So I had an idea for a FOSS (Free Open Source Software) business I could run without feeling like I was a bad person.
Posted by
Beryllium (aka grayman)
Mar 11 '16, 19:34
|
It might help to first explain that I've recently seen someone on twitter that I respect have a great deal of success with offering a paid version of a free open-source software product they wrote. The product allows for asset management inside companies (keeping track of computers, monitors, printers, phones, etc - especially when being shipped between locations). A long time ago I wrote a similar solution that, had I concentrated on improving it, could have turned into a powerful product for companies to organize things.
Anyway.
As much as I like my grubThing project, I don't foresee it being possible to monetize it in a respectable way with low manpower. So I think it might be in my best interests to pursue a different concept.
The idea I have is an open source photo gallery solution along the lines of Flickr, but that power users could install on their home network without having to worry about paying a corporation that could terminate their service at any time.
I'm already halfway through writing a book on building something like that, and as another side project I'm 1/3rd of the way through a different photo app that allows for rapid organization and tagging of photos thanks to a Tinder-like interface.
My idea for monetizing it is to offer different hosting plans - I mean, not everyone will want to self-host. And, not everyone will want to keep their system isolated.
I am thinking it might be a good first offering to have a "Guest Pass" service that people could affordably subscribe to that would allow self-installed users to publish a "Guest Album" to a central online service and then share a direct "secret" link to their friends who might want to see it.
Now, the competition in the area is strong - Google Photos and Facebook photos come to mind - but they all rely on a central corporation, and that corporation is liable to go offline at any moment. They also get full access to all your photos for whatever deep learning/privacy-invading platform they dream up. Google in particular is also notable for completely terminating their products.
An additional way to monetize the idea is to offer hosting plans - with a To Go option in case people want to start self-hosting, and with an Import option in case self-hosters want to join the Cloud.
Ultimately, I want to design products that are not innately beholden to corporations.
People need to have full ownership of their data, even if they don't yet realize how important that is.
|
Responses:
|
