Value is not dependent on the medium
I just spent the last hour writing a newsletter where I tried to articulate the difference between value and the medium that delivers the value. People often skip the “value” part and jump straight into building software (the medium).
But you’ll never be able to read that wonderful work.
The last hour of writing was lost to the void because I refreshed my browser.
“Why?”, I hear you ask. “Why would refreshing the web page delete a document that is auto-saved to the cloud?”
Why, indeed, dear friend.
To illustrate my thoughts on “value vs medium”, consider this: if a hand-written copy of my newsletter showed up on your desk each morning, that wouldn’t change the underlying value for me.1 I write to an audience of people who, at least sometimes, want to read what I say. Email just so happens to be the most convenient way to do this.
The value for me is that when I write something, someone gets a chance to read it. The medium doesn’t actually matter. Software, hand-written, telepathic goldish—as long as you get the chance to read it, that’s what I care about as the writer.
Well… Unless the chosen medium deletes the last hour of my life.
1 It might make you feel fancy though, eh?