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

Side projects I've built since 2009

naeemnur.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 146 posts

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#41

Post by dmos62 »

90s_dev wrote: post #40
PaulRobinson wrote: post #18

I wish I had this energy again. I've got a list of side projects to get on with. I've made little progress in the last year, and suspect its burn out to blame - I'm just constantly exhausted. I think if you have the energy, this is awesome fun. It might even get to the point where one of them makes some decent income. But if you don't, like me, just realise that there is a reason for that, and it's OK. You need rest…

> I wish I had this energy again. I used to think my youthful energy was gone forever. Then about 3 months ago I had an idea for a project I truly believed in. I was able to write code for 16 hours straight, day after day, for most of the last 3 months. And it's not exhausting, it's rejuvenating . I feel like a young man again, despite my gray hairs! (I was planning on releasing it today actually, but this weekend I…

Happy to hear this, good luck!

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#43

Post by loveparade »

mattrighetti wrote: post #36
giantg2 wrote: post #35

That's a pretty high percentage of sold vs dead products. I think most people would be lucky to sell even one side project.

That’s the first thing I thought about too. OP how do you sell your side projects? Does people just reach out or are you actively looking for people interested in buying?

I think "sold" probably doesn't mean what you think it means here. Have you looked at the projects? Nearly all of them are just statics lists of things. Like "a list of all country flags" or "a list of modern inventions"

Maybe it was some SEO related sale with the domain and bit of ad revenue that someone bought for $100, which probably isn't the definition of selling a side project that most users on HN have. In fact, looking at the domains, the domains were probably worth more than the content on those sites.

That's why I originally flagged this post because I thought it was a bit misleading. I didn't think most people here would consider simple lists of things as side projects.

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#44

Post by 90s_dev »

jonplackett wrote: post #6

I should make a page of ‘Every Side Project I haven’t quite finished building since 2009’ But it would be so huge I can’t afford the hosting bill.

Maybe someone can make a curated wiki page of people's unfinished and/or abandoned projects so everyone can put theirs there? (Oh wait, that's just github.)

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#45

Post by nonethewiser »

jonplackett wrote: post #6

I should make a page of ‘Every Side Project I haven’t quite finished building since 2009’ But it would be so huge I can’t afford the hosting bill.

Good.

I don't see this as a bad thing. Most people make side projects for fun, trying knew things, solidifying knowledge, etc.

I mean, if you have a goal of starting a SaaS and you've spent years starting and stopping a bunch of projects that you never follow through on then yeah, you should improve on that. But that's not most people with a bunch of unfinished side projects.

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#46

Post by skeeter2020 »

jonplackett wrote: post #6

I should make a page of ‘Every Side Project I haven’t quite finished building since 2009’ But it would be so huge I can’t afford the hosting bill.

I have - and still - struggle with this. My (unsolicited) advice:

1. just start anything NOW. Don't worry about getting organized or the correct order; just go. The act of working creates momentum; early on moving is more important than progress.

2. today's good enough > tomorrow's perfect. I found an OSS project for something I was going to build to help me capture "personal content". It's rough and not exactly what I was after but good enough. I've built (less than) half a system to help me with my job on top of PocketBase. Maybe someday I'll finish it (or even add another feature - #1 above has lots of ideas captured!) but until then I get value today.

3. Find something that has ongoing personal value: I help an animal rescue and pay the ongoing costs to run the system I built more than 10 years ago. Dropping $20/month to $5/month is possible but not a big enough motivation for a significant new version. The looming tech debt and support load might be over the rest of this year though!

4. Recognize that the incomplete part of side projects is a feature not a bug. Curiosity and exploration almost always end in specific dead ends, but the illumination gained can be used throughout your life. It's largely the act not the explicit output.

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#47

Post by nonethewiser »

loveparade wrote: post #43
mattrighetti wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s the first thing I thought about too. OP how do you sell your side projects? Does people just reach out or are you actively looking for people interested in buying?

I think "sold" probably doesn't mean what you think it means here. Have you looked at the projects? Nearly all of them are just statics lists of things. Like "a list of all country flags" or "a list of modern inventions" Maybe it was some SEO related sale with the domain and bit of ad revenue that someone bought for $100, which probably isn't the definition of selling a side project that most users on HN have. In fac…

I think this is a good clarification, although I think it's still a solid accomplishment.

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#48

Post by skeeter2020 »

90s_dev wrote: post #44
jonplackett wrote: post #6

I should make a page of ‘Every Side Project I haven’t quite finished building since 2009’ But it would be so huge I can’t afford the hosting bill.

Maybe someone can make a curated wiki page of people's unfinished and/or abandoned projects so everyone can put theirs there? (Oh wait, that's just github.)

except you said curated :)

I actually love this part of github; it reminds me of the old internet, full of under construction Geocities pages and other half-baked projects. It's the polar opposite of today's bland, instagram-perfect same-same internet.

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#49

Post by johnisgood »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #31
johnisgood wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you get any visitors to begin with? By posting it on HN?

IG reels, TT

You would have to have enough followers though, don't you? So that begs the question: where did you get so many followers from? :P

Re: Side projects I've built since 2009

#50

Post by nonethewiser »

naeemnur wrote: post #25
FiberBundle wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you be ok with giving a range of selling prices?

Sure, Highest was $8,000 and lowest $250. Total so far is a bit over $35k. Thinking of adding the prices to the page soon.

Thank you for sharing and congrats.
Post reply on HN