zlacker

This lesson extends to almost everything in life. Too many people wrap up their goals and aspirations to things that are really someone elses thing at the end of the day. It frequently doesn't end well.

This is a really great article.

>>anm89+(OP)
Definitely, it's not only about games, and not even only about marketing your content of whatever topic on SM.

Somewhat also applies to buying your stuff mostly on Amazon, hurting your local business. Or any other business that also knows how to deliver its stuff inside a package to your door.

(Just in case it wasnt obvious: Not my blog, just following it)

>>anm89+(OP)
Sadly you can't build apps that can send notifications on the most popular phone on the planet without subjecting yourself to arbitrary censorship by Apple and a 30% cut of revenues.

You also can't build apps that use decentralized backends that receive notifications on that platform. All notifications have to come from the centralized app developer.

Sharecropping is beginning to be the only way.

>>sneak+R2
I did hold that belief for some time, but I solved it with the most reliable notification-method I came across thus far, and that's plain simple email from my own domain.

I understand this is not possible for specific apps that need smartphone notifications to function properly, but when you think about it: a lot of (web)apps don't need that.

In general, one might need less notifications than one thinks.

>>riidom+Z
>Somewhat also applies to buying your stuff mostly on Amazon, hurting your local business.

What if you can't afford to buy real estate in your local community, and don't own any stake in any local businesses? How does spending more money, and driving 20+ minutes, enrich your experience in any way?

>>anm89+(OP)
Well it's easy to say "don't build your castle in other people's kingdom", but when 95% of people live in someone else's kingdom and like it there it's much harder to actually pull that off.

The author laments content creators trying to bring viewers into their discord or twitter instead of personal website but conveniently ignores the fact that people are much more willing to go to and likely to return to sites they already visit.

I don't think content creators are especially happy to be reliant on youtube, or twitch, or whatever other site they're on. But the reality is that's where the people are. When creators have left those platforms they've consistently lost the vast majority of their viewers, because the reality is that there are plenty of other creators on the platform for viewers to migrate to.

>>spaced+e9
I wrote that from the customers perspective, though. If the shop is too far away to be comfortable to reach (20mins in your example, mileage my vary), there are usually options to get it sent to your house.

Yes, you need to make a new account probably, but that's just minutes, and only in case you are shopping there for the first time.

I had a talk with someone about that, and he was like, "Well I'd had to open 1-2 accounts every week at various shops and completely loose control over it". But I think the true problem in this case is a different one.

>>sneak+R2
This is so great on the last android versions. I can shut all your noisy messages down. You think they are important, they are not.

>>colinm+Sa
> when 95% of people live in someone else's kingdom

Everyone lives in someone else's kingdom, except those people who own kingdoms.

Articles like these, repeated on HN year after year because they represent popular fantasies (and are thus always voted to the front page), are universally misleading and wrong.

Challenge someone to list how they plan to build a successful business, starting from scratch, outside of existing kingdoms. You'll get a lot of evasiveness in response in terms of answers.

It applies to online businesses as well as offline businesses.

Need advertising? You're in someone else's kingdom. Need marketing? You're in someone else's kingdom. Need cloud hosting or services? You're in someone else's kingdom. Need access to the Internet? You're going to span numerous kingdoms that you don't own. Need to process payments? Again, multiple kingdoms you don't own. Need a domain or access to an app store? Kingdoms you don't own. Need retail goods to put in your store? Numerous kingdoms you don't own. Need manufacturing for your widget? Numerous kingdoms you don't own. Need delivery services beyond local? Someone else's kingdom. Need utilities for anything? Someone else's kingdom. Need government licenses for anything? Someone else's kingdom. Need to travel at distance, by train or plane, for sales or similar? Someone else's kingdom. Need teleconferencing? Very likely someone else's kingdom. Need to sell something online? Someone else's kingdom (most likely; even if you just use Shopify).

And on and on and on it goes. The alternative scenario of trying to do everything yourself is hell.

A better premise would be: be careful where you build your castle, and consider putting it on wheels.

>>colinm+Sa
The article discusses that. The idea is go where the people are and try to get them to come to your own kingdom. Use their platform to advertise your platform. I'm sure this is harder than it sounds, but it's pretty amazing the size of the organizations that don't even seem to be trying.

>>svacha+9r
Well the thing is it's probably much easier to do this incrementally. If you put a link to your site on your youtube videos your conversion is going to be terrible. If you put links to your twitter and discord it will be better. Then you can try to get people on your discord to go to your site since they're already deeply invested in your community. Anyway, building your castle in as many communities as possible seems like a much better defensive tactic than spinning your wheels trying to create a new kingdom.

>>advent+Lq
> Challenge someone to list how they plan to build a successful business, starting from scratch, outside of existing kingdoms.

I'm not about to share that information, sorry.

>>riidom+Z
Seriously that talking point of "buying stuff on Amazon hurts your local businesses" is such an incredibly false dichotomy. The stuff on Amazon has long often been from a local business, often one you haven't heard of because of its obscure but cheap location.

And that is before getting into the other trade fallacies, opportunity costs, and relative advantages.

>>advent+Lq
>A better premise would be: be careful where you build your castle, and consider putting it on wheels.

No, the analogy (and the article) is fine, we're just busy torturing it all to hell on our way to some mirage of isomorphic purity. The concept of "your kingdom" does not need to be something you completely control in a 100% self-sufficient way in every conceivable context to be a useful way to think about marketing indie games or other real-life situations.

>>rambam+98
As a vendor, notifications sell more. As someone who sells things, you need to outsell your competition. Therefore, as a vendor, you need more notifications than you think.

>>advent+Lq
Hi "represent popular fantasies (and are thus always voted to the front page), are universally misleading and wrong."

I am the author of the article. Great, critique. I responded to how I actually make it work in another comment. Basically treat all the other platforms as advertising and pull people to your own site that you charge access for.

It works and I am able to make a living at it.