Today I pay homage to those of you who are out there diligently creating the plug-ins for WordPress that help bloggers like myself gain a foothold in the marketplace. Without you, there would be no progress. WordPress is the foundation of the world that I spend most of my time in, and without your plug-ins, I would be completely lost. When the time is right, you will reap the benefits of your hard work.
The concept of giving away something for free has been around for ages, but not until the internet did we see such an explosion in this direction. I can only imagine in the future when we are able to subscribe to high speed internet access free of charge in exchange for another form of consideration, such as product placement.
We all want to sell something to someone else so they will give us their money, right? In this world, the most common way people have done that is to give it away free. There’s an inherent risk that all of the time and energy that you put into developing a product will turn out to be a waste of time, but if it takes off…you may have your cash cow. Of course, if you’re in it for the artistic aspect, meaning, you just love to code plug-ins, then you will probably leave your mark somewhere and thus create your own little private legacy, satisfied that you’re just able to do what you love to do. If you’re in it for the money, you’ve got quite a bit of competition on your hands, but if you provide your product free of charge to the masses, you’re much more likely to receive something in return because of the value you have provided. There are a those out there who don’t understand this concept and will milk you for all you’re worth, but in the long run, I don’t believe the character of that type of person will withstand the rigors of the modern marketplace, and if they do, they won’t really sleep at night with a clear conscience.
So, plug-in creators, keep pluggin’ away for we who don’t know how, and those of us with business integrity will repay you, and repay you well.