I actually was not thinking about creating more software, but more like convincing people to try some software that already exists, let it be using wordpress + Friends or signing up for Mastodon instead of staying at X, or about moving to Lemmy instead of staying on age-verifying Reddit.
I remember times when I thought I would create some software that would do something special, but no, that naive phase already passed.
At some point I thought I would create some software just for sake of process of creating it or as test of my skills. Like “yes, I able to do this!”.
But I am at that stage now when I aware I will not create anything special, as it is beyond my skillset and abilties. Software is not written (mostly) alone. Era of Linus Torvalds spending months in a room alone like Hephaestus to create something big and special, that era already passed.
Time to use we all already have.
It all ended for IT in completely strange way – those who climbed first to the top are already kings, and people do not care who are the kings, and just use what everyone else uses around them. And the single thing that would push people to try some new or different software is some real problem, which should annoy them seriously. For example, if windows gets so bloated with ads or spyware it slows a 10 years old PC beyond usability, people may ask a techy friend for help, and this is time when it is possible to try convince to check Linux out.
Or if state introduce absurd barriers for internet access (a-la Russian white-lists cropped “internet”, or UK age checks), people googled for ways to bypass it, and find out about VPNs and anti-DPI-tools such as Zapret and others.
Same for social media and messengers. I guess only when people would see chatgpt responses full of adds injecting contextual ad in their private chat with mom, people may get interested in some alternative messengers. And only if amount of irrelevant content and ads in algorithmic feed will surpass some unknown threshold, people will look for something better instead, and get interested into follows-only chronological feeds of Fediverse or customizable feeds of AtProto or manually picked feeds dedicated to some topic or theme.
I don’t sure how would look some real problem that would convince people to look for alternative to iOS and Android, but doubt this would be the coming stricter rules for iOS apps or developers registration and transition to iOS-like closed-source model coming to Android. May be only if Apple and Android devices would become too expensive due “memory shortage crisis” caused by LLMs datacenters boom would push some to look towards PinePhone and other linux phone.
Some people can try European software in hope of better GDPR compliance. Others may decided that Slack or Jira become too expensive for them to use after next price hike.
Who knows what trigger next opportunity to promote better software? Those who want more people aboard Fediverse and dream about a browser based on Servo engine just need keep eyes open and not miss coming opportunity.
