The problem with trying to reason using the concept of "creating value" is that "value" is such a transient, subjective, and ephemeral thing. Human beings don't fully use logic when they assign value.
"Value" from the standpoint of markets is not the same as "actual benefit." I'm not sure you can really measure the latter. If you try, you start living Zen parables.
Let's take Adult Friend Finder as an example. It has "value" according to the market. We know because it makes money. But the vast majority of its users probably don't get what they think is the "actual benefit" they would've wanted. But is even that an actual benefit? I now have a relationship with mutual respect, love, and trust. I now see the goal of Adult Friend Finder as a trap. The opportunity cost and risk of disease involved with finding casual sex makes it seem less of a "benefit" to me.
So where does this leave economics? There's still all of the game theory, but the need for a more sophisticated outlook on human motivation is acknowledged by the field.
Kent: I looked at your website and saw the price. 10usd per month for a desktop product? That's pretty strange if you ask me. Subscriptions are usually for server based installs or online value added services.
Price it like every other desktop dev tool on the planet: one off purchase + with minor version upgrades + optional annual maintenance. Look at other established players in the java dev tool market. Copy their pricing models.
Even though it's cheap I wouldn't consider it because of the pricing model you are using. It just feels wrong.
Completely unrelated question - is there much of anything "local" where you are? Southern Oregon is beautiful, but is there much "tech stuff" happening there?
We're idly considering where we might go if we return to the US, and that area is not a bad one for some things. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that it's not a great place for high tech (even Eugene, much larger, is a pretty sleepy place from that point of view).
The only three local tech employers of any note are Fire Mountain Gems, Harry and Davids, and Musician's Friend. I wouldn't recommend this area to a programmer unless you are willing to travel, in which case it's paradise except that you are travelling, or you have a product. In either case the local "exchange rate" is dramatically in your favor.
Humans are creatures of habit. But it turns out that using habits and generalizations saves a lot of time and effort. Therefore it is logical to use them - even if their application in a specific situation sometimes leads to illogical decisions. There's different levels of systems.
"Value" from the standpoint of markets is not the same as "actual benefit." I'm not sure you can really measure the latter. If you try, you start living Zen parables.
Let's take Adult Friend Finder as an example. It has "value" according to the market. We know because it makes money. But the vast majority of its users probably don't get what they think is the "actual benefit" they would've wanted. But is even that an actual benefit? I now have a relationship with mutual respect, love, and trust. I now see the goal of Adult Friend Finder as a trap. The opportunity cost and risk of disease involved with finding casual sex makes it seem less of a "benefit" to me.
It's like that story of the farmer and good luck/bad luck. http://www.timesquotidian.com/2009/04/17/good-luck-bad-luck/
So where does this leave economics? There's still all of the game theory, but the need for a more sophisticated outlook on human motivation is acknowledged by the field.