> Therefore, it is difficult for me to understand why, when there is such a
> proliferation of apps currently doing the simple things that I am seeking
> to do, that it could be so difficult, so time-demanding, and so costly to
> replicate those simple FREE apps that already exist in such abundance?
The vast majority of those “free” apps you’re referring to were written by two groups of people:
One is high school kids who live at home with their parents and don’t have to work for a living. If they’re lucky, they earn enough to buy a new laptop or a car.
The other is teams of developers supported by companies who make a boatload of income from the ads and in-app upgrade fees. Lots of them live in countries where $2/hr the norm for their skills.
While I cannot say absolutely for sure, but I seriously doubt anybody on this list fits into either of those two categories.
BTW, I saw a report recently that said something like 80% of all “free” apps on both Apple and Google’s app stores generate additional income through in-app sales. And those fees are something like 3x the revenues received for “non-free” apps.
Try contacting some of those “free-ware” and “freemium” authors and see if they’ll partner with you. But don’t be surprized if they also want to know “what’s in it for me?”
To be perfectly blunt about it, you’re proposing someone build a little cash-flow system for you at little or no income to them, where 100% of the potential revenue streams go to you, not them.
(I know, you say you’re not interested in making this a revenue generator. However, if you have 10,000 customers, say, and you’re not making any money off of them, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. As a developer, I’m scratching my head wondering, “just because this fool isn’t interested in making money doesn’t mean I need to scrape by to pay the rent this month in order to support his vision!")
If you were a building architect and you wanted to make a difference for people by designing homes that would be energy-efficient and much cheaper to build than regular homes, you’d actually be able to find folks who’d help you implement your vision — like Habitat for Humanity.
I don’t know of any similar outfits for software other than open-source advocates, and even THEY look at how much some folks are making with “free” apps and wonder why THEY shouldn’t get paid a little for their efforts.
(I’ve also run into lots of open-source advocates who have no qualms collecting $50k-$100k working for open-source development companies without ever bothering to ask where the monies come from that pays their salaries - simply knowing it NOT the software.)
It’s a strange economic model, filled with lots of hidden agendas and indirect funding methods.
If you can’t find a developer who shares your vision, you’re probably going to have to pay market rates for the work you want done.
Hey, have you tried crowd funding to hire a developer?
-David "The Tool Wiz" Schwartz
On Aug 4, 2014, at 3:16 PM,
joe@actionline.com wrote:
> Just to clarify ...
>
> David Schwartz and Paul Mooring last wrote, in part:
>
>>> David wrote: I’ve talked with Joe about his app. To his credit,
>>> he’s focused mainly on the app. But what he’s missed is that,
>>> IMHO, he’s over-spec'ed it to the point where you'd need so much
>>> custom code to implement what appears to be a simple tool that
>>> he’ll never be happy with the end result.
>
>> Paul wrote: As far as Joe's project being "over-spec'ed" in any
>> case the spec is what it is. When I referred to the "just one
>> more thing" problem before, I meant the same thing I think you
>> mean when you say it's overspec'ed. there's nothing wrong with
>> wanting things a particular way and the best apps/projects
>> really do sweat the details. The root of the problem is that
>> non-devs *greatly* underestimate the time and effort involved
>> in those details.
>
>
> Just to clarify my objective ...
>
> There is nothing in my exactingly detailed "app" specs that does not
> already exist in hundreds of FREE apps that currently appear in the
> Google Playstore.
>
> How likely is it that someone paid $100,000 or $10,000 or even just
> $2,000 to get one of those hundreds of FREE apps built in order to just
> give them away FREE?
>
> Therefore, it is difficult for me to understand why, when there is such a
> proliferation of apps currently doing the simple things that I am seeking
> to do, that it could be so difficult, so time-demanding, and so costly to
> replicate those simple FREE apps that already exist in such abundance?
>
> Friends ... I'm not trying to invent a new wheel, here.
>
> I'm just trying to get an app built that can read one single book, search
> for chapters to read, scroll-within chapters, flip-pages from chapter to
> chapter, and search for keywords within that one book ... all of which my
> current html-only websites are now doing.
>
> Surely it cannot be so difficult to accomplish the same thing with an
> Android app?
>
> BTW: It cost me only $200 bucks to get the current first-edition of this
> app built (by a novice) and launched with an opening screen that fills
> the screen perfectly in both portrait and rotated to landscape modes.
>
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.CompareBibleVersionsPackage
>
>
>
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