[smjburton]

> Today it’s the fashion to make web services in a very “lightweight” way, to offer minimally viable web products free, and to iterate rapidly as experience is gained with initial web users.

> I really envy people doing software with the web. One could do much better these days. But we didn’t have it, and so we were forced to do many things that wouldn’t be sensible today.

It's true there's a lot less cost and overhead to build and ship software today, but this is a double-edged sword: the perceived value of the software is also lower, and so people are less willing to pay and even expect the product to be free. I would argue it's much more difficult to build a software business these days because of this. If you can't sell your product, it's impossible to build a sustainable business.

[giancarlostoro]

> even expect the product to be free

I struggle with some of my ideas because of this. How do I compete in spaces where people can get applications for free due to ads, with a paid service with no ads.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

The fact that many people use adblockers should tell you something.

[smjburton]

If you find out, please let me know... :)

[giancarlostoro]

HN would be the first place I'd comment about it yeah, I think my only option is to do something more directly profitable and subsidize the cost of a social media apparatus off of it.

[pipes]

I think this is happening with games, especially in the non triple A category. It is way easier to make games but the value of each game feels way lower to me now. This is multiplied by the fact that I can play thousands of games for free via emulation or flash carts for old systems.