I read my RSS feeds[1] using NetNewsWire, which is great. I see that Apple is use their distribution channel power to destroy that product. They are folding RSS feed reading into Safari
These moments are a real test for a company’s developer network program. They can reward the developers who were early to the market or they can quietly kill them.
Let’s be clear, don’t murder your leading developers! If you kill the ones that begin to succeed; using your hub-power what happens? It will and should frighten off other developers. These days developers have a lot of choices about where to play. In this world a developer network manager to silently kills leading developers on his platform should be fired.
Microsoft wasn’t able to learn this lesson and now they have had to replace a vast army of volunteer developer talent with a huge R&D lab. That won’t work.
Don’t under estimate the value of trust.
[1] Yes, yes, and atom feeds too.
Actually, Brent isn’t worried about the future of NetNewsWire.
It seems like there’s plenty room to innovate and focus better around feeds than Apple is doing.
http://inessential.com/2004/06/29.php
– ask
He’s in denial.
Yeah! I get to agree with Dave Winer. If you follow the link at the top of the posting you point out you can see Dave’s advice. “Pray”
My point is that if your running a developer network and you regularly make a habit of folding the best stuff your developers do without any compensation into your platform then developers will go look for a better platform.
Good for open source I guess; at least there the deal is clear.