Normal people having app ideas is a good thing
You knew we were at the height of the dot com bubble when your dropout friend messaged on ICQ about his wicked idea for a website - lawn chairs.. online!
Something similar is happening today - your friend/sister/uncle who told you two years ago they’re not a “computer person” is asking how to get started with their great app idea. I was at a nerd meetup the other night and I was surprised how many “normals” there were there trying to find technical partners for their ideas.
This is good.
Surely some folks have dollar signs in their eyes after hearing about some guy make a million dollars with a flashlight app, but I believe that this is the minority case. A few years after the release of the iPhone, everyone has a smart phone and they’re getting a tremendous amount of utility out of it. Phones are considerably more useful to people than desktop PCs are. Always with you, it has eyes, ears and knows where it is. People have come around to the idea that these devices can help them out in all aspects of life and unsurprisingly, they’re coming up with their own ideas.
Unfortunately, in the tech industry, we scoff. What could normal people possibly know about making apps?
We’re idiots to think this though. The ideas and opinions of regular people are the key to mass adoption. The app your mom came up with is likely a way bigger opportunity than the VNC console app you’re hacking on.
For some reason (low barrier to entry?), software product creation has been largely driven by technical practitioners rather than business people. My bet is that this is changing.
Struggling for an idea for your next project? Try asking someone who doesn’t write code
.. then steal their idea and leave them with nothing ;-)
