Find answers to the most common general questions we encounter with buyers, sellers, and partners.
Playbooks is a digital marketplace where developers can buy, sell, and exchange code seamlessly. Our platform offers an alternative to open source letting developers monetize their time and expertise. We call it Hybrid Source Software.
We believe developers are the unsung heros of the internet and that our time should be respected the same as any other industry. At Playbooks, we're building a creator economy for developers that aims to help you build faster and build smarter. We do this by adding common market dynamics (ie the ability to buy and sell code) alongside the features and tools you already use (ie git, code trees, docs, demos, etc). So, whether you're looking to upskill and learn from others or you're looking to demonstrate your skills and share with others -- you've come to the right place.
Hybrid Source Software is a term we've coined for the developer economy that we're building at Playbooks. In short, we believe that time equals money and that time is actually your most valuable asset. As such, we think developers deserve a platform where you can buy, sell, and exchange code in a familiar environment. And then, we'll distribute the proceeds in a transparent and fair manner across all contributors.
At Playbooks, we believe there is a massive inefficiency in the OSS industry where despite allowing anyone to contribute only a few actually do. This is because time equals money. Unlike Wikipedia, software development is arguably a larger, more complex and more dynamic universe with major dollars involved. However, we've set the precedent that open-source / free code is the only game in town. Thus, we've left ourselves in an untenable situation where the only way to contribute to the developer economy is the following:
- Spend your time and work for free on open source
- Start a business that incorporates OSS into it's mission / competitive advantage
- Or, go to work for someone else that will pay you to work on open source
From our perspective, the reality is that there are many developers out there that are:
- Want to contribute
- Are technically proficient
- And possess the ideas / knowhow to get it done
Playbooks builds on that opportunity by offering a platform where developers can seamlessly buy, sell, and exchange code alongside familiar tools. We're not saying it's a silver bullet. But, we do believe hybrid source offers a compelling vision for a sustainable and scalable developer economy.
Nothing is wrong with Open Source Software ("OSS"). But, the market is evolving and we don't think open (or closed) source should be the only game in town when there is a broad and growing need for more tooling and expertise. Ultimately, we think that by adding some financial incentives to the mix developers will enjoy better code, better support, and more options over the long-term.
Playbooks is a platform for code distribution and community collaboration. It is not a developer productivity or version control system. Instead, we hook into those platforms so you can safely and securely distribute your work with us and get paid at the same time. Ultimately, we see ourselves as a complementary, value-add player to the developer ecosystem and we are looking to grow the pie.
Most industry observers would tell you that AI still has a ways to go before it replaces developers at scale. While the technology is fascinating, the output still looks like a copy / paste from Stackoverflow rather than a contextually-aware extension of you. Nonetheless, we're well aware of it's potential to impact our business and the developer economy as a whole. In any case, we look at AI as another onramp to software development similar to the no-code / low-code movement that's been happening for awhile now. It's great for some things. But, you still need an expert at the wheel. What's more important is building a sustainable developer economy that works for everyone. When you look from that perspective, we think Playbooks is a necessity that can / will co-exist alongside any AI future.