About ten years ago I worked at a music-related startup and we did something of a side project with a local library. It was very fulfilling because we worked with local artists to create a music sharing system that was good for both artists and fans and without the usual bullshit that accompanies digital media.
It was a small-ish project at the time, but it was one of the best things I’ve ever worked on both in terms of the technology and how good it felt to do the work.
A few friends continued the project after I had to move on to other things and turned it into something great. A decade later, this appeared in the “solutions” section of a book on how capitalism is destroying creative work (and how that might be reversed).
Rabble and MUSICat are the descendants of that music library project I worked on all those years ago. To see it noticed in this context was an inspiration to me, because I knew it could be a revolutionary idea but for a long time it seemed like few other people understood that.
I’ve had a few experiences like this over the years. Something I work on, often misunderstood or outright rejected by most people at the time of its inception turns out to later become a part of something good or revolutionary or both. I wish there was a way to shrink that gap so I could afford to pursue these ideas and see them through myself, but until I figure that out I’ll try to remember results like these to propel me to continue to pursue ideas that feel right even if they are unpopular or unappreciated at first.