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Does “building in public” work?

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Re: Does “building in public” work?

#21

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

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Re: Does “building in public” work?

#22
post #15

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

You’re saying they’re no true Scotsmen. They’re entrepreneurs who don’t really care what you call them. Of course people will try to make money, not everyone can afford to (or is willing to) maintain whole side projects for fun. Some people have side projects unrelated to their main line of work.

You misunderstand me.

If you solve valuable problems you will make money.

If you have a side project then spend all your time solving valuable problems not posting about $$

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#23

To me, it always seemed like the "build in public" folks were doing it more for themselves. A way to not feel so alone on the journey, while ultimately working alone. If it helped with marketing and launch, that would be a bonus.

Attention seeking activity... I guess it's one form of marketing, but if the attention is on the builder, probably not

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#24
post #8

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

If no one will pay for the solution, the problem might not be that important.

100%

Meaning that if you solve valuable problems you will [probably] make money. So spend all your time solving valuable problems not posting about $$

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#25
> Let's admit it, the main purpose of build in public is to attract attention and build a community

It's more like open sourcing your code. On one hand: yes, it's good marketing. On the other hand: you're creating positive externality, so random people show up, thank you for your contribution, and help you, monetarily, or by giving you valuable leads & feedback.

it's the same benefit of going to a conference & networking, just doing it continually. It's still useful even if everyone is doing it, because when someone stumbles on your work, they have an entry point/signal on whether there's mutual benefit in collaborating.

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#26
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If no one will pay for the solution, the problem might not be that important.

While this is true in broad strokes, I think money fails to capture non quantifiable quality of life improvements. Hacker culture being close to the users could solve them, but being driven by money would definitely hinder that development

Totally agree. Things that you work on often start off as intellectual curiosity of “why does the world work this way?”

Money often comes as a side effect but not the motivation that drives you to build in the first place.

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#27
If I have to think on first principles, the reason why people are building things in public is because that's just a form of marketing and self-promotion. We're way past tech being the hard part of launching a product. The harder part is building the audience and trying to stand out. Building in public is probably the easiest way to build buzz, gain an audience, and name recognition.

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#28

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

[deleted]

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#29

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

Honestly, if you're money-focused, you're not a part of hacker culture.

Edit: Deleted a claim that was probably stronger than I meant.

Re: Does “building in public” work?

#30

I really dislike that so much of hacker culture is $$ focused now. 1. Being a hacker means walking the world being constantly dissatisfied by all of the inefficiency you see on a daily basis and wanting to fix it. 2. Being a hacker means feeling like most of the software world is fraudulent and you are going to build a solution that actually works. 3. Being a hacker means building something because it is fun or cool.…

Sir, this is a hacker news not VC news.
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