The Impact of MacHeist

It's been interesting tracking all the MacHeist-related activity on Cocoa Blogs. There are some very passionate people writing Mac software, and I'm not sure we'd see anything like this on the Windows side.

MacHeist Topic Page on Cocoa Blogs


I think it's fair to say Gus Mueller's post was the spark that set off a bunch of small fires. I tried to read all of the comments on Gus's post to be more prepared but, frankly, there's just too much.

I think it's helpful for people like Gus and John Gruber to deconstruct the numbers so that developers are able to make more informed decisions, but the key is that it's ultimately a personal decision for each developer.

The Positive Effects

For all the controversy, there have been some hugely positive effects from this event. The single biggest may be the fact that it got many people comfortable with the idea of paying for indie software. This is a blind spot for a lot of developers, but believe me — making it socially acceptable to pay for good software helps everyone.

Justin Williams gave this a real psychological boost, I think, by talking about how MacHeist inspired him to spend over $100 on Mac software. While his post was positioned in opposition to MacHeist, the event was actually the catalyst.

For the first time, there's been some real discussion about software pricing. This is a major area of confusion for new developers, and this pushed it into the foreground. There were pockets of discussion in the past, but nothing quite like this. It also kicked a number of semi-dormant developer blogs into high gear.

A huge amount of attention was brought to indie Mac software, even outside of the Mac inner circle. Much like MyDreamApp, the ongoing landmarks in the contest were publicized on sites like Digg. This exposes the non-Mac audience to the excitement of the platform.

Building an Ecosystem

I don't think I can possibly emphasize this last point enough. Whether you agree with the financials or not, this was certainly one of the biggest events in the history of Mac software.

The organizers of MacHeist are in touch with an under-appreciated type of user. One that will actively seek out and pay for software that isn't sitting on store shelves. These are your customers, if you want them. Smart folks will open their eyes to the lesson here that success is more than just writing functional code.

This isn't entirely separate from the "sizzle versus steak" phenomenon, either. If a potential customer decides they like the idea of a smoking window or Oscar the Grouch in their trash can, you can either try to convince them they're wrong and almost certainly fail, or you can make a mental note that perhaps there's something to be learned.

Upscale restaurants understand the value of a complete sensory experience. Do you need your napkin folded in a clever design to eat your food? Absolutely not, but it's one of a number of factors that build a mood. Although it goes against a hacker's grain, for most people, mood and environment is value too.

Anyone who spent some time on the MacHeist site or tried out any of the "missions" knows that the production values for MacHeist were at or above Apple levels. The concepts are clever, the graphics are stunning, and the voice acting is top-tier. This was no accidental success.

Will Shipley's Response

To me, the tide of opinion turned in Jacqui Cheng's interview with Wil Shipley of Delicious Monster.

Gus has strong opinions and I love him for that, but none of us who are bundled with MacHeist were forced to do so; we knew ahead of time what the price would be and how much we'd get, and we decided it was worth it for us.

I think events like this get a lot of publicity, so they bring in new customers that I wouldn't reach on my own. So I'm not really sabotaging my sales; I'm supplementing them.

As a single datapoint, in the two days since the bundle has gone on sale our direct sales (not part of the bundle) have actually gone up. So, I'm not crying.

[...] I don't mind getting new customers at a discount if I'm pretty sure they'll fall in love with my app and pay for upgrades later. And if people use it and don't fall in love with it; well, that didn't really hurt my any, did it?


Wil's voice on this matters a lot, because Delicious really walks the walk. Wil has taken on the role of a model Mac developer: both successful and enjoys what he does. His opinion on this issue is especially significant because he arguably has the most money to lose if the deal is unfair (or is at least nearly tied with Allan Odgaard).

Another interesting angle here is that Wil worked at Omni at a time when writing Objective-C code meant OpenStep. I suspect this gives him a broader perspective on quantities of licenses sold.

Ongoing Value

The basic point of contention for MacHeist is some thought the organizers earned a disproportionate amount of the revenue. John Gruber compares MacHeist's role to that of an agent, which is a comparison I understand. There are some similarities, but one key difference is that MacHeist doesn't have an ongoing role with the developers, extracting compensation from every sale. They have one shot at it.

By comparison, developers can potentially extract a lot of long-term value from the event. TextMate, in particular, gained almost immeasurable value by being the final high-end prize that everyone was shooting for. Just to have "$100,000" and "TextMate" in the same sentence has a huge psychological impact. It lends major street cred to the center of TextMate's pool of potential customers.

These developers — not to mention the Mac platform as a whole — also had their names associated with some deserving charities. This has immense benefits for both the charities and the developers. It also relieves some pressure of the whole thing coming off as too material.

Although I'm on board with what I read on Daring Fireball roughly 98% of the time, I don't completely agree with this statement:

First, there’s something silly about calling these apps "hidden gems" in one paragraph, and then immediately proclaiming that the apps have been "showered with awards and accolades". I mean, come on, Delicious Library and TextMate are not hidden gems.


As far I can tell, they're hidden gems to everyone outside of the inner circle — which is practically everyone. Not just all of the people not using Macs, but Apple customers who aren't motivated to find interesting software on their own. Anything that is not in the Apple Retail Store is essentially invisible to this group, and even retail store presence is not a guarantee of success.

MacHeist has highlighted the exceptional quality of indie Mac software, which is often distributed exclusively online and developed by teams of 1 to 3 people. If that doesn't say something about Mac OS X's development tools, I don't know what does.

Any sort of activity at all — even some controversy — raises awareness about this market, and demonstrates that paying for the apps is not a weird thing to do. Ironically, I think everyone involved ultimately benefitted from the criticism (I'd vote for less harsh words in the future, though).

Don't Miss the Scenery

There's a brilliant line of dialog in The Incredibles when Hellen is speaking to Bob, trying to wake him up to the fact that they're in the middle of something amazing:

But this [...] is what's happening now, Bob. And you are missing this!


I realize this is just a cartoon (a fine one, though), and the context of the scene doesn't fit perfectly here, but I think the basic point applies. Whilst we're all busy talking about who's getting how much money, I think we're perhaps missing the bigger deal: that this is a landmark time for Mac developers.

At one time, the prevailing wisdom was that the Mac was over. And yet, the inconceivable has happened — Mac development has returned with great vigor, and is appealing to a new generation of users who don't have preconceptions about Microsoft's position. These folks have grown up on iPods.

Years from now, nobody is going to care about the minutiae of exactly how much each version of each product cost. And it's just software anyway. What we're going to remember is whether we had fun doing it or not. Appreciate the fact that people are excited about the work you're doing.

Believe me, I understand the challenges of making the finances work with something like this. But as a Mac developer, you have an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity impact the day-to-day lives of thousands of people around the world. Don't squander it on things that won't matter in the long run (and are likely to benefit all of us anyway). I believe there has never been a better time to be doing this.

Break down the fourth wall.

(As of this writing, MacHeist has generated $133,212 for charity. I say we try to break $200,000 in the remaining 24 hours, and make some real news. It would be a heck of a way to close out the decade since Apple bought NeXT. If you're opposed to the whole idea, trying looking at it as shooting the moon.)
Design Element
The Impact of MacHeist
Posted Dec 16, 2006 — 22 comments below




 

Adam Spooner — Dec 16, 06 2722

Definitely the most educated post as of yet on the entire MacHeist situation. Compassion. Not enflamed passion or anger. Well said, Scott!

Lucien W. Dupont — Dec 16, 06 2723

Yes - well said.. I've been debating wether or not to purchase the bundle, and I think this has swung me in the direction of buying.

John Casasanta — Dec 17, 06 2724

Wow...your post really hits the nail on the head.

Over the past week, we've seen dozens of posts on MacHeist, both positive and negative. Most were driven by emotion, but yours definitely seems to be the most level-headed and well thought out on the whole subject.

Thanks,
John Casasanta
MacHeist Director

Chuck — Dec 17, 06 2726

You really think a lot of people who "will actively seek out and pay for software that isn't sitting on store shelves" haven't heard of the most successful indieware on the platform? It seems to me that the people who buy into MacHeist are the ones who will not normally buy your software. In fact, that's exactly what Wil Shipley suggested in his interview.

I get what you're saying here, but I still really question the usefulness of this to developers. Gus has posted solid numbers on how lopsided the spoils of MacHeist are, which is one thing. But I'm also thinking of Steve Harris' post about how harmful MacZOT was to his business. These devs are all grown-ups, and they have a right to take whatever risks they want, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with the situation.

Anyway, just for myself (seriously, not trying to sound preachy), I'd rather pay the developers for their apps than Mr. Ryu. Aside from FotoMagico, I'd say they're all pretty reasonably priced even without the bundle.

Scott Stevenson — Dec 17, 06 2727 Scotty the Leopard

You really think a lot of people who "will actively seek out and pay for software that isn't sitting on store shelves" haven't heard of the most successful indieware on the platform?

I believe there are groups of participants: the "inner circle" users who were first to get invitations for MacHeist and were actively involved throughout, and a secondary group who became part of it and heard about the apps because of the activities of first group.

I'm sure most of the people in the first group know what Delicious Library is, and often already own a copy, but the real story is the second group (and the non-participating third group). The first group is probably a calculated cost.


It seems to me that the people who buy into MacHeist are the ones who will not normally buy your software. In fact, that's exactly what Wil Shipley suggested in his interview.

I don't think that's what he's saying. Here's the quote:

I think events like this get a lot of publicity, so they bring in new customers that I wouldn't reach on my own...As a single datapoint, in the two days since the bundle has gone on sale our direct sales (not part of the bundle) have actually gone up

I think "publicity" is the key word there. It's the net effect of all the activity, not just the specific users that were actively involved in the event. That's why he mentions direct sales went up.

Clearly people aren't going to buy the bundle and Delicious Library separately, so these are people that heard about Delicious via MacHeist then went straight to the source. These are people Delicious wasn't reaching through their own means.


I still really question the usefulness of this to developers. Gus has posted solid numbers on how lopsided the spoils of MacHeist are

He did post numbers, but "lopsided" is a judgement, and perhaps one component missing from that equation is long term versus short term value.

There's no way for MacHeist to reasonably extract ongoing royalties for the software they promote, which leaves them shortchanged if their efforts generate substantial future sales for an app. I'm not saying this proves anything one way or another, but it's a non-trivial variable.

The whole is about speculative investment on both sides, with a very short window of opportunity for one side. In that situation, a flat fee is inherently reasonable for consideration. It's making a compromise on risk.


I'd rather pay the developers for their apps than Mr. Ryu. Aside from FotoMagico, I'd say they're all pretty reasonably priced even without the bundle.

Which is part of the equation. If somebody like you only wants one or two apps out of the bundle but never got around to buying them, MacHeist may have reminded you about them, which translates into direct sales. In that case, MacHeist effectively eats the promotion expense of that sale for the developer without any compensation.

It's not the end of the world, but the point is I think it all comes a lot closer to balancing out when you step back and consider the net effect of the entire event and all the side effects.

Uli Kusterer — Dec 17, 06 2728

Scott, while I basically agree, I think your reasoning doesn't quite work in the one spot Chuck already pointed out. People who only see what's in the Apple Store will not see MacHeist or any of the blogs. People who already saw the blogs will surely already know the apps.

TextMate won an Apple Design Award this year, and Delicious Library has been reviewed in every offline Mac publication I know. Your arguments in that case just don't click for me. Can you elaborate why you think there are people that would know MacHeist but not DL or TextMate? Or are you actually talking about the other software that got thrown into the bundle with these two?

Uli Kusterer — Dec 17, 06 2729

Oh, forgot to mention one thing: Web sites like Digg and Slashdot aren't mainstream at all, so even if these events make it onto those sites, the info pretty much stays inside the web-site-reading community. The kind of people who would only know stuff sold in retail definitely do not visit such sites.

EdB — Dec 17, 06 2730

I thought this whole MacHeist was a really cool idea, I had only heard about it once there was about $50,000 in the charity pot. I had heard about TextMate, Delicious Library and Pangea. The rest, never heard of them. I think part of the reason the MacHeist was successful was because they created an impulse purchase... I think it thought about it for maybe 2 minutes before buying.

Jim Dovey — Dec 17, 06 2731

As someone who enjoyed MacHeist mostly for the puzzles rather than the rewards (I already owned everything from the bundle in which I was interested, and felt the same way about most of the heist prizes), I can't help but feel that there's a less-noticed effect going on here: general publicity. Arguments such as these — both for and against — only serve to help here.

The more publicity generated by MacHeist and its ilk, the more people will learn that there is a lot of very good indie software out there for the Mac. These are, indeed, the sort of people who won't necessarily be in a position to discover MacHeist on their own; but the very nature of MacHeist, as a fun game in itself, means that people are telling their friends about it. Word is spreading, and news is being made. I know that I didn't find out about it through reading any websites — I was told by a friend, and I told others myself. Though the economics of it all may be open to debate, I can't help but think that if there were more events such as these, and if they could simply generate more publicity around themselves, then indie software would become the starting point for many more software shoppers, simply by making them cast aside the notion that if software isn't on a store shelf, that it can't be very good.

As someone looking to become and indie developer inside the next year, I'm very pleased to see things like this happening. It only serves to bring more people from Scott's 'third group' into the second. People like my father, for whom the thought of simply using Google to find an application took second place to using an online retailer, simply because that doesn't fit with the usual perception that 'real software comes in boxes'.

ssp — Dec 17, 06 2732

Now I've read so many things about that MacHeist stuff, and you don't even give me a link to see it in person. That much appreciation?

What struck me when seeing their $50 offer was that while this may be great bundle savings of all those apps they offer I'd be interested in a single one. (Which I have already registererd.) The other applications seem either pointless by themselves to me or I didn't consider them to be particularly good when trying them.

So apart from the developers (who as you correctly point out should be sufficiently grown up to decide how to peddle their products) I'm wondering how good a deal the customers of this will be getting? Of the people who are impulse-buying this bunch of licenses now, how many will regularly use more than one of the applications next summer?

On the other hand, software buyers are obviously grown up enough to decide what to waste their money on as well :)

Scott Stevenson — Dec 17, 06 2733 Scotty the Leopard

@Uli: People who only see what's in the Apple Store will not see MacHeist or any of the blogs. People who already saw the blogs will surely already know the apps.

I'm pretty sure there are people out there who are on social web sites like Digg that don't read Mac blogs. Not only do those people hear about it, but they tell the people they know

TextMate won an Apple Design Award this year, and Delicious Library has been reviewed in every offline Mac publication I know. Your arguments in that case just don't click for me.

I think you might be overestimating the impact of each of these individually. The ADAs reach one kind of person (a very, very small group), the paper-based publications hit a few more, and MacHeist is yet another venue for a different type of reader --- one who does not buy Mac magazines but does read popular web sites.

Can you elaborate why you think there are people that would know MacHeist but not DL or TextMate?

I don't think they knew about MacHeist before hand, but rather would heard from it from the network effect of the web. It's pretty clear to bet that's what Wil Shipley believes as well, and it sounds like he has numbers to back it up.

The kind of people who would only know stuff sold in retail definitely do not visit such sites

I had two separate points here which I think got unintentionally blended into one. They are:

1. TextMate and Delicious Library are only well-known inside a very small group, though that group is enough for them to be profitable

2. There are people who heard about MacHeist and indie Mac software via non-Mac-specific social sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, and so on.

David — Dec 17, 06 2736

Firstly, for those people in "the loop" who read every Mac blog, scrutizine every new Mac app for its Cocoa frameworks, write letters to the editor about how Apples reliance on Carbon has sullied the Macosphere, I'd just point out one thing:

you do not represent the vast majority of Mac users

Unfortunately, many Mac programmers (as distinct from Mac business people) have a habit of talking to themselves, engaging in conversations/debates/arguments/flamewars which are simply not relevant to the greater Mac user base. It's a closed little world, looping back on itself, checking out its own navel.

(BTW, this is not a new development. The Mac kingdom has always had its rivalries, fiefdoms, Keepers of the Sacred UI Flame, petty informants, etc.)

I see this article as a useful step along the way to depersonalizing this debate. Frankly, millions of Mac users do not care in the slightest about the jealousies or insecurities or injustices (real or imagined) described in this latest round of arguments. These users really don't know about most of the software concerned, don't know the slightest thing about the developers, and more importantly, don't want to know and shouldn't have to know.

Secondly, MacHeist is just a well-designed marketing effort, nothing more. Is it disingenuous to describe it as a boon for that new blogger darling, the Indie? Yes, it is. But, as others have pointed out, nobody has a gun to our heads. I seriously question the usefulness of MacHeist and similar efforts the weeks afterwards when customers (such as myself) hold back from purchasing software in order to wait for the next sale, but I dont question the usefulness of the market exposure. I also happen to think the idea of giving away DRM-free versions of software is incredibily short-sighted by the developers (but inspired by those who have nothing to lose by this -- MacHeist), but again, nobody is forcing me to do this, right?

The only disadvantage to me, as a developer, is that it may create a perception that good quality Mac software can be had for next-to-nothing if the customer is willing to prowl the internets and bide their time. But what else is new? There is always some marketing effort, and really, if you are anything like me, you do not have the time to be fretting about every move your competitors make.

Would I allow a product of mine to be released for nothing? No way. Would I allow it to be sold for a week in return for $5K. Probably not, but ask me in a slow week. For $15K, for a 2 year old application which is about to be superseded by a new Leopard-only version, for which I'll also charge an update fee? Sure! Send those checks baby!

But, it would be my choice.

Ted — Dec 17, 06 2738

Scott, you couldn't be more on the money. I consider myself "in the know" - I write about the Mac, I'm a amateur developer, I attended WWDC this year, yada, yada, yada... and still, Macheist made me a customer of three apps I previously knew about, but never bothered to use.

For example, I've played with Delicious Library over the years, but could never really see a need for it myself. Once I got the bundle, I gave it another go, and ended up spending an hour scanning in my books and dvds. There's a lot more under the surface that I wasn't aware that DL was capable of. I'm a customer now, and I'll most definitely upgrade to v. 2 when it comes out.

The second app I discovered was FotoMagico. I've been a user of StillLife for a number of years to produce movie montages that I would burn in iDVD for gifts to the family. StillLife seems to be on (still) life support, so I haven't been using it this year. I gave FotoMagico a shot it's a great upgrade from StillLife. I'll be using to produce my holiday DVDs this year.

And finally, there's TextMate. I've dabbled with it over the last year. I mainly use skEdit, but ever since SK joined Apple, he's not putting that much time in to his product and it's not really progressing that fast. I've been looking at TextMate, but $53 for a text editor seemed a little excessive to mean when I had already paid for skEdit. Well, now that I got TextEdit in the bundle, I've been using it exclusively for the last week, and I have to say, I'm sold.

I can fully appreciate certain developers feeling that the promo was not fair to them in regards to compensation. That's their right, and nobody forced them to sign on the dotted line. However, it seems from the feedback we are getting from the developers who were involved, that they gained much much more than the initial licensing fee.

It's Gus' right to feel that it wasn't a good deal for him, and it's Gruber's right to complain about the financials of it for the Mac developer. But what I hear in these sentiments is a complete lack of respect for what the MacHeist team did. They created a kick ass website that sold upwards of 15,000 bundles inside of a week. They generated a buzz that has not been seen in the indie Mac scene since, I don't know - forever. And they sustained it for a week. They may have just been a bunch of web developers and marketers, but they were successful beyond their wildest dreams with this project. Their efforts should not be pooh - pooh. They earned every dime they made on this promo.

Dan Price — Dec 18, 06 2739

I have a couple of problems with MacHeist. First, the name, which implies stealing or software piracy. There are a lot of warez sites out there (yes, even for the Mac) and this, combined with the buzz surrounding MacAppaDay and MyDreamApp immediately implied to me that something was fishy.

Second, it was 'Week of the Independent Software Developer' which I opposed given that (a)MacHeist was taking the lion's share of the profits for hugely-discounted software and (b)most the apps on offer were already well-know and IMHO, more style than substance (AppZapper, Disco etc) for which superior, cheaper alternatives exist. Had Heist given exposure to the real gems, the little apps and utilities that don't have flashy websites and smoking windows, I may have been sympathetic.

Yes, all this has generated interest and exposure, but it does seem to me like the apps on offer were already well known precisely as those were the developers the Heist team approached to give credability to the whole enterprise. Had these apps been real the 'unknowns' - the new apps that really need more exposure - then I doubt the site would have even registered on the radar.

I still feel that if people really want to support indie software, they should but this stuff from the Devs themselves.

Scott Stevenson — Dec 18, 06 2740 Scotty the Leopard

MacHeist was taking the lion's share of the profits for hugely-discounted software

Your thoughts are shared by some other developers, so I believe there is value in what you say. However, I think some got so focused on the percentages for an individual sale that they missed the consideration of whether that sale would have been made at all otherwise.

Ideally, it's better if a customer buys directly from the developer, but it takes more than simply being theoretically possible. The same goes for the charities. People could donate of their own accord, but the point is moot because MacHeist orchestrated donations that wouldn't have happened otherwise, raising awareness about the charities in the process.

Had Heist given exposure to the real gems, the little apps and utilities that don't have flashy websites and smoking windows, I may have been sympathetic

I really do hear what you're saying and understand why you say it, but I think it would have been nearly impossible to run a contest around unknown and more utilitarian apps. Frankly, I think this would have put a chill on the Mac software market because the options would seem thin.

MacHeist clearly chose apps that would have the most immediately recognizable value to casual observers. If it takes 30 minutes to figure out what's being offered, the system doesn't work.

Erik J. Barzeski — Dec 18, 06 2741

Wil doesn't have much to lose: he's already saturated the market and is nearly ready with an upgrade. The $10-12k he was paid was basically found money. He was one of the few developers in a position to benefit.

Same with Allan - he gave away a special 1.x version that is not eligible for the free 2.0 upgrade, which is also going to be ready "soon."

Dan Price — Dec 18, 06 2742

Scott, you might want to look at the numbers over at Flaming Fireball. According to Gruber, the average dev participating in Heist was awarded just 1.3% of the takings. They'll be lucky if that covers the email support for all those discounted licenses.

Hkan Waara — Dec 18, 06 2744

Very insightful and balanced post; a good analysis of it all. I basically agree.

However, my personal opinion remains that I find MacHeist's intentions greedy (charity & their alleged OS X shareware-community goodwill counted in).

Yes, it's a free market, and the developers have made their decision, but taking roughly 90% of the profit, making around $500,000 pure profit for themselves* (while the devs, on average, based on the same calculations would get around 1-2%) is simply not fair, any way you choose to look at it.

*: Based on Daring Fireball's calculations

Scott Stevenson — Dec 19, 06 2745 Scotty the Leopard

making around $500,000 pure profit for themselves* (while the devs, on average, based on the same calculations would get around 1-2%) is simply not fair, any way you choose to look at it

What do you think about the idea of building ongoing value for a product which you can only extract value from for a very short period of time?

For example, if MacHeist if generates 10,000 addition 2.0 upgrade sales for Delicious (via both direct upgrades and general publicity), that's something in the neighborhood of $30,000. If true, that's tangible value that MacHeist is providing, which they are completely within their rights to expect compensation for.

It's true they're likely taking a large portion of the profits for a short period of time, but it seems to me that's the nature of a time-limited event. If we lived in a parallel universe where Delicious Library was sold only during MacHeist (rather than well before and well after), than a large cut for the organizers would be unreasonable. But I believe both Delicious and MacHeist understand that it's a speculative investment, with risk on both sides.

Chuck — Dec 19, 06 2750

Everybody keeps suggesting that there was risk for MacHeist — this is true only in the most theoretical sense, in the same way that the Earth is at risk of being swallowed by a black hole. Sure, they might have lost money on it given X set of circumstances, but in reality, that wasn't going to happen. MacHeist was going to make out like gangbusters on this, and they knew it. This is the only explanation for why they absolutely refused to allow developers to take a percentage cut.

Ben — Dec 19, 06 2769

MacHeist has zero moral obligation to pay anybody more than that developer is willing to accept. I sure as hell wouldn't put my app in that bundle, but I have no bones with people who do, because everyone can run their Excel spreadsheet themselves to see if it makes sense economically given all their variables. Did any of the developers see the final numbers and think they got screwed? If they did, they completely bombed their market size calculation and now they have better data for next time (actually, we all got some good numbers out of this). I happily bought the bundle because I got some apps I really wanted at ridiculous bargain basement prices, which is my prerogative as a rational economic actor. Wil Shipley's not my charity cause.

But this whole debate is shortsighted and silly. I am a nascent Mac developer coming very much from the Windows world, and the whole community here is really oddly insular right now. It's very much like the PC software industry in, say, 1988. A whole bunch of small shops putting out utilities and such either as shareware or for small fees. But this is real modern software, and no parallel community exists in the PC world. Shareware (I know most "indie Mac devs" don't call it this, but it's a convenient term) can actually be profitable on this platform. Who knew?!

MacHeist highlights both the problems and opportunities of this market. It is SO silly to be bickering over what is essentially a minor happy-go-lucky marketing experiment.
And this market is small. It is TINY. There is a lot we need to do to overcome this problem. Apple is doing better than ever by getting new users in droves. We have a base of a professional development community putting out professional software for the Mac. Now we need to up the ante.

How do we get the attention of all the kids who got MacBooks for high school and college this year? How do we get the attention of all the older established people who don't frequent the "mac web" (or read MacWorld) like we do? How can we leverage, say, online services in a more viral way to get new customers by hook, crook, and word of mouth?

Kenneth Ballenegger — Dec 21, 06 2787

Yet aother summary on MacHeist, by me:
http://www.seosoft.info/seolog/2006/12/20/yet-another-summary-on-macheist/




 

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