted a lot of my life being too scared to make something out of fear. This community especially can be very toxic to people that are starting out, that aren't geniuses, that didnt make every perfect decision for their product. Life is more enjoyable in a create-fail-learn loop than a consume-criticize-gloat loop. I wish I'd learned that sooner.

> This community especially can be very toxic to people that are starting out, that aren't geniuses The toxic ones are especially cruel to people that have special genius. And the toxic ones usually consider themselves the deep well of genius. Anything that threatens that perception incurs ire. You can find this in places where there is a, "pecking order" and someone who comes along with a new inspiration gets beat d…

"Consider the source" is always good advice.

In interpersonal life, you have more to go on about the source. He or she is obviously an opinionated know-nothing loudmouth. Online, you either have to know the sender, or guess from the community.

StackExchange is especially infested with those, so you can safely assume anyone trashing your idea is one of them. Reddit, too, pretty much. HN has some of those, but not everyone is like that.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#164

Post by pdonis » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:08 PM UTC

The article's title is a misnomer. (I can't tell whether that is intentional on the author's part or not.) The article describes making something you, the maker want, because you find it interesting--but then says that other people will end up wanting it too, because they also find it interesting. So you're not making something nobody wants: you want it, and you're not nobody, and others end up wanting it as well.

What the article really seems to be advising against is making something, not because you want it, but because you think others will want it. The article is basically arguing that that doesn't work. But why doesn't it work? Because in fact doing that ends up making something that nobody wants! You don't want it, and once you've made it, you find out others don't want it either.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#165

Post by HeyLaughingBoy » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:14 PM UTC

skeeter2020 wrote: post #105

yieldcrv wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why care? The only reason I point stuff out at my current company is because I don't want to get on a performance improvement plan because of their dumb work forecasting solutions

Because caring IS the entire point. I think you'd be better served to ask "Why do?"

bills to pay.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#166

Post by pphysch » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:26 PM UTC

spencerflem wrote: post #12

That's not making something nobody wants - its making something one person wants a lot :) On a less happy note, there are definitely jobs I've had where I felt like nobody wanted what I was making and its kind of miserable

Yes, exactly. 0 to 1 is the largest growth% you will ever achieve. And you can get it for free.

Besides, our tastes aren't all that unique.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#167

Post by Borg3 » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:33 PM UTC

I have quite a bit of tools/progs or game mods that pretty much nobody uses. Mostly because they are very niche and long dead OS. Same for games, nobody plays them anymore. Is this making me sad? A bit, because would be cool to share and play. But, from other side I have stuff I can tinker myself and play too.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#168

Post by SoftTalker » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:40 PM UTC

GMoromisato wrote: post #151

davnicwil wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A negative reception to putting a product out there is actually a really great outcome. It shows you are doing something right if this happens. The expected and typical outcome is to be completely ignored - crickets. This is perhaps the main reason you should not fear shipping! I have a post which elaborates on this if it's interesting for anyone: https://davnicwil.com/negative-feedback-is-positive/

I agree with you—particularly about shipping. I used to worry about shipping because I thought “you only get one chance to make a good impression.” But as long as you use negative feedback to improve, you will always[1] get another chance! Statistically speaking, 0% of the world has seen your product. [1] Obligatory disclaimer that if you really fuck up, you don’t get another chance. But that’s super rare.

Yes, I think if someone cares enough to leave negative feedback, they found it interesting enough to at least try it out, and they're (often) at least invested enough to see if their feedback has any impact or makes a difference. They will look again.

The people who see your thing as useless and don't even try it are the people you never hear from.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#169

Post by orasis » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 5:45 PM UTC

I’ll push back on this. I think most of us want some external validation that what we’re creating is useful and valuable.

I spent 2 solid years working on https://improve.ai and it’s gotten very little uptake. It’s taken a long time to emotionally get over putting that much blood, sweat, and money into something that almost no one values.

Going forward I will be failing much faster and not giving my life energy to products that aren’t showing traction.

Re: It's okay to make something nobody wants

#170

Post by phforms » Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 6:10 PM UTC

I think I get what the author trying to say. In my years as a graphic designer (mostly print), I intuitively knew when something “felt right”, and when that happened, I often have made something that I am still proud of today. It may have not been for everyone and it may have been hard to sell to clients (who often prefer what they have already seen in successful examples), but I didn’t care, because I saw the value in it and often a few other people also did.

Those were the projects that I redesigned multiple times, because the previous approach just didn’t “feel right”. I invested a lot of research into that feeling, it was somehow addictive (and sometimes equally frustrating) to me.

As a developer, I now have a similar experience with personal projects that grew out of my own curiosity. When doing something for clients, I often feel myself torn between what feels “right” to me and what the client actually wants or prefers. It may often not be what they really need, and I know that, but this is why I must have my personal projects, because client work often feels unfulfilling to me (however, it is fulfilling in a different way).