Computer Code Is Dead. What's Next?

[Deleted78083]

I am reading every day that "low-code" and "no-code" are coming (they are already there). Basically, anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge, or none at all.

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

I'll give an example:
In Poland, I saw a shoes and bags shop installed at the front of a warehouse, in a mall. Customers come in, choose the bag or pair of shoes they want to try on the website of the shop accessible through giant touchscreens. An employee goes get the pair of shoes/bag. The customer tries it out.

It's smart, as it reconciles the best of both worlds:

- Choice
- Affordable prices
- The possibility to try the shoes/bags in real life
- The possibility to buy online anyway

Here's a picture:



Ok maybe it already exists in the US, but I had never seen this before.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

The next skill enabling those that learn it to create great value on a massive scale?

Find below some ideas:

Web-design: now that you can drag and drop, can you actually drag and drop elements in a way that makes sense, is simple, and looks pretty?

Graphic-design: The recent craze about NFTs and the extreme digitalization of everything will increase the need for people that can design digital environments in a nice way. I think VR will eventually be coming too, and we'll need people to design all of these environments.

3D-design: 3D-printers are coming, and those that can design practical/original objects will be happy to quickly test their market then launch their product on a big scale.

Engineering: you can't yet create hardware like you create software.

Social: as people move increasingly into the digital world, they lose their social skills. The ability to relate to people (customers) and create win-win situations to resolve conflicts will be increasingly in demand in a society headed towards extreme narcissism, selfishness, and instant-gratification.

Everything manual: electricity skills, plumbers, carpenter, butchers, bakers, chefs...are not going away any time soon.

Can you think of anything else?

 

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[sanadly]

Cheers Brother.

I really enjoyed reading this.

 

[Devampre]

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Disagree that code is dead (but understand the reasoning to use such copy in the title.) Leveraging WYSIWYG editors and/or templates/frameworks will never kill the foundations of that of which it is built on. Plus, technology and how we interface with it is always changing and new markets will emerge and change over time. Until we develop true AGI, I wouldn't worry about this in the same way that any market saturation doesn't mean there are no opportunities left in that market. And even if we develop true AGI, some of these markets may still exist... We cannot predict the future.

Another note: WYSIWYG platforms are often tools built with custom code. So sometimes rather than panning for gold, it makes more sense to build the pans.

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

I do agree that barriers of entry are easier and easier on any service business with less financial risk. But, this doesn't mean it is unwise for one to avoid starting such businesses. Like yes, one does better their odds of massive success if there business has a high barrier to entry. And Entry is one metric of CENTS. But, sometimes you are better off operating from your home than signing a lease for commercial property on borrowed money.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

Much like gaining traction on social media, the more places you can be, the better. If one can have a website, be on all popular social media accounts, have a physical location, have an app, an engaging rewards program, an email list, etc. They will better their odds of success as they have more "fishing lines." Also, considering the remaining lockdowns in certain parts of the world, going all in on a physical location and neglecting other "fishing lines" could be an unwise decision.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

Perhaps it's more code. And also engineering new or improved physical technologies. Of course this will have a ripple effect in other areas such as the social opportunities you had mentioned.

The next big skillset/thing is quite speculative from any given instance; even when using the best data. It could be nanotechnology development, maybe visual UI design for brain-computer interfaces, maybe it's developing new approaches to carbon capture?

I do agree with a good portion of what you are writing about and understand that high barrier to entry can be a really good thing. But, the premise that a skillset is ever dead is something I can't quite get behind. Especially something like code of which helped tons of other skillsets to flourish.

Now all that being written, I may have misinterpreted or misunderstood some of your perspective. So if I missed something don't hesitate to let me know.

 

[mat287]

I am reading every day that "low-code" and "no-code" are coming (they are already there). Basically, anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge, or none at all.

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

I'll give an example:
In Poland, I saw a shoes and bags shop installed at the front of a warehouse, in a mall. Customers come in, choose the bag or pair of shoes they want to try on the website of the shop accessible through giant touchscreens. An employee goes get the pair of shoes/bag. The customer tries it out.

It's smart, as it reconciles the best of both worlds:

- Choice
- Affordable prices
- The possibility to try the shoes/bags in real life
- The possibility to buy online anyway

Here's a picture:

View attachment 37138

Ok maybe it already exists in the US, but I had never seen this before.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

The next skill enabling those that learn it to create great value on a massive scale?

Find below some ideas:

Web-design: now that you can drag and drop, can you actually drag and drop elements in a way that makes sense, is simple, and looks pretty?

Graphic-design: The recent craze about NFTs and the extreme digitalization of everything will increase the need for people that can design digital environments in a nice way. I think VR will eventually be coming too, and we'll need people to design all of these environments.

3D-design: 3D-printers are coming, and those that can design practical/original objects will be happy to quickly test their market then launch their product on a big scale.

Engineering: you can't yet create hardware like you create software.

Social: as people move increasingly into the digital world, they lose their social skills. The ability to relate to people (customers) and create win-win situations to resolve conflicts will be increasingly in demand in a society headed towards extreme narcissism, selfishness, and instant-gratification.

Everything manual: electricity skills, plumbers, carpenter, butchers, bakers, chefs...are not going away any time soon.

Can you think of anything else?

lol - as someone who has worked within the software realm for years, no code has been talked about for ages and is not going to happen any time soon. Sure, for a basic website it can work. The website needs to be really basic though. An e-commerce store, sure, that can be no code.

Most products arent that. The complexity behind the surface of what you see is far too high to ever become no code.

Why is amazon the biggest buy in America history? Its online store? Nope. AWS.

What is AWS? Its basically the hardware that runs the internet.

AWS has integrated itself with every mainstream coding language. Why? Because every website that has even a slight amount of complexity needs code. And you now need to be able to program for complex backend infrastructure, which is now an additional layer to the application code.

When your site hits high demand volume, a no code solution will not be able to be custom enough to provide either A. the ability to handle the load of users or B. the costs associated with a generic solution.

If no code ever happens, its going to be a very, very long time from now

You can make a blog or basic e-commerce site using the no code movement. But thats about it. Any other app or website, you need to be able to code.

 

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[Deleted78083]

I wouldn't worry about this in the same way that any market saturation doesn't mean there are no opportunities left in that market.

True

Much like gaining traction on social media, the more places you can be, the better. If one can have a website, be on all popular social media accounts, have a physical location, have an app, an engaging rewards program, an email list, etc. They will better their odds of success as they have more "fishing lines." Also, considering the remaining lockdowns in certain parts of the world, going all in on a physical location and neglecting other "fishing lines" could be an unwise decision.

I partly agree. I wrote here about Action, a European chain of convenience stores making 1 billion in revenue and which doesn't advertise anywhere because they are the cheapest - and everyone knows that. Low marketing expenses (they have a newsletter but that's it) enable them to push prices down even more.

The next big skillset/thing is quite speculative from any given instance; even when using the best data. It could be nanotechnology development, maybe visual UI design for brain-computer interfaces, maybe it's developing new approaches to carbon capture?

Yes, it is impossible to say for sure, and wondered what others thought about this : )

I do agree with a good portion of what you are writing about and understand that high barrier to entry can be a really good thing. But, the premise that a skillset is ever dead is something I can't quite get behind. Especially something like code of which helped tons of other skillsets to flourish.

Now all that being written, I may have misinterpreted or misunderstood some of your perspective. So if I missed something don't hesitate to let me know.

You have understood very well. The title is a bit clickbaity and provocative, but what I really meant was: "The barriers of entry represented by code to build a product are being drastically lowered every day. What's the next skill computers can't assist us with yet and that would enable those that learn it to create massive value?"

That's the research question hahaha.

I don't mean code is dead - it's not. What I mean is that all the people on the forum asking "Should I learn how to code" have fewer valid reasons to do so every day.

 

[Deleted78083]

lol - as someone who has worked within the software realm for years, no code has been talked about for ages and is not going to happen any time soon. Sure, for a basic website it can work. The website needs to be really basic though. An e-commerce store, sure, that can be no code.

Most products arent that. The complexity behind the surface of what you see is far too high to ever become no code.

Why is amazon the biggest buy in America history? Its online store? Nope. AWS.

What is AWS? Its basically the hardware that runs the internet.

AWS has integrated itself with every mainstream coding language. Why? Because every website that has even a slight amount of complexity needs code. And you now need to be able to program for complex backend infrastructure, which is now an additional layer to the application code.

When your site hits high demand volume, a no code solution will not be able to be custom enough to provide either A. the ability to handle the load of users or B. the costs associated with a generic solution.

If no code ever happens, its going to be a very, very long time from now

You can make a blog or basic e-commerce site using the no code movement. But thats about it. Any other app or website, you need to be able to code.

How To Build An AirBnB Clone Without Code

Learn how to create a vacation rental marketplace without coding, using Bubble's visual web editor.

bubble.io

 

[BlackLynx]

Cybersecurity is going to become more important than it already is

If even art moves to the digital space - the need for cybersecurity is only going to increase.

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

I am reading every day that "low-code" and "no-code" are coming (they are already there). Basically, anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge, or none at all.

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

I'll give an example:
In Poland, I saw a shoes and bags shop installed at the front of a warehouse, in a mall. Customers come in, choose the bag or pair of shoes they want to try on the website of the shop accessible through giant touchscreens. An employee goes get the pair of shoes/bag. The customer tries it out.

It's smart, as it reconciles the best of both worlds:

- Choice
- Affordable prices
- The possibility to try the shoes/bags in real life
- The possibility to buy online anyway

Here's a picture:

View attachment 37138

Ok maybe it already exists in the US, but I had never seen this before.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

The next skill enabling those that learn it to create great value on a massive scale?

Find below some ideas:

Web-design: now that you can drag and drop, can you actually drag and drop elements in a way that makes sense, is simple, and looks pretty?

Graphic-design: The recent craze about NFTs and the extreme digitalization of everything will increase the need for people that can design digital environments in a nice way. I think VR will eventually be coming too, and we'll need people to design all of these environments.

3D-design: 3D-printers are coming, and those that can design practical/original objects will be happy to quickly test their market then launch their product on a big scale.

Engineering: you can't yet create hardware like you create software.

Social: as people move increasingly into the digital world, they lose their social skills. The ability to relate to people (customers) and create win-win situations to resolve conflicts will be increasingly in demand in a society headed towards extreme narcissism, selfishness, and instant-gratification.

Everything manual: electricity skills, plumbers, carpenter, butchers, bakers, chefs...are not going away any time soon.

Can you think of anything else?

Some greats thoughts in here.

In my opinion, ever since forever the more valued ability was not coding, but rather knowing what to code in the first place... ie what the market needs, what the market would be willing to buy. 10-15 years ago, it was not enough to know what to code, you also needed to know how to do it or have the money to hire someone who knew how to do it for you. Nowadays, it's similar in a way -> you can learn how to code, or you can learn how to use some prepared framework or app that will help you build it with 0 code on your end (or obviously hire someone).

My opinion: "no-coding" tools are for the most part inefficient tools for consumers, and when you choose to use them, you lose control. Take something as simple as Clickfunnels. It makes building a landing page or funnel easy - the Clickfunnels way! And you better accept the tools that they give you, cause you don't have any other! Whereas if you learned how to do the same thing on your own Wordpress built framework, you'd have a LOT more control, and the ability to do exactly what you wanted, pretty much no limitations, but it would take you 100x the time if you didn't have the knowledge and skill already.

Now we often do resort to "no-coding" tools because we want to do something fast, we just want to test an idea, we want an MVP, and so on. But make no mistake about it, those tools are almost always inferior in the end analysis. This means that knowing how to code will continue to be a significant advantage in the marketplace. In addition, knowing how to code and being proficient at it allows you to easily inspect and manage other developers. Since coding is a black box for most entrepreneurs, developers know this, and for the most part will make lazy, suboptimal choices that remain invisible to most entrepreneurs that just don't know any better. Then they wonder why the app they built with a developer off Upwork stopped working 3 weeks after it was built and paid for...

From personal experience, a billion-dollar problem is this one: how do you, as a small business owner (not a corporation), ensure that essential service providers (developers if you have an online biz, accountants, lawyers, etc.) actually do their job with your best interests at heart? Because from experience, none of them do. They do what is easy for them first and foremost, and only a very distant second what's in your interest. Which also goes into explaining why failure rate is so high for most new businesses. The current way to solve this problem is inefficient: either finding people you can trust (which is very hard), or learning it yourself, so that the service provider becomes a mere hired hand who effectively does what you require them to, and could do yourself if you wanted to.

As the gig economy grows (freelancing is becoming more and more popular, soon 50% of the economy will be freelance), these problems of accountability will only get worse.

Let me give you an example. If I want to optimize my site's speed performance, I could post a job on Upwork. Here's what will happen: most applicants, 70%, will send a general proposal, and they will not even consider the specific problems my website has, they will just go through the same old process they have for all websites they work with. If I hire them, they will change plugins, they will mess existing setups, and so on. And who will have to clean up after them? That's right, I will. Out of the rest, 20% will send specific proposals, detailing a solution that either means a lot of money for them (ie, how about recreating the website from scratch, because it would take 100 hours otherwise to fix it), and another 10% would know what they do but charge ridiculous prices to do it, with the added risk that they may not even do a good job.

So what do you think I do in such a situation? Who do I hire?

The correct answer is nobody. I spend 4 hours of coding, and fix the problems that others suggested would take 100 hours only to convince me to award them the project to recreate the entire website and get more $$ from me. It's honestly much easier and much faster for me to fix my own problems, than have to teach a developer about my setup, all its intricate dependencies, how it works, have him figure it out, then make mistakes while coding because he doesn't understand everything fully, and so on. So as much as I hate coding, it's an extremely useful skill to have.

And guess what your average business owner would do instead? Hire one of those guys, pay a ton, get something done that he doesn't even understand, only to have it stop working 1 month later. "Uhhhh but I don't understand, I hired a developer to fix this 1 month ago! It should have been fixed!!" -> and on and on it will go, jumping from provider to provider, getting screwed over and over again. <---- this right here is the story for 90% of online entrepreneurs!

So I think the online marketplace as a whole has a severe issue with trust, and finding reliable providers. That, as well as low barriers to entry and extreme levels of competition are the reasons why so many people struggle to make it online, and would have a much easier time, as you have remarked, offline.

 

[Fox]

Coding isn't dead - it is just way more efficient.
Like moving from typewriters to keyboards to word processors.

What people really want though isn't the code as much as what it actually does.
The value will just be more and more in the concept/solution.

A good analogy is content.
Years ago you had to go to a cinema, then it was a TV in your house, now it is in your pocket.
And each time it gets more efficient the "average hours watched" goes up.
But... in general qualify also goes down.
So the content challenge isn't production but the concept/idea.

Code is doing a similar thing.
It is getting easier to make things but that just switches the goal to making things that matter.
Just cause something is easier to code doesn't make it a great product or service.

Whoever wins doesn't get caught up on how it gets made but why - cause in any industry the means of production always changes and generally improves.

 

[mat287]

How To Build An AirBnB Clone Without Code

Learn how to create a vacation rental marketplace without coding, using Bubble's visual web editor.

bubble.io

You providing a link to a company promoting this narrative means nothing. Show me one app or website that is actually profitable from this and I’ll show you 1000 that are still using regular programming languages and will continue to use them in the future.
Go on LinkedIn and search software developer jobs. Hundreds of thousands will appear. Then search “bubble.io” manager or whatever the F*ck this is, and none will show up

 

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[PapaGang]

What's next is what's always next. Making people's lives a bit happier. Ease suffering. Helping them overcome grief. Giving them something to smile about. Solving a complex problem for them. The tools the enterprising problem solvers use always change. The mission stays the same. Value vouchers. Thank God for motherf**kin value vouchers.

 

[Deleted78083]

You providing a link to a company promoting this narrative means nothing. Show me one app or website that is actually profitable from this and I’ll show you 1000 that are still using regular programming languages and will continue to use them in the future.
Go on LinkedIn and search software developer jobs. Hundreds of thousands will appear. Then search “bubble.io” manager or whatever the f*ck this is, and none will show up

You're missing the point entirely, but whatever.

 

[Leo Hendrix]

I am reading every day that "low-code" and "no-code" are coming (they are already there). Basically, anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge, or none at all.

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

I'll give an example:
In Poland, I saw a shoes and bags shop installed at the front of a warehouse, in a mall. Customers come in, choose the bag or pair of shoes they want to try on the website of the shop accessible through giant touchscreens. An employee goes get the pair of shoes/bag. The customer tries it out.

It's smart, as it reconciles the best of both worlds:

- Choice
- Affordable prices
- The possibility to try the shoes/bags in real life
- The possibility to buy online anyway

Here's a picture:

View attachment 37138

Ok maybe it already exists in the US, but I had never seen this before.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

The next skill enabling those that learn it to create great value on a massive scale?

Find below some ideas:

Web-design: now that you can drag and drop, can you actually drag and drop elements in a way that makes sense, is simple, and looks pretty?

Graphic-design: The recent craze about NFTs and the extreme digitalization of everything will increase the need for people that can design digital environments in a nice way. I think VR will eventually be coming too, and we'll need people to design all of these environments.

3D-design: 3D-printers are coming, and those that can design practical/original objects will be happy to quickly test their market then launch their product on a big scale.

Engineering: you can't yet create hardware like you create software.

Social: as people move increasingly into the digital world, they lose their social skills. The ability to relate to people (customers) and create win-win situations to resolve conflicts will be increasingly in demand in a society headed towards extreme narcissism, selfishness, and instant-gratification.

Everything manual: electricity skills, plumbers, carpenter, butchers, bakers, chefs...are not going away any time soon.

Can you think of anything else?

From what I have seen and know ( not a programmer, software engineer, dev, architect etc.) - no-code is still a ways away...The best way to find out about tech stuff for sure is to dig deep.

I have used bubble to test apps - I found the speed of execution to be helpful - but the customisation and control wasn't really there ( free version).

From that little experiment I think this approach has a market and use-case but I don't think humans writing instructions for machines ie software and hardware somewhat is going anywhere to soon. Smart contracts and protocols are still being written by humans.

 

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[mat287]

You're missing the point entirely, but whatever.

I’m not. I’m just answering the first question you asked.
To your other points, it’s not obvious at all where the next paradigm shift will occur. The things you listed (engineering, graphic design etc) aren’t going away any time soon. There will be a lot of no codes - things that get hype but never turn into reality

 

[PapaGang]

I agree with the premise.

I can buy native React templates for a variety of common apps (dating, coffee shop, etc.) that require some intermediate skills to implement, but we're definitely making progress towards lowering the bar of entry for digital assets.

These React templates are what WordPress themes were 12 years ago. The progress is stunning. Still, you need to have a solid few years of experience of coding in your chosen stack to implement on a practical and clean level. There are still technical hurdles, but I would guess that the barrier to entry will fall precipitously the next 5 to 10 years.

 

[mat287]

I agree with the premise.

I can buy native React templates for a variety of common apps (dating, coffee shop, etc.) that require some intermediate skills to implement, but we're definitely making progress towards lowering the bar of entry for digital assets.

These React templates are what WordPress themes were 12 years ago. The progress is stunning. Still, you need to have a solid few years of experience of coding in your chosen stack to implement on a practical and clean level. There are still technical hurdles, but I would guess that the barrier to entry will fall precipitously the next 5 to 10 years.

This is what makes the barrier to entry still high. Learning programming, and just learning in general, usually isn’t linear. These templates make it faster. Ie spring boot, Angular CLI, the templates you describe, etc. However, you still need to learn. Which is THE barrier to entry.
Let’s look at the father of no code today: google sheets. Can anyone use google sheets inefficiently for basic tasks? Sure. Would I be able to go in and be a pivot table(or whatever it is now called in sheets) expert with little practice? Very unlikely.
Any complex problem is going to have a complex solution. And most money making endeavors today will have at least some complexity. The low hanging fruit that everyone wants to pick on here does not exist

 

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[PapaGang]

This is what makes the barrier to entry still high. Learning programming, and just learning in general, usually isn’t linear. These templates make it faster. Ie spring boot, Angular CLI, the templates you describe, etc. However, you still need to learn. Which is THE barrier to entry.
Let’s look at the father of no code today: google sheets. Can anyone use google sheets inefficiently for basic tasks? Sure. Would I be able to go in and be a pivot table(or whatever it is now called in sheets) expert with little practice? Very unlikely.
Any complex problem is going to have a complex solution. And most money making endeavors today will have at least some complexity. The low hanging fruit that everyone wants to pick on here does not exist

That's what I thought about HTML/CSS and graphic design until SquareSpace, Shopify and Canva dropped.

The barriers will drop. That doesn't mean some other level of complexity won't arise. Blockchain apps, IOT protocols, Fintech, VR, etc. will keep digital workers busy. I'm not saying the digital space won't grow, it will just evolve to another level of complexity.

I would not say that the average person will be able to magically make anything digital. "Computer code is dead" is a bit of a false phrase. No code for websites and apps? Yeah.

But blockchain software, specialized hardware/software interfaces, IOT devices, sophisticated statistical modeling, etc. will always require some coding skills.

The tools will change, the skills will change. But the poster's original premise holds water. Phone apps and websites will have a low barrier to entry. I still can't believe how SquareSpace, WordPress and Shopify have opened the floodgates of commerce and made tech accessible to the average citizen.

 

[mat287]

That's what I thought about HTML/CSS and graphic design until SquareSpace, Shopify and Canva dropped.

The barriers will drop. That doesn't mean some other level of complexity won't arise. Blockchain apps, IOT protocols, Fintech, VR, etc. will keep digital workers busy. I'm not saying the digital space won't grow, it will just evolve to another level of complexity.

I would not say that the average person will be able to magically make anything digital. "Computer code is dead" is a bit of a false phrase. No code for websites and apps? Yeah.

But blockchain software, specialized hardware/software interfaces, IOT devices, sophisticated statistical modeling, etc. will always require some coding skills.

The tools will change, the skills will change. But the poster's original premise holds water. Phone apps and websites will have a low barrier to entry. I still can't believe how SquareSpace, WordPress and Shopify have opened the floodgates of commerce and made tech accessible to the average citizen.

But are those apps useful? Thats the important question. For basic apps, there will be low barrier. But my thoughts are that there are no basic apps anymore. Like you arent going to put up a random ecommerce store and make money. Maybe if you had a program that accounted for arbitrage between ebay and amazon and you made yourself the middle man, that could work. But that requires complex web scraping in the backend.

And in this example, the author uses Airbnb as a drag and drop. There is 0 chance a no code solution would work for an actual replica of airbnb. How would user data be collected to inform decisions on what to show to users? How would it scale from an infra standpoint? How would deployments work? How would data creation work (Ie spark jobs gathering millions of columns of user data to create customized options for each individual user)? How would you stay on top of security? And the fundamental issue - How would you find a solution to a problem that the no code platform doesnt solve for? That is the biggest issue because it could bring down your ability to grow entirely.
These are just things that came off the top of my head from pondering about this for 10 minutes. Im sure there are loads of other unaccounted for problems that exist

 

[PapaGang]

But are those apps useful? Thats the important question. For basic apps, there will be low barrier. But my thoughts are that there are no basic apps anymore. Like you arent going to put up a random ecommerce store and make money. Maybe if you had a program that accounted for arbitrage between ebay and amazon and you made yourself the middle man, that could work. But that requires complex web scraping in the backend.

And in this example, the author uses Airbnb as a drag and drop. There is 0 chance a no code solution would work for an actual replica of airbnb. How would user data be collected to inform decisions on what to show to users? How would it scale from an infra standpoint? How would deployments work? How would data creation work (Ie spark jobs gathering millions of columns of user data to create customized options for each individual user)? How would you stay on top of security? And the fundamental issue - How would you find a solution to a problem that the no code platform doesnt solve for? That is the biggest issue because it could bring down your ability to grow entirely.
These are just things that came off the top of my head from pondering about this for 10 minutes. Im sure there are loads of other unaccounted for problems that exist

ok I don't want to get bogged down in some specific scenarios here because I don't want to contribute the time. there are a million cases, some of which I already cited, where there will be a need for software engineers.


I'm not talking about someone creating Airbnb with no code and competing with them. That's ridiculous and has zero chance of competing on any serious level of business.

But if I decide to open a coffee shop and want a mobile ordering app? Dangerously easy if you know a kid that is fairly well versed in React. That's what I'm talking about. Barrier to entry has been lowered. What would have been a $80,000 project 6 years ago is now within reach of mom and pop entrepreneurs.

I actually think we agree on most, if not all points.

Computer code is not dead, and as long as we use them, we will need skillful engineers. We agree on that.
However, the poster's main point "anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge" I agree with.


If your argument is that barriers of entry to tech are not falling, I disagree and I will leave it at that.

 

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[mat287]

ok I don't want to get bogged down in some specific scenarios here because I don't want to contribute the time. there are a million cases, some of which I already cited, where there will be a need for software engineers.

Coders will always be needed. So relax, your chosen method of making a living will remain intact.

I'm not talking about someone creating Airbnb with no code and competing with them. That's ridiculous and has zero chance of competing on any serious level of business.

But if I decide to open a coffee shop and want a mobile ordering app? Dangerously easy if you know a kid that is fairly well versed in React. That's what I'm talking about. Barrier to entry has been lowered. What would have been a $80,000 project 6 years ago is now within reach of mom and pop entrepreneurs.

I actually think we agree on most, if not all points.

Computer code is not dead, and as long as we use them, we will need skillful engineers. We agree on that.
However, the poster's main point "anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge" I agree with.


If your argument is that barriers of entry to tech are not falling, I disagree and I will leave it at that.

I agree, but I’m against the premise of what the original poster is trying to make. Essentially, what easy way can I make money? What are things that people aren’t paying attention to that I can make money with quick and easy?

There is no easy way is my fundamental point. You are going to have to learn and grind no matter what you choose to do

 

[PapaGang]

I agree, but I’m against the premise of what the original poster is trying to make. Essentially, what easy way can I make money? What are things that people aren’t paying attention to that I can make money with quick and easy?

There is no easy way is my fundamental point. You are going to have to learn and grind no matter what you choose to do

Exactly. Just because the tools make it easy, just means that you now have to focus on the other hard stuff. Because that's how anything worthwhile is built.

There is no elevator to the top. You can't coast your way to the top of the mountain.

Totally agree.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

There are some things here I agree with... that B&M is reflecting some good local opportunities and that the entry barrier to digital businesses is falling. In fact, it's been falling for a 2 decades.

But I don't agree with "computer code is dead" -- prepackaged "no code" editors tend to have very specific, confined toolsets ... which means the applications they create are also very specific and confined. Simply put, it's harder to differentiate and create value skew when your ability is narrowed to a predefined set of rules.

It also means that your "solution" is likely one among many.

Think about a 1st generation calculator -- it was a great tool for the few persons who could own one a century ago.
But now that everyone has access to a calculator, the tool isn't very valuable.

I'm saying that if everyone has access to the calculator, then everyone has access to the solution -- that's no way to create a unique value skew.

 

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[Deleted78083]

I’m not. I’m just answering the first question you asked.

Yes you are. Read again:

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Like you arent going to put up a random ecommerce store and make money.

Actually, yes you can. Look at AllBird. A billion-dollar company, they got a great product that they're selling...with a shopify-made store.

That's exactly my point.

These React templates are what WordPress themes were 12 years ago. The progress is stunning. Still, you need to have a solid few years of experience of coding in your chosen stack to implement on a practical and clean level. There are still technical hurdles, but I would guess that the barrier to entry will fall precipitously the next 5 to 10 years.

The barriers will drop. That doesn't mean some other level of complexity won't arise. Blockchain apps, IOT protocols, Fintech, VR, etc. will keep digital workers busy. I'm not saying the digital space won't grow, it will just evolve to another level of complexity.

I would not say that the average person will be able to magically make anything digital. "Computer code is dead" is a bit of a false phrase. No code for websites and apps? Yeah.

Thank you, you outlined my point very well

Simply put, it's harder to differentiate and create value skew when your ability is narrowed to a predefined set of rules.

I'm saying that if everyone has access to the calculator, then everyone has access to the solution -- that's no way to create a unique value skew.

Yes, hence the idea, what's the next high-entry cost skill enabling one to create value for million with minimum competition?

 

[mat287]

Yes you are. Read again:





Actually, yes you can. Look at AllBird. A billion-dollar company, they got a great product that they're selling...with a shopify-made store.

That's exactly my point.






Thank you, you outlined my point very well






Yes, hence the idea, what's the next high-entry cost skill enabling one to create value for million with minimum competition?

Haha I’m not going to waste more time arguing with a stranger on the internet. I’ll take my experience working on software for the past 8 years, along with the dozens of people I know who are involved with software, the thousands of companies that have not adopted no code practices and have no intention to in the future, over 1 random stranger’s 1 random site from 1 random article from a random forum on the internet. Have a good rest of your week

 

[PeterBoss]

Already pointed out here.. but I think worth leaving my 2 cts and hopefully some clarity.
If something in software can be 'abstracted away' it will be done, but this is just a way to increase the complexity level of what is possible.

AWS/GC/Azure offers you the possibility of going completely serverless if you want to (not discussing if you should, that is a whole other issue) but that will/should enable you to leverage that into developing a more complex solution.
Code in itself has no value, its the solutions that you bring with it... so, yeah, if your business was/is just spitting out code for other people requirements and those requirements are relatively simple, then probably look for something else to offer.

The world evolves, requirements change, technical complexity grows. Nothing has value unless someone else needs/desires it and you can both agree on it.

 

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[Cyberthal]

Software is eating the world, first metaphorically, then literally, if you know anything about the Singularity.

 

[rpeck90]

From personal experience, a billion-dollar problem is this one: how do you, as a small business owner (not a corporation), ensure that essential service providers (developers if you have an online biz, accountants, lawyers, etc.) actually do their job with your best interests at heart? Because from experience, none of them do. They do what is easy for them first and foremost, and only a very distant second what's in your interest. Which also goes into explaining why failure rate is so high for most new businesses. The current way to solve this problem is inefficient: either finding people you can trust (which is very hard), or learning it yourself, so that the service provider becomes a mere hired hand who effectively does what you require them to, and could do yourself if you wanted to.

This is partly the onus of the person doing the hiring.

I get a lot of people asking me to do things (I write code) which are obviously in their best interest, but not mine. I even wrote an entire Ruby on Rails app for someone and they tried to sue me in the UK small claims court because it didn't look exactly like their original Wordpress site (they wanted to integrate it into several API's and automatically generate PDF's etc).

In that instance, it was partly my fault (it ran about 1 week over deadline etc), but there are a LOT of people who think plopping down $350 will get them a solution that really needs about $50k.

The problem isn't so much about whether a company/freelancer wants to do what you need, but having adequate incentive to do it (obviously considering they are excellent to start with --> the real issue is that most are there for a paycheck and do the bare minimum to get it).

I've paid over the odds for most of the freelance work I've had done mainly because I wanted to ensure I was getting someone who actually gave a shit. If it's something mundane, like accountancy, then you pay market rate... but for anything that requires skill/speciality, I've found it best to treat the best people like gold.

-

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

This is very apt - for all the talk of "digital", the money is (most definitely) still physical; even something as simple as building rapport, a network and connections is best done offline.

For one of the projects I've been working on, we have been looking at getting a book done, with the following section:



The sentiment has also been iterated by others:

--

As regards "no code" - as @Black_Dragon43 pointed out, there are plenty of "solutions" which can help you achieve functionality that even just a few years ago would have cost $1,000's to implement.

Zapier & XPlenty are good examples of that.

The problem is they are cookie-cutter; yield the same result (as @MJ DeMarco suggested). There's no reason why your "AirBnb" clone is needed in the market, despite them having to pay $x to get it made vs your $y.

Further, why would someone need to buy from your "me too" Shopify store, or Clickfunnels page, when there are millions which do the same thing? The answer is that there is no reason on a technical level .

The difference digital has made has been to increase accessibility - each iteration has brought a new wave of access to people who didn't have it previously - PC's brought compute power; Web 1.0 information ("seo"); Web 2.0 people ("social"); Web 3.0 IoT (blockchain etc).

This has created the illusion of growth, but misses the point... each "node" is only as valuable as what it's able to do (I browse YouTube for the videos, not because it's there). Connecting different nodes together does not increase functional value on their own - that is the remit of the "real world" machinery they affect.

In some cases, that "machinery" may be human ("freelancing"). In others, it may be physical/industrial ("eCommerce"). In every case, the digital paradigm gives you the ability to interact with a company in a more rich and immersive way than previously possible. A company is (should be) a group of people who want to produce a specific set of solutions & ideas.

My opinion is that most people look at things from an "extrinsic" perspective; looking "outside" for ideas, information and opportunities. However, the best way to create growth for yourself is to become "intrinsic"; focusing on what you are able to do.

On that note, the book I mentioned above is actually about that - it's called the "citadel strategy". The cover needs to change (I stole it from COD warzone (image source)), but it explains the core idea of how to leverage digital for "real world" growth. It's part of another product so I'm not trying to sell it, just interesting how these things come about.

The TL;DR lol:

-

Ultimately, the issue is not so much the technology, but how that technology is used to create experiences, solutions and ideas that new people can engage with.

New is the keyword - I've found the key factor in building wealth is to encourage people who've never bought from you before to give you money. This is why the Internet has become such a pervasive force; you're able to engage with companies & people whom you'd have never had a chance with previously.

No amount of innovation can change that - the "process" works the same as it has always done, code or not.

 

[ygtrhos]

TL;DR

I think VR will play a big role in tomorrow's society. Especially now, as Zoom/Teams culture became more and more popular.

 

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[loop101]

I am reading every day that "low-code" and "no-code" are coming (they are already there). Basically, anyone will be able to make more apps and more websites with very little coding knowledge, or none at all.

Creating an app or a website will be as easy as opening an Airbnb:
Step 1: register on the platform.
Step 2: watch the educational video
Step 3: do your thing

What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Obviously, I'm not saying you'll be able to create a computer OS with no-code. There will still be a need for people to write "complicated" software (defense, industrial).

Simply, the barrier of entry to the creation of digital assets will be drastically lowered. I read about a guy creating an Airbnb copycat with a no-code tool.

So here's my bet. As a contrarian, I look at the place people are running to and where they're running from (in this case, from Mainstreet to digital) and take the opposite way. I think the best opportunities at the moment are in the brick-and-mortar, for the simple reason that everyone has gone digital.

I'll give an example:
In Poland, I saw a shoes and bags shop installed at the front of a warehouse, in a mall. Customers come in, choose the bag or pair of shoes they want to try on the website of the shop accessible through giant touchscreens. An employee goes get the pair of shoes/bag. The customer tries it out.

It's smart, as it reconciles the best of both worlds:

- Choice
- Affordable prices
- The possibility to try the shoes/bags in real life
- The possibility to buy online anyway

Here's a picture:

View attachment 37138

Ok maybe it already exists in the US, but I had never seen this before.

Anyway, this leads me to wonder what will be the next "code"?

The next skill enabling those that learn it to create great value on a massive scale?

Find below some ideas:

Web-design: now that you can drag and drop, can you actually drag and drop elements in a way that makes sense, is simple, and looks pretty?

Graphic-design: The recent craze about NFTs and the extreme digitalization of everything will increase the need for people that can design digital environments in a nice way. I think VR will eventually be coming too, and we'll need people to design all of these environments.

3D-design: 3D-printers are coming, and those that can design practical/original objects will be happy to quickly test their market then launch their product on a big scale.

Engineering: you can't yet create hardware like you create software.

Social: as people move increasingly into the digital world, they lose their social skills. The ability to relate to people (customers) and create win-win situations to resolve conflicts will be increasingly in demand in a society headed towards extreme narcissism, selfishness, and instant-gratification.

Everything manual: electricity skills, plumbers, carpenter, butchers, bakers, chefs...are not going away any time soon.

Can you think of anything else?

I used a drag-and-drop web-design tool that was so easy, I was convinced there would be no need for web-developers. The same year, a drag-and-drop tool was released for Javascript. Lucky for me, I was able to go back to being a dBase programmer.

 

[c4n]

I used a drag-and-drop web-design tool that was so easy, I was convinced there would be no need for web-developers. The same year, a drag-and-drop tool was released for Javascript. Lucky for me, I was able to go back to being a dBase programmer.

View attachment 37188

I created my first websites using FrontPage Express

Ended up learning Perl to write CGI scripts because I couldn't get the damn FrontPage Server Extensions to work. 20+ years later I still code my stuff by hand