Why Self-Funded Web Development?

I have been chatting to a lot of people recently given my soon to be submitted dissertation. I've been describing my desire to design and build some web applications and to investigate new new wave of technologies and models that have emerged in my absence (while studying). My intention is to do this off my own bat (finances), and hopefully realise some modest revenue streams to pay the rent once my saving evaporate.

Interestingly, reactions have generally been supportive with a fair sprinkling of negativity. For example, rather than receiving pitched ideas, I have received a lot of commentary of how and why some business models are not viable, and why some popular technologies and frameworks are fads.

All quite reasonable, but where is the excitement, the optimism? Where are the advocates? I thought I would capture things from my perspective.

Naivety (or ignorance) is a powerful force when mixed with ambition, it can make you do things or take on problems (risks) that other "informed" people would never dream. Success is measured not in terms of cash but rather through merely getting something out the door. Success is pride and its reflection, recognition. Recognition alone may not pay the rent, but it will get you through the six months of contacting that will (gris-gris and/or resume padding).

The web is a perfect match for such notions. Like broadcast television, the medium has the potential for reaching and effecting anyone with a receiver. Although, importantly unlike TV the potential audience is global, and conversations are bidirectional (more engaging by default). This potential provides a key coefficient on the previously outlined notion of "success", amplified beyond locality (peer group/city) to the long tail of global attention.

Therefore, (my) self-funded web development may be reasoned using some mixture of the potentials for: innovation, audience, and recognition.

A key element left out of the above equation is creativity. Building things is fun, and being a "producer" rather than a consumer feeds into pride of accomplishment. Competency with tools, especially good tools is powerful because the barrier to the transition from ideas-to-systems lowers. There have been times when I have been immersed in a domain and felt as though my ability to transfer thought to code was only limited by my thoughts. Perhaps the is male arrogance, but I recall that it is an extremely powerful feeling.

If creation (producing) is powerful then it makes sense to explore the ways to create efficiently, to play with the thought-to-code transfer function. This motivates the investigation of the array of languages, frameworks, and models in general, and those that pertain to the web specifically. The same motivation applies when seeking knowledge (researching/reading broadly): the more you are aware of, the better your thinking and you ability to consider useful abstractions.

As such, investigating varied web technologies is motivated by the potentials for creativity, and more specifically the creative power that comes through the reduced barrier between thought and code.

So why self-funded? The source of cash is a controlling factor. Awards (research) and seed funding provide short term solutions, although ultimately self-perpetuating revenue streams are required to maintain control what you realise and how you realise it. Having no income and the unsustainability of the situation focuses attention like a laser.

That kind of captures my feels regarding self-funded web developement, as well as broader notions of my passion for software engineering and continuous learning. Looking at such activity through a "risk mitigation" lens, especially financial or technology risk misses all the interesting stuff.