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skip to main content SELECT THEME * Classic * Dark * Koopa Beach * Choco Mountain * Moo Moo Farm * Bowser's Castle * Yoshi Valley * Rainbow Road * Lobster Life * Hacker News close themepicker Max Böck * 01 Home * 02 Writing * 03 Notes * 04 About toggle theme panel MAKE FREE STUFF 25 Jan 2022 ⋅ general When I first fell in love with the web, it was a radically different place. Aside from the many technical improvements that have been made, I feel like the general culture of the web has changed a lot as well. Growing up with the web as a teenager meant having access to an infinite treasure chest of content. A lot of that content was spread across blogs, forums and personal websites. The overwhelming motivation behind it seemed to be “I made something, here it is”. Sharing things for the sake of showing them to the world. Somebody had created something, then put it online so you could see it. Visit their website (wait for the dial-up to finish), and it’s yours. Follow any link on the web today and you’ll likely be met with a different scenario: * Cookie consent pops up, intentionally confusing. (You're tired - just hit "Accept All".) * App download banner asks you to install the native app. (Dismiss.) * Newsletter modal blocks the site, asking for your email address. (Close it.) * Start reading a few paragraphs, before another modal requires you to create an account. (Leave site, frustrated.) Notice how everything about that interaction is designed to extract value from your visit. The goal here is not for you to read an article; it’s to get your analytics data, your email, your phone and your money. It’s the symptom of a culture that sees the web purely as a business platform. Where websites serve as eloborate flytraps and content as bait for unsuspecting users. In this culture, the task of the self-appointed web hustler is to build something fast & cheap, then scale it as much as possible before eventually cashing out. * You see it in email bots, spamming blogs for link placements and sponsored posts. * You see it in Twitter accounts where grifters try to monetize their “communities” with useless ebooks. * You see it in crypto, burning the planet for quick profits. web3 and NFTs are the latest evolution of this culture. The latest attempt to impose even more artificial locks and transactions on users, to extract even more money. This is the web as envisioned by late-stage capitalism: a giant freemium game where absolutely everyone and everything is a “digital asset” that can be packaged, bought and sold. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # DON’T BRING WALL STREET TO A WEB FIGHT Sure, the web has changed since the 90s. It has “grown up”. Of course there are lots of legitimate reasons to monetize, and creators deserve to be compensated. It’s not about people trying to make a buck. It’s about those treating the web simply as a market to run get-rich-quick schemes in, exploiting others out of pure greed. We’ve gotten so used to it that some can’t even imagine the web working any other way - but it doesn’t have to be like this. At its very core, the rules of the web are different than those of “real” markets. The idea that ownership fundamentally means that nobody else can have the same thing you have just doesn’t apply here. This is a world where anything can easily be copied a million times and distributed around the globe in a second. If that were possible in the real world, we’d call it Utopia. It’s also a world that can be shaped by the consumer: This “mashup art experiment”, as Mia calls it, is what made the web great in the first place. It’s the reason it became a global phenomenon and much of it is centered around the idea that digital content is free and abundant. Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all. Why anyone would consider that better is beyond me. # FREEDOM OF CONTENT The online game Wordle recently took the world by storm. To the utter shock of many, it is just a free piece of content. A free and open web game millions can enjoy, no strings attached. Its creator, Josh Wardle, originally built the game for his partner and put it online. “I made something, here it is”. Despite its success, he had no intention to monetize it through apps or subscriptions - and the world is richer for it. When questioned about it, he said this: > I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just > fun. It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs. > It’s just a game that’s fun. Because the notion that monetization is the only worthwhile goal on the web is so widespread, this is somehow a very controversial take. You can actually stand out of the crowd by simply treating the web platform as what it is: a way to deliver content to people. Despite what web3 claims, it’s possible to “own” your content without a proof of it on the blockchain (see: IndieWeb). It’s also possible to create things just for the sake of putting them out into the world. The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy, then attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far that can get you. Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone. 👉 Update: On Feb 1, Wordle was eventually sold to the New York Times for upwards of a million dollars. Josh Wardle claims the game will still remain free to play for all. Make Free Stuff Max Böck Published in [general] ⋅ 25 Jan 2022 Edit this Post Follow @mxbck WEBMENTIONS What’s this? 1. Aleksandr Hovhannisyan⋅25 Jan 2022 This resonates very strongly with me. Free games, free entertainment, and free educational content were the best parts of the internet for me as I was growing up. Can't imagine what any of it would've been like if it had all been locked behind a paywall. 2. Markus Heurung⋅25 Jan 2022 💫 mxb.dev - make free stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 3. Marc Görtz⋅25 Jan 2022 Mir gefällt Make Free Stuff | Max Böck.https://marcgoertz.de/2022/%e2%9d%a4%ef%b8%8f-make-free-stuff 4. Quentin Bellanger⋅25 Jan 2022 Totally share the vision of @mxbck: make free stuff! It's so sad everything has to be "monetized" nowadays. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 5. Elias⋅26 Jan 2022 Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all. Why anyone would consider that better is beyond me. - mxb.dev/blog/make-free… Show All Webmentions (106) 1. Roni Laukkarinen⋅26 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff (by @mxbck) mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 2. Hidde⋅26 Jan 2022 “This is the web as envisioned by late-stage capitalism: a giant freemium game where absolutely everyone and everything is a ‘digital asset’ that can be packaged, bought and sold.” NO, says @mxbck, make free stuff instead! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 3. Thomas Michael Semmler⋅26 Jan 2022 "[the current web is ] the symptom of a culture that sees the web purely as a business platform. Where websites serve as elaborate flytraps and content as bait for unsuspecting users." @mxbck - mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 4. Pawel Grzybek⋅26 Jan 2022 Yes ❣️ by @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 5. Mantish⋅26 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 6. Adactio Links⋅26 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff | Max Böck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 7. Andy Bell⋅26 Jan 2022 Bloody brilliant article by @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 8. (⧖)نAonghus Ó hAlmhain⋅26 Jan 2022 Buíoch do @Linda_Keating as m'aird a tharraingt ar alt @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… An cheist ná conas féachaint chuige go bhfuil an teacht isteach ag cruthaitheoirí chun go mbeidh siad in ann cruthú! Tá múnlaí ann a bhraitheann ar deonú airgid ar ndóigh; bíonn scála de dhíth 9. Sara Soueidan⋅26 Jan 2022 "The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy while attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far it can get you. Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone." — I share @mxbck's entire sentiment in this post. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 10. Dr. Viviana Menzel⋅26 Jan 2022 "The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy while attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far it can get you." @mxbck Great article! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 11. Martijn Frazer⋅26 Jan 2022 "Notice how everything about following any link on the web today is designed to extract value from your visit. The goal here is not for you to read an article; it’s to get your analytics data, your email, your phone and your money." 12. Craig Butcher⋅26 Jan 2022 Spotted via @hankchizljaw and it’s refreshing to know. The web is for everyone. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 13. Michel Bozgounov⋅26 Jan 2022 So true, unfortunately! :( 14. Manuel Matuzović⋅26 Jan 2022 “Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone.” 15. Matthew Howell⋅26 Jan 2022 “I made something, here it is” is some kind of simple, beautiful mission statement for the web. Read @mxbck on the web in the age of “late-stage capitalism” mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 16. Brad Frost⋅26 Jan 2022 This is a powerful and important read from @mxbck: mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 17. Jeff Siarto⋅26 Jan 2022 Pretty much everything @mxbck said here: "This is the web as envisioned by late-stage capitalism: a giant freemium game where absolutely everyone and everything is a "digital asset" that can be packaged, bought and sold." mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 18. Eric Bailey⋅26 Jan 2022 Max nails it. 19. Aurooba Ahmed⋅26 Jan 2022 This post from @mxbck is so good. #foss mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 20. Christian Cito⋅26 Jan 2022 I'm sure there'd be lots of people calling it a threat to profit margins... Thanks for the rant, Max! I feel the same in many ways. 21. NickiTheNoodle⋅26 Jan 2022 "...the web as envisioned by late-stage capitalism: a giant freemium game where absolutely everyone and everything is a “digital asset” that can be packaged, bought and sold." It doesn't have to be this way. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 22. Bryan Robinson⋅26 Jan 2022 I love the way @mxbck thinks and writes so much! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 23. Max Böck⋅26 Jan 2022 Thanks for sharing Bryan! 24. Michelle Barker⋅26 Jan 2022 Wow Max, it’s like you read my tweet or something twitter.com/MicheBarks/sta… 25. Ben Ramsey⋅26 Jan 2022 This is such an important read. When folks are telling you they’re working to realize the full potential of the Web, if it involves money, it’s not even close to the potential of what the Web was designed to be. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 26. juan olvera⋅26 Jan 2022 This mentality is what made the web so great. It's most likely that the coolest things you own run on free software. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 27. Marc-André Boivin⋅26 Jan 2022 "Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all." 28. Rici86⋅26 Jan 2022 Yes, I agree, @mxbck ! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 29. Tobias Ljungström⋅26 Jan 2022 We vibe on the same frequency here. I love websites that just are. No ads, no tracking, no connected to anything. It's like finding a quiet oasis in the wasteland of hustle. 30. Jeff Knaack⋅26 Jan 2022 All I want to do is build free stuff that’s cool and useful and makes the web a better place. 31. Max Böck⋅26 Jan 2022 That sums it up pretty nicely 😅 32. Juha Liikala⋅26 Jan 2022 "The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy, then attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far that can get you." This, 100% 😊 33. Maëlig⋅26 Jan 2022 yes ❤️ 34. Benet Hitchcock⋅26 Jan 2022 #MaxBöck is sooo on the money here! I guess I arrived on the scene at a similar time as him. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… "Notice how everything about that interaction is designed to extract value from your visit. The goal here is not for you to read an article; it’s to get (1/2) 35. Jinsu Mathew⋅26 Jan 2022 Yup, Wordle is a fine example of what web/internet used to be, free and fun to share. What made us all fell in love with the internet. #web3 doesn’t feel the same, just false promises so far. Still there is time to turn around and make it right! 36. Tom Preston-Werner⋅26 Jan 2022 Love this. Building neat stuff and giving it away is such a pure delight. A future of less scarcity and more building and sharing with no strings attached is what I'm here for. 37. Alexis Deveria⋅26 Jan 2022 Max perfectly describes my feelings on the web and latest trends. ❤️ 38. Pablo Lara H⋅26 Jan 2022 🆓 Make Free Stuff by Max Böck @mxbck #webdev #freedom #content mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 39. @onno_bos⋅26 Jan 2022 Freedom! 40. Juan⋅27 Jan 2022 Une lecture courte et essentielle à celles et ceux qui ont connu le Web de jadis, et se demandent si l'avenir qu'on nous dessine avec le "Web3" (lol) est le seul chemin à prendre mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 41. Stefan Vermaas⋅27 Jan 2022 “Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all.” mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 42. Arpit⋅27 Jan 2022 Great read! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 43. Ankit K⋅27 Jan 2022 "you can actually stand out of the crowd by simply treating the web platform as what it is: a way to deliver content to people." "The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy, then attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far that can get you." 44. Saptak S⋅27 Jan 2022 This is so true! Everyone should go and read this article by @mxbck 45. Alfonso Sánchez⋅27 Jan 2022 Muy buena lectura: mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 46. Lesezeichen⋅27 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 47. Raül Fornell⋅27 Jan 2022 Comparteixo força les reflexions d'aquest article sobre com ha canviat internet des dels 90 mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 48. ▌│║▌║▌║⋅27 Jan 2022 "Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all. Why anyone would consider that better is beyond me" mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 49. Fernando Mateus⋅27 Jan 2022 Straight to the point 👊 Hate all those pop ups, accept all cookies, etc. 99% of the time I just close the tab and never go back to that site again. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 50. David Bernegger ✨⋅27 Jan 2022 A excellent read, underpinned by great moral values. @mxbck has written not a rant but a loving manifesto, advocating the web as a platform for all, without resource scarcity, exclusion of minorities and value based extraction of personal data. More of this 👏 51. Anna Santiago⋅27 Jan 2022 Make free stuff! mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 52. ILIKESCIFI⋅27 Jan 2022 Hey Max! Maybe you like my game then :) Its free :) store.steampowered.com/app/1386940/UE… 53. Max Böck⋅27 Jan 2022 a pixel-art adventure that involves shooting nazi zombies and guitar power ballads? yeah that's a good bet. 💯 54. Leslie DuPree⋅27 Jan 2022 100% 55. 🌳 Philipp Stakenborg⋅27 Jan 2022 "When I first fell in love with the web, it was a radically different place. Aside from the many technical improvements that have been made, I feel like the general culture of the web has changed a lot as well.“ mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 56. Martin Grubinger⋅27 Jan 2022 "Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone." I finally got around reading @mxbck article "Make Free Stuff" – and so should you. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 57. César Couto⋅27 Jan 2022 "When I first fell in love with the web, it was a radically different place. Aside from the many technical improvements that have been made, I feel like the general culture of the web has changed a lot as well." mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 58. Julien Leicher⋅27 Jan 2022 Wow mxb.dev/blog/make-free… ❤️ ça me rend quelque peu nostalgique 59. Terry Madeley⋅27 Jan 2022 mentioned this in http://miscellaneousdetails.com/2022/01/27/websites-as-flytraps-content-as-bait/ 60. Deborah Edwards-Oñoro⋅27 Jan 2022 Make free stuff, build something people enjoy. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 61. squidjam 🏳️⚧️⋅27 Jan 2022 Max Böck on web3, Wordle and the radical concept of building things for free. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 62. Opeyemi Obembe⋅27 Jan 2022 Make free stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 63. Add your name here⋅27 Jan 2022 mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 64. john johnston⋅27 Jan 2022 Liked mxb.dev/blog/make-free… (mxb.dev) Despite what web3 claims, it’s possible to “own” your content without a proof of it on the blockchain (see: IndieWeb). It’s also possible to create things just for the sake of putting them out into the world. 65. Kid J. Sparrow.⋅27 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff | Max Böck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 66. Ben Walker⋅27 Jan 2022 Make free stuff. ✨ mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 67. Rafe⋅28 Jan 2022 this is what I was trying to say, but better and with more words mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 68. Bastien Calou⋅28 Jan 2022 "This is the web as envisioned by late-stage capitalism: a giant freemium game where absolutely everyone and everything is a “digital asset” that can be packaged, bought and sold." mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 69. لقمان⋅28 Jan 2022 Great article by @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 70. Holger Bartel⋅28 Jan 2022 This is THE read for everyone working on the web. I have so many thoughts on this… Do yourself a favor and take the time to read it. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 71. Max Böck⋅28 Jan 2022 Thanks for sharing Holger, appreciated! 🙌 72. Nathan 🥑⋅28 Jan 2022 I grew up with the free Web mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 73. Kristina Podnar⋅28 Jan 2022 The promise of Web3, which empowers creators & reduces their dependence on large social media platforms, may become a reality very soon. But just because it will allow content ownership tracking via blockchain, don't anticipate content to stop being free. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 74. James⋅28 Jan 2022 Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all....This is a world where anything can easily be copied a million times and distributed around the globe in a second. If that were possible in the real world, we’d call it Utopia. This post articulates exactly what I've been thinking about the web for a while so much better than I could. Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone. ✊ 75. James Van Dyne⋅28 Jan 2022 Fantastic post by @mxbck. It articulates exactly what I've been thinking about the web for a while so much better than I could. Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone. ✊ . mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 76. Roy Tang⋅29 Jan 2022 Shared via pocket: Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free…. roytang.net/p/c5wu18vt/ 77. Josh “Fully Boosted” Vickerson⋅30 Jan 2022 “Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all. Why anyone would consider that better is beyond me.” mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 78. Caleb (he/him) #BlackLivesMatter⋅31 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff | Max Böck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 79. Nat⋅31 Jan 2022 @mxbck Thanks for this nice read at my morning :-) mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 80. hahnsinn⋅31 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 81. Matthias Ott⋅31 Jan 2022 “Despite what web3 claims, it’s possible to “own” your content without a proof of it on the blockchain. It’s also possible to create things just for the sake of putting them out into the world.[…] Make free stuff! The web is still for everyone.” 👏 @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 82. Anton Sten⋅31 Jan 2022 Loved this Max and just posted too :) antonsten.com/the-web/ 83. Max Böck⋅31 Jan 2022 "I’m longing for the day when the web grows up and turns into the fulfilling, self-respecting adult it has the potential to become." 💯 this! 84. Vince⋅31 Jan 2022 Make free stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… #web3 #wordle #free 85. David Millar - @dave@puz.fun⋅31 Jan 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 86. drewcoffman.eth 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 🟢⋅01 Feb 2022 really fascinating to read this (very good!) article in the context of wordle getting bought today 87. Vincent Will⋅01 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff - A nice article by @mxbck on creating free stuff instead of trying to monetize everything ✍️ mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 88. UX/UI Inspiration⋅01 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff#build #architecture #stuff #wordle #freestuff #architecture_hunter #concept #makefree #buildthings mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 89. Roxane Ben Sedrine⋅02 Feb 2022 A really interesting article that resonates a lot with my view of the internet these days. Thanks for the article 🙏 90. HN Front Page⋅02 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff L: mxb.dev/blog/make-free… C: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=301465… 91. Winson Tang⋅02 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 92. Hacker News⋅02 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff: mxb.dev/blog/make-free… Comments: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=301465… 93. Friday Front-End⋅04 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff, by @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 94. Angsuman Chakraborty⋅06 Feb 2022 Make Free Stuff mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 95. Jaga santagostino⋅07 Feb 2022 mxb.dev/blog/make-free… food for thought @mxbck 96. Adrian Sandu⋅07 Feb 2022 Own your own little piece of the internet with stuff you make. A little app, a tribute website, the options are limitless. And if you need some motivation, read this article by @mxbck mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 97. manoi⋅08 Feb 2022 openWeb > #web3 mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 98. Chris Collins⋅09 Feb 2022 "You see it in Twitter accounts where grifters try to monetize their “communities” with useless ebooks." All the fucking time. If you pay $19 (discounted from $199 for a limited time) for a 4 page listicle PDF, you've been ripped off. mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 99. Mondo 🦀⋅09 Feb 2022 mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 100. Crystal Camarao⋅10 Feb 2022 "The best growth hack is still to build something people enjoy, then attaching no strings to it. You’d be surprised how far that can get you.” mxb.dev/blog/make-free… 101. Eco Web Hosting⋅11 Feb 2022 "Resource Scarcity doesn’t make sense on the web. Artificially creating it here serves no other purpose than to charge money for things that could easily have been free for all. Why anyone would consider that better is beyond me." - @mxbck, mxb.dev/blog/make-free… OTHER THINGS I'VE WRITTEN 1. Media Queries in Times of @container 11 Jun 2021 2. Container Queries in Web Components 15 May 2021 3. Asset Pipelines in Eleventy 26 Apr 2021 4. Medium-Style Share Highlights in Eleventy 13 Apr 2021 5. Space Jam 04 Apr 2021 6. Webmention Analytics 07 Feb 2021 7. Making Persistent Build Folders in Netlify 05 Jan 2021 8. A year in review: 2020 19 Dec 2020 9. Whimsical Website Club 30 Jun 2020 10. The Return of the 90s Web 18 Jun 2020 © 2012–2022 Max Böck Subscribe Mailing List Social Twitter / Github Legal Privacy Policy Links Blogroll 100 100 100 100154 KiB Edit this page on Github RSS Feed