My Best and Worst Move
I began developing CommunityWalk back in March of 2005, over a year ago. For the vast majority of that time I would work in the evening and weekends while working at my full-time job during the day.
I released CommunityWalk to the public back in October in a very, very raw form. At the time I was desperate to release the product. I was incredibly fearful that someone would beat me to the punch.
In hindsight that seems so ridiculous. The initial release did little more than inspire quite a few other Google Maps implementations. Only recently, after fleshing the site out more and really developing it has it begun to catch on. It basically suffered from a big case of First Mover Disadvantage.
That said, releasing early was probably the best move I could have made, just for different reasons. By releasing it early I was able to get the attention necessary to find and partner with the right people to move the project further. Just having the site live has opened many a door. It has also allowed me to bring the community alng for the ride, making them more invested in the product.
So I think it is largely situational. If I were to do it again starting now, with all the contacts I have made and everything I have learned over the past year I would not release it nearly as early. Looking back on the decision at the time, though, I think the net effect of rushing the product out to marker is positive and I don't regret it at all.
I released CommunityWalk to the public back in October in a very, very raw form. At the time I was desperate to release the product. I was incredibly fearful that someone would beat me to the punch.
In hindsight that seems so ridiculous. The initial release did little more than inspire quite a few other Google Maps implementations. Only recently, after fleshing the site out more and really developing it has it begun to catch on. It basically suffered from a big case of First Mover Disadvantage.
That said, releasing early was probably the best move I could have made, just for different reasons. By releasing it early I was able to get the attention necessary to find and partner with the right people to move the project further. Just having the site live has opened many a door. It has also allowed me to bring the community alng for the ride, making them more invested in the product.
So I think it is largely situational. If I were to do it again starting now, with all the contacts I have made and everything I have learned over the past year I would not release it nearly as early. Looking back on the decision at the time, though, I think the net effect of rushing the product out to marker is positive and I don't regret it at all.
posted by The Entreprexplorer | 1:51 PM
2 Comments:
Entrepreneurial Question: Do you ever fear that you are attached at the Hip to Google Maps API?? What will you do if Google Decides to revamp the API, or worse dump Google Maps for a new and Better (Totally Different) Mapping tool.
I constantly find myself in this situation when choosing Programming languages, especially since I code for Microsoft’s Platform. At least for some consolation Microsoft give us Support end dates for there products, and guarantees those dates, and software written will generally continue to run past those dates. So I get a few years notice. But with Google you don’t even have the Maps Software! It’s on Goggles computers! Google can shut you down with the blink of eye. Do you plan for such a scenario or just gamble that Google will stick with there “Don’t be evil” policy?
I do like you project and love you blog, it’s rare to find good Business that are more interested in being honest than promoting sales.
Sammy A.
http://xperp.com
Sammy,
I can't answer that question entirely, but I can say that:
1) yes, it is a concern
2) there are solutions to that concern
3) Google's philosophy of "Don't Be Evil" is actually quite reassuring
4) Google realizes that the developer community that has grown up around the API is extremely valuable and I don't think they have any desire to damage that relationship at all.
Sorry I can't be much more explicit, but hopefully that answers your question a bit.
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