Read on Twitter
Hear hear! Mark speaks the truth.
You will, however, indulge a brief early-morning Twitter rant. https://twitter.com/MarkABaker/status/1248547982804312065
You will, however, indulge a brief early-morning Twitter rant. https://twitter.com/MarkABaker/status/1248547982804312065
A lot of folks in tech and investing use "commoditize" as a perjorative. "Oh, Postgres commoditized databases!" The change in price and availability on a previously hard-to-acquire, hard-to-use asset disrupts established businesses and older models.
Must be bad!
Must be bad!
But hold on.
Gold is a commodity. Wheat and oil are commodities. "Commodity" means "a thing so important that industries and markets arise spontaneously to ensure its availability."
I mean. It would suck to have no gold, wheat or oil.
Gold is a commodity. Wheat and oil are commodities. "Commodity" means "a thing so important that industries and markets arise spontaneously to ensure its availability."
I mean. It would suck to have no gold, wheat or oil.
Open source simplifies widespread production and distribution of the hugely important asset "software" -- that curious capability we have of getting rocks to do useful work.
Software's not eating the world. The world is devouring software. It needs to be a commodity!
Software's not eating the world. The world is devouring software. It needs to be a commodity!
Same is true of cloud services. Back in the 00s, I realized I could jam a wire into a wall and get data tone, just like I used to get dial tone. No need to put a humming box that smelled of ozone under my desk.
I could just plug in!
I could just plug in!
Pre-commodity, returns accrue to the artisans who can produce tiny amounts of gold, wheat, oil. They accrue to those who control their distribution. A tiny number of folks can get small-time rich drilling for backyard oil. But you'd be foolish to rely on it!
Post-commodity, returns accrue to those who produce consistently and predictably; to those who can deliver on time, as promised, at a predictable price. In cloud and open source, you get paid for sucking risk out of the market, and expanding availability.
And you can get seriously rich, not backyard rich, in a big commodities market.
Witness Amazon.
When a thing is scarce, it is precious. When it is abundant, it is valuable. You can build an economy on stuff you can count on.
Witness Amazon.
When a thing is scarce, it is precious. When it is abundant, it is valuable. You can build an economy on stuff you can count on.
Commoditize me, baby.
