andy

Step 3: Profit! September 21, 2005

Posted by andy in : coding, life , trackback

The plan is simple.

Step 1: Idea
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit

Here is how I did it…

Step 1: Screengrab extension for Firefox
Step 2: Write the thing mentioned in step 1 AND (crucially) put it on internet WITH (even more crucially) a shiny little “Donate” button.
Step 3: Profit

So far, of the 11,500 people who have downloaded my toy from addons.mozilla.org and the untold heaps that have done it from this site (must figure out how to get stats for that…) I have a received a MAMMOTH 2 donations!

TWO! Woooo! They total $40! How great is that? Pretty great.

By my estimate, at that ratio, if I can get everyone in the entire world to download and install my extension, and those that donate give, on average, $20 (AUD) then I will be… err… RICH!

Thanks to you two guys who gave. You rock!

Comments»

1. VinDSL - October 3, 2005

Sorry you feel that way!

Papa told me, “Show ‘em what you got, but don’t give it to ‘em. You gotta tease ‘em a little. Make ‘em work for it!”

I design software and give it away for free all the time. Why? Because I like to design software and give it away for free — all teh time. If I hit ‘the lottery’ tomorrow, I would quit my day-job, but I would still design software and give it away for free, all the time, because that’s what I LIKE to do.

If this kind of stuff bothers you, perhaps you should take up a different hobby, yes?

2. andy - October 3, 2005

No no. You misunderstand. I was actually really really excited that some people donated me money. I didn’t think that anyone ever actually did that

That post was actually directed at Bodhi (maybe it should have been an email).

Putting the donate button up was an experiment, and I’ve just always wanted to have a website with a “Donate” button on it. Somehow I feel that legitimises you. If I EXPECTED to get money for the stuff I do in my spare time I’d sell it. As it happens, I, like you, really enjoy doing this stuff (although I don’t think the missus likes it as much as me :))

Re-reading that post it does sound sarcastic, but it was meant to be. It just isn’t meant to be taken badly.

3. Roy - August 1, 2006

Andy,

Darned, the conversion ratio is 0.000173913043.

Anyway this post reminds me of the South Park episode that featured the underpants gnomes.

Step 1: Collect underpants
Step 2: ………………………….
Step 3: Profits !!!!!

Anyway are you comforable with XUL & prefably C++?
Are you available for freelance work?
Pls get in touch with me.

4. andy - August 2, 2006

Yeah. The ratio is probably ridiculously bad now.

Since this post, I’ve been dugg and a whole heap more people have downloaded the ole tool. But I just checked and I got $10.00 from another generous chap from the US a couple of days ago.

If I could just stop writing this thesis, getting married, working and making travel plans I reckon I could actually make some headway on all of these projects.

As for work… well I’d never say no. I would however say “wait”, since I have no time.

5. sayit, dont sprayit - September 27, 2006