Developer Hegemony, Revisited (And A Free Copy, If You Like)
In the “time flies” category, it’s been over four years since I announced the release of Developer Hegemony.
So I suppose it’s old enough that I need to start giving it away for free, right? Like the way really old books and classical music are somehow free? I’m pretty sure that’s how it works, but, whatever, I don’t make the rules.
Anyway, I’ll come back to the “have the book for free” part and explain in more detail a little later. In the meantime, I’ll ask you to indulge me in some musing and the announcement of a new community initiative that you’re welcome to join.
Developer Hegemony: The Idea in Brief
If you’re not familiar, or you need a refresher, Developer Hegemony was a book I started writing on Leanpub and eventually published to Amazon. It was, dare I say, my magnum rantus. And I’m flattered and bemused to report that it has sold thousands of copies in the last four years, in spite of my haphazard-at-best marketing efforts post-launch.
I suspect this is because, like the expert beginner, the beggar CEO, or the broken interview, this content taps into a smoldering populist rage. Developer Hegemony is a lengthy answer to the question, “Why are corporate software developers the least influential people in software development?”
Unpacking all of the themes of the book here would be impractical. But the book includes a methodical takedown of traditional corporate institutions, and it encourages a programmer exodus from the ranks of large organizations.
We’d be better served going off on our own. We could sell our services (or SaaS-es) as individual contractors or small bands of partners in firms that I described as “efficiencer” firms.
And after releasing the book, I had grand intentions of helping people do just that.
Oops.