LiveCode for the Hobbyists

[Mark Schonewille]

A good way to grow the community is to give something away for free. 
That's what RunRev has done by open-sourcing. I'm not sure this was a 
good strategic move as far as earning are concerned, but it was 
definitely a good way to attract more users.

It is also necessary to be present in tech news media all the time. Have 
a special offer every month, make big announcements about new features, 
get attention from important sites like MacWorld and magazines like Time 
and WSJ and obviously news papers. The company isn't doing this.

Another good way to get a user base is to be available in schools. This 
is hard work, as network administrators, school boards, and politicians 
are often against all change. RunRev put a little effort into this a 
long time ago and I don't think they currently do anything in this regard.

Also, when I visit the homepage and surf around a little, I can't find 
any information about HTML5 whatsoever.

Kind regards,

Mark Schonewille
http://economy-x-talk.com
https://www.facebook.com/marksch

Buy the most extensive book on the
LiveCode language:
http://livecodebeginner.economy-x-talk.com

Op 2/26/2016 om 22:45 schreef Roland Huettmann:
> The disussion comes from
>   (taken from: Players in HTML5 - ETA for Full Functionality?)
>
> Dirk Prive:
>
> "I think the lack of interest in supporting the hobby programmers will hurt
> the company in the not too distant future. As a hobby user myself I have
> paid for a license for a long long time. "
>
>   "Ok, since I see that my point was hard to understand, I'll try to make it
> a
> bit more clear."
>
> I would be willing to pay about 300$/year to have a hobby programming tool.
> I think that is good money the company could use. I don't expect some pro
> features, for instance HTML, iOS,.."
>
> ... and following discussion
>
> ====
>
> I think the discussion turned a bit off-subject in the "Re: Players in
> HTML5 - ETA for Full Functionality?" thread.
>
> Why would it not be a nice idea to have another option for 10-20 dollars a
> month for all those who can not afford the Indy license because either they
> do not need it, or / and it is too much for a hobby - which is
> understandable?
>
> Maybe there could be some continued benefit attached to such small but
> ongoing monthly payments? Here there is usually no need for a
> code-protected version. Benefits could be something different.
>
> The bigger question remains, how to support LiveCode to grow to where it
> wants to be?
>
> I like the idea better to receive 10 dollars a month from 10,000 users
> compared to receiving 1,000 dollars a year from 100 users. But that could
> all be segmented and be very transparent and easy to understand for
> everyone, so both concepts could work hand-in-hand.
>
> And who is not paying 10 dollars for a nice cake?
>
> Why was something like "Skype" not made using LiveCode? ))) There are
> products out in the market making money - even without nasty ads popping up
> all the time.
>
> Or there could just be one big company paying for a single continued ad
> (placed without obstructing) sponsoring LiveCode to grow fast and above
> limits. (There are dozens of ideas here.) I think LiveCode could qualify.
> And when I look at all the super multi millions of dollars spent for crazy
> ads then this could also be a good investment for a selected advertiser.
> Sponsoring does not have to be annoying and would be very effective for
> both sides and us.
>
> I am just trying to think out of the box.
>
> How would LiveCode grow fast enough? By itself? Just because it is a nice
> fun product for us users, hobbyists, students, and developers? Is it enough
> looking around watching a rough sea?
>
> Roland