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> "You should create what you think is right and then discover who the consumer is." This is a fairly standard "engineering" view of the world. It is also why
by SoftwareMaven 17y ago
> "You should create what you think is right and then discover who the consumer is."
This is a fairly standard "engineering" view of the world. It is also why 90% of startups go out of business.
> "The alternative is design by committee writ large and absurd."
That is one alternative, but certainly not the only alternative. You could also get out and talk to your potential customers, find out what their problems are and what it would take to solve them, then build what THEY think is right. The nice side effect is you'll already know who the consumer is.
As a customer, I do have a stake in something when I put down my credit card. If a company doesn't respect me as their customer, you bet I will not be repeating my business.
However, the business can (and SHOULD) decide if they want me as a customer. If they don't, they should make it clear. I think Apple does this very well: You are given the Apple sandbox that is very well defined. If you don't like it, don't buy Apple (yet, people still do, then bitch forever about it).
- clawrencewenham 17y agoYou're right, upmodded. I think that every business should listen to its customers, though obviously not without having a grand vision in mind. That will mean losing customers, but each business has a risk at its heart. I think rejecting Flash is part of a vision I'd want to buy into (and have, I type this on an iPad). There are going to me more tradeoffs like this, and in Apple's case I think they're going to be consistent with a product-centric vision. So far I like that product and what it's turning into, so I think Apple is taking the right risk.