The only thing that’s weird about this is that it’s about 3 years late.
If this had been written 3 years ago it would have been topical.
But really it’s old news that google deprecates everything and leaves it’s developers in the lurch and that as a result no one wants to use their stuff.
It’s not surprising to hear this from Steve Yegge cause he’s a super switched on guy, but it’s surprising to hear this from him NOW.
Google’s cloud ship sailed years ago, they just haven’t yet got to shutting the whole thing down, but the writing is on the wall.
Google seems totally oblivious to how much developers distrust them, which is probably because dump trucks turn up every hour or so and dump cash onto everything which probably makes everyone feel that everything they do is awesome, even if it isn’t.
The way to set your fee is to decide on a rate that is fair.
Neither too high nor too low. A fee that you think is reasonable.
When someone asks your fee, you say.... “this is my fee. I think it is fair. I do good work. I don’t overcharge. I know there are cheaper people out there but that’s not where I am positioned. You are welcome to work with the cheapest.
If you want good work at a fair price then I am happy to work with you but I cannot discount my rate because it’s not commercially practical for me to do that.”
If you lose the potential client then that is fine . Do not chase them with lower prices. Wait for the clients who agree with you.
When clients insist on some concession, some discount, then give it only in return for something else, like up front payment. Don’t concede discounts for nothing.