I don't like the obsession with the newest, most shiny stuff myself, but to me it looks different from a business perspective.
Let's say that I'm a startup CEO and don't have a lot of money, but want to hire great engineers. I'm competing with giants with a lot of money, so I'm trying to offer everything I can - and all I really have is creative freedom. And if engineers choose to use it to learn new frameworks and in general, get a little crazy, it's fine by me, as long as it keeps them happy and not looking for greener pastures.
"keeps them happy and not looking for greener pastures"
These types of developers are always looking for greener pastures. No fault of their own. They should be. If all you "really have is creative freedom" you can't compete with the bigger guys who provide that + higher pay + equity + perks.
It would be better to choose a tech stack that is best for your company and attract talent that actually wants to work on what your startup is doing vs playing with the latest shiny thing.
Suppose you have a fairly interesting business but your tech needs are 'boring' -- you might have a few unique problems but nothing really interesting enough for a talented engineer that's mostly driven by problem solving. What can you do to attract that kind of engineering talent?
You could offer them money, or equity, or perks, but the kinds of people you really want would happily take a QoL and pay cut for more stimulating work -- the kind of work that puts them at the forefront of their field -- the kind of work they could write blog posts and give conference lectures about. So you offer them creative freedom, let them pick their own stack, let them use the new trendy framework, let them set up a fancy build and deployment pipeline even though you're a small shop, let them use their favorite language that they never get to use outside of personal projects. Let them solve your boring problems in fancy, clever, maybe a little over-engineered, but fun ways that also make you, the business, look like you're up to date, modern, and ahead of your competition.
Fair points but at some point you have to ask yourself at what cost to the business, especially if you are a small shop. Implementing all new trendy frameworks & over-engineered setup comes at a cost.
I am not at all opposed to using new and shiny. I use new frameworks, etc. in my business often but there is a balance. I generally stick to boring and proven for business crucial stuff (especially back-end) and new/shiny for not so crucial. OR sometimes a new framework is the best decision for the business. In that case, that framework wins.
I guess I feel as a business owner, I have a responsibility to do what is right for the business and our customers. If a developer doesn't want to work on what is right for the business or our customers, I don't want that developer.
I value more no crazy schedules, ability to work remotely, cool office atmosphere, interesting product, getting to do stuff together after work... than shiny toys.
Let's say that I'm a startup CEO and don't have a lot of money, but want to hire great engineers. I'm competing with giants with a lot of money, so I'm trying to offer everything I can - and all I really have is creative freedom. And if engineers choose to use it to learn new frameworks and in general, get a little crazy, it's fine by me, as long as it keeps them happy and not looking for greener pastures.