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    What happens if the cost of creating software goes to zero?

    An essay frames the question through newspapers, arguing that free online distribution left a market split between top publishers and small operators.

    sarah guoSG
    martin_casadoMA
    @levelsio@L
    7 Sources, ,

    TLDR

    A post asks what happens as software creation costs go to zero. Its linked essay uses newspapers as an analogy: the author argues that free online distribution hollowed out the middle, leaving top publishers and solo or small businesses. Separately, another post asks whether the “product era” is ending, speculating that companies will evolve toward building models, two-sided marketplaces “on the token path,” or services.

    Combined views

    547K

    7 Sources, first seen 23d ago

    Combined views

    547K

    7 Sources, first seen 23d ago

    2.2K likes
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    23d ago
    first seen 23d ago
    2.2K likes
    247 comments
    3K saves
    184 reposts
    247 comments
    3K saves
    184 reposts

    7 Sources

    Mike Vernal@mvernalWhat happens as the cost of creating software goes to zero? https://x.com/i/article/209988109667472179323d
    sarah guo@saranormousReshaping software markets as the cost of building software collapses:23d
    martin_casado@martin_casadoAre we seeing the end of the product era? It feels like every company over time evolves to either build a model, build a two sided marketplace on the token path, or verticalize to services.23d
    Danielle Fong 🔆@DanielleFongi think everybody except like Andy Grove and Gordon Moore have essentially the wrong idea on this. you shouldn't be asking a new company that hasn't delivered 1% of the possible value of a category of what their moat is, or will be. the incredibly valuable categories, things like Computers, or AI, or flight, or electricity, are going to be structurally, heavily competed. Profits live in the organizations that can push forward on the learning curve as they grow continuously, and win profits in the gap between what they can pioneer, and other people, at every step. Like Intel. Don't ask me about my moat. Ask me about my sappers21d
    Nico@nico_jeannenDoing "tiny SaaS" and Mobile apps rn is like trying to do Print on Demand / Dropshipping in 2019 The barrier to entry have been destroyed, anyone with 2 neurons can pickup Codex to do the same now The indie hacker playbook doesn't works anymore, you can't just solve one tiny problem, build in public and do SEO and hope it will be a business IMO. It worked in 2013-2023 but not anymore If something is as easy as vibe coding something in a few hours, chances are your customers probably already do it And shitting 30 AI-generated blog posts isn't distribution, it will just be an extra turd swimming in the sea of slop that already exists out there I also see lots of ppl who think "building an audience" is a moat etc. So, yes but clowning on X is not building an audience, unless you plan on doing it full time and monetizing it via sponsors like what we've saw recently. But then it's a totally different business AND is just as hard because everyone want to do exactly the same and be famous, so you need to post INTERESTING STUFF 5-10x day if you want to have a chance So you can't just make the same kind of content, videos etc as everyone else is doing rn, you need to find interesting and unique stuff, which is hard. By definition business is hard. Don't trust ppl who say it's easy and fast. People pay you to solve problem they can't solve. If something suddenly becomes easy, it's means it's also easy for everyone else = it's less valuable There is no secret roadmap, there is no money glitch, it's supposed to be hard and sometimes sucks. Customers don't pay you to have fun and enjoying life traveling in Asia, they pay u to get their problem solved better, faster or cheaper. But by all mean if you enjoy doing tiny mobile apps, building in public and posting silly pics on X, have fun! But it's not a business, it's a hobby IMO the best thing to do rn is to go out of the bubble and talk with people, to find problems worth solving. Especially in old/boring industries. Cause lots of ppl won't do it simply cause it's not sexy or interesting and won't make lots of views on social media, which is good, it means less noise! IMO you don't need to know the industry perfectly as long as you're curious AND talk with users on calls etc. to get feedback Just my opinion tho21d
    Andrew Côté@AndercotI think I can credibly turn @deeptechweek into the worlds first Self-Driving Company, by making what a "deep tech week" more like a protocol rather than a business operation. There *should* be some kind of neutral, community resource, where by participating you benefit - intros, connections, match-making, fundraising, investments, hiring, etc. Anytime someone tries to monetize the commons for their own personal benefit it sorta destroys it, that being said, the real goal is to occupy the highest degree centrality node in the deep tech week ecosystem, since that is the ultimate point of arbitrage. I think this is what people don't "get" about events - sure you could charge a high ticket price, but growth is linear in attendance, and you cap the size. Meanwhile the value of a network grows quadratically with network size. Monetize the connections, not the participation, and, monetize those in a way where the benefits flow to participants directly.21d
    @levelsio@levelsioRT @nico_jeannen: Doing "tiny SaaS" and Mobile apps rn is like trying to do Print on Demand / Dropshipping in 2019 The barrier to entry ha…20d

    Sentiment

    Positive83.7%16.3%Negative

    Summary

    Positive accounts welcomed analyses of collapsing software creation costs for highlighting opportunities in tiny SaaS and market reshaping, while negative replies called the thesis flawed or warned AI would soon overtake the space.

    Based on 82 sentiment-bearing replies from 80 accounts across 3 conversations.

    Sentiment

    Positive83.7%16.3%Negative

    Summary

    Positive accounts welcomed analyses of collapsing software creation costs for highlighting opportunities in tiny SaaS and market reshaping, while negative replies called the thesis flawed or warned AI would soon overtake the space.

    Based on 82 sentiment-bearing replies from 80 accounts across 3 conversations.

    7 Sources

    Mike Vernal@mvernalWhat happens as the cost of creating software goes to zero? https://x.com/i/article/209988109667472179323d
    sarah guo@saranormousReshaping software markets as the cost of building software collapses:23d
    martin_casado@martin_casadoAre we seeing the end of the product era? It feels like every company over time evolves to either build a model, build a two sided marketplace on the token path, or verticalize to services.23d
    Danielle Fong 🔆@DanielleFongi think everybody except like Andy Grove and Gordon Moore have essentially the wrong idea on this. you shouldn't be asking a new company that hasn't delivered 1% of the possible value of a category of what their moat is, or will be. the incredibly valuable categories, things like Computers, or AI, or flight, or electricity, are going to be structurally, heavily competed. Profits live in the organizations that can push forward on the learning curve as they grow continuously, and win profits in the gap between what they can pioneer, and other people, at every step. Like Intel. Don't ask me about my moat. Ask me about my sappers21d
    Nico@nico_jeannenDoing "tiny SaaS" and Mobile apps rn is like trying to do Print on Demand / Dropshipping in 2019 The barrier to entry have been destroyed, anyone with 2 neurons can pickup Codex to do the same now The indie hacker playbook doesn't works anymore, you can't just solve one tiny problem, build in public and do SEO and hope it will be a business IMO. It worked in 2013-2023 but not anymore If something is as easy as vibe coding something in a few hours, chances are your customers probably already do it And shitting 30 AI-generated blog posts isn't distribution, it will just be an extra turd swimming in the sea of slop that already exists out there I also see lots of ppl who think "building an audience" is a moat etc. So, yes but clowning on X is not building an audience, unless you plan on doing it full time and monetizing it via sponsors like what we've saw recently. But then it's a totally different business AND is just as hard because everyone want to do exactly the same and be famous, so you need to post INTERESTING STUFF 5-10x day if you want to have a chance So you can't just make the same kind of content, videos etc as everyone else is doing rn, you need to find interesting and unique stuff, which is hard. By definition business is hard. Don't trust ppl who say it's easy and fast. People pay you to solve problem they can't solve. If something suddenly becomes easy, it's means it's also easy for everyone else = it's less valuable There is no secret roadmap, there is no money glitch, it's supposed to be hard and sometimes sucks. Customers don't pay you to have fun and enjoying life traveling in Asia, they pay u to get their problem solved better, faster or cheaper. But by all mean if you enjoy doing tiny mobile apps, building in public and posting silly pics on X, have fun! But it's not a business, it's a hobby IMO the best thing to do rn is to go out of the bubble and talk with people, to find problems worth solving. Especially in old/boring industries. Cause lots of ppl won't do it simply cause it's not sexy or interesting and won't make lots of views on social media, which is good, it means less noise! IMO you don't need to know the industry perfectly as long as you're curious AND talk with users on calls etc. to get feedback Just my opinion tho21d
    Andrew Côté@AndercotI think I can credibly turn @deeptechweek into the worlds first Self-Driving Company, by making what a "deep tech week" more like a protocol rather than a business operation. There *should* be some kind of neutral, community resource, where by participating you benefit - intros, connections, match-making, fundraising, investments, hiring, etc. Anytime someone tries to monetize the commons for their own personal benefit it sorta destroys it, that being said, the real goal is to occupy the highest degree centrality node in the deep tech week ecosystem, since that is the ultimate point of arbitrage. I think this is what people don't "get" about events - sure you could charge a high ticket price, but growth is linear in attendance, and you cap the size. Meanwhile the value of a network grows quadratically with network size. Monetize the connections, not the participation, and, monetize those in a way where the benefits flow to participants directly.21d
    @levelsio@levelsioRT @nico_jeannen: Doing "tiny SaaS" and Mobile apps rn is like trying to do Print on Demand / Dropshipping in 2019 The barrier to entry ha…20d