whether the product improves over time has no bearing on revenue
Only very rarely do I want my software to “improve over time”. That’s code for feature accumulation, which is essentially a negative for existing users but helps publishers expand their market.
Generally, there’s something I want to do. I find software that does it in a way I like. I want to have that software, exactly as I encountered it, so that I can do the thing that I want to do in the way that I want to do it.
Changing the interface every 18 months to accommodate the 217 new and irrelevant-to-me things it does is not usually what I was looking for.
Occasionally, there is a specific new thing I want to do and I go looking for software that does it. If it’s from a publisher whose work I liked previously, I’ll likely turn to them first and will decide if I like what they’re now selling.
But again, that’s me and my goal looking for software when I need it. Adding new noise to the thing I paid for (or am paying for) is almost always a nuisance and inconvenience that removes value from my prior choice.
Comments
Only very rarely do I want my software to “improve over time”. That’s code for feature accumulation, which is essentially a negative for existing users but helps publishers expand their market.
Generally, there’s something I want to do. I find software that does it in a way I like. I want to have that software, exactly as I encountered it, so that I can do the thing that I want to do in the way that I want to do it.
Changing the interface every 18 months to accommodate the 217 new and irrelevant-to-me things it does is not usually what I was looking for.
Occasionally, there is a specific new thing I want to do and I go looking for software that does it. If it’s from a publisher whose work I liked previously, I’ll likely turn to them first and will decide if I like what they’re now selling.
But again, that’s me and my goal looking for software when I need it. Adding new noise to the thing I paid for (or am paying for) is almost always a nuisance and inconvenience that removes value from my prior choice.
Meditation timer this post is about you!