1. There will be. The main app I’ve been working on for the past year or so is called Communit.as. It will be available at http://communit.as – still ironing a few things out.

2. I am fully engaged, yes. In fact, I turn a fair number of things down. The number of people interested in my work has only increased since I have started doing things this way. Remember, my goal is to provide useful sites, not to sell software.

3. I never have been and never will be the cheapest option. I am, however, *very* cost effective. There’s a world of difference. If someone is shopping for a solution based only on price, I’m not what they are looking for. Could a student install something I wrote and customize it? Sure. Can they do everything I can do? Maybe, depends on the student. Again, you’re hiring me because you want me to do a job based on my experience and track record, not because you want to buy software.

All of the things you mention kind of speak to a common question: “Wait, aren’t you throwing money away? You’re going to get less jobs that way!”

Yes, I am. I’m okay with that. I’m not trying to get the *most* jobs. I’m trying to get the *best* jobs. I want to engage only with clients who understand the value of what they’re getting.

Really, nothing I’m proposing here is terribly alien. How many people make a living implementing Wordpress? Lots. Wordpress is open source. Could a client hire a student to implement a Wordpress blog? Sure. Is it going to be as well executed and cost effective as something done by an experienced pro? Maybe, but it’s a gamble.

What I’m doing is no different, I’m just using my own software instead of someone else’s.

1. Are there links available with the Open Source code of your current and past projects? Could you post them here, so that I’m able to use your work in my own commercial projects?

2. If you publish your source code as Open Source, are there customers willing to pay money for you, if they can download your work for free? I mean, what do you think how much customers/projects you win through your strategy? Are you fully engaged since you start your strategy?

3. Isn’t it better to produce closed code and get customers who need you as person to enhance their software you build for them? I mean, if you provide your whole work (source code) to your customer and your customer knows a student who is cheaper, isn’t it characteristic with your model, that the customer would like try to use the cheap student instead of you? If you deliver your work as open source you’re not in the position to enforce your hourly wages.

What do you think about it?

Robert