That used to be what the net and all of the coder based communities were about. Thats why I used to come to slashdot, or HN when I found the net.
And we've reached that point when the creatures (the firms and technologies built by those people) of that culture are diverging from ideals of the culture.
But the above comment is inherently empty - any successful system will eventually expand till it reaches a barrier of complexity which cannot be overcome on its own.
Figuring out what to do is the challenge.
The things that worked were coders having free time to spend on interesting projects. But I suspect, that we've better understood the value of coder time, and the major firms are now paying the correct amount to keep coders busy.
The market BS is a good thing for coders in the short and medium term. People who understand finance and strategy are willing to pay what it takes today, to own a chance at being richer tomorrow.
If you have a neat hobby? communities will help you get better at it. Maybe if its really good, you can convert that into a product/firm and possibly a good exit. If that happens you won't have to worry about it ever, and you'll be that thing which is respected among your peers - a succesful serial entrepreneur. You would have done the hard thing (product creation, team management, finance, successful exit).
In a group of people who respect ability and excellence, its hard not to think of the guy who did the harder job as meritorious.
In short: I don't think theres a market solution for a new market normal.
Its easier to figure out you are cut of a different cloth, recognize the market dynamics for what they are, and make time to build whatever it is you want to build.
Eventually a lot of other coders are going to come to similar realizations (provided the cultural bubble online isn't too distortive)
And we've reached that point when the creatures (the firms and technologies built by those people) of that culture are diverging from ideals of the culture.
But the above comment is inherently empty - any successful system will eventually expand till it reaches a barrier of complexity which cannot be overcome on its own.
Figuring out what to do is the challenge.
The things that worked were coders having free time to spend on interesting projects. But I suspect, that we've better understood the value of coder time, and the major firms are now paying the correct amount to keep coders busy.
The market BS is a good thing for coders in the short and medium term. People who understand finance and strategy are willing to pay what it takes today, to own a chance at being richer tomorrow.
If you have a neat hobby? communities will help you get better at it. Maybe if its really good, you can convert that into a product/firm and possibly a good exit. If that happens you won't have to worry about it ever, and you'll be that thing which is respected among your peers - a succesful serial entrepreneur. You would have done the hard thing (product creation, team management, finance, successful exit).
In a group of people who respect ability and excellence, its hard not to think of the guy who did the harder job as meritorious.
In short: I don't think theres a market solution for a new market normal.
Its easier to figure out you are cut of a different cloth, recognize the market dynamics for what they are, and make time to build whatever it is you want to build.
Eventually a lot of other coders are going to come to similar realizations (provided the cultural bubble online isn't too distortive)