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Solved a real problem: sending text messages to a group. Later, it allowed people to get semi-personal access to people they admire.

by qeorge 16y ago

petervandijck 16y ago
Sending text messages to a group is not a real problem, and Twitter doesn't easily let you do that either (unless everyone has a twitter account).
- dasil003 16y ago
  Agreed. The narcissistic element is key to Twitter. You can tweet one-liners all day with very little effort and get a lot of @ replies from people doing the same thing. It has the same addictive quality as great games because the effort / reward cycle is short.
imownbey 16y ago
Although this is true, I think it is missing the point. What was the problem text messages was trying to solve? A quick, semi-personal connection between two people across a distance. This can further be boiled down as humans interest in connection and conversation. It turns out that Twitter, due to the social network (both existing and being one sided) solves this problem better then text messaging. So really it evolved text messaging. This is much like the quote by Henry Ford "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Ford was not "solving a real problem" -- the problem of transportation had already been solved since the dawn of time. He was evolving the solution to a faster, more convenient method.
- scrame 16y ago
  Although this is true, I think it is missing the point. What was the problem text messages was trying to solve? Responding to a phone call on a train during rush hour. Saying "I'm almost there", or "Ill be 5 minutes late" without getting dragged into a conversation in a crowded public space.
- messel 16y ago
  As an entrepreneur on the look for the most fertile soil, evolving an existing solution has the highest potential pay off. Plus the thought of frankensteining multiple existing technologies together brings a smile to my face every time. There's an infinite variety of cool stuff we can build, but what will have the biggest payoff for my time now, what can I and my team members execute best on right this moment.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
zmonkeyz 16y ago
Yep it's that simple. I was in the "I don't get it" camp and then I read the example of Indian farmers at the market. They would use it to send messages to groups about seed prices and such at different markets using Twitter via SMS.

Solved a real problem: sending text messages to a group. Later, it allowed people to get semi-personal access to people they admire.

by qeorge 16y ago

Solved a real problem: sending text messages to a group. Later, it allowed people to get semi-personal access to people they admire.

petervandijck 16y ago

Sending text messages to a group is not a real problem, and Twitter doesn't easily let you do that either (unless everyone has a twitter account).

dasil003 16y ago
Agreed. The narcissistic element is key to Twitter. You can tweet one-liners all day with very little effort and get a lot of @ replies from people doing the same thing. It has the same addictive quality as great games because the effort / reward cycle is short.

imownbey 16y ago

Although this is true, I think it is missing the point. What was the problem text messages was trying to solve? A quick, semi-personal connection between two people across a distance. This can further be boiled down as humans interest in connection and conversation. It turns out that Twitter, due to the social network (both existing and being one sided) solves this problem better then text messaging. So really it evolved text messaging. This is much like the quote by Henry Ford "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Ford was not "solving a real problem" -- the problem of transportation had already been solved since the dawn of time. He was evolving the solution to a faster, more convenient method.

scrame 16y ago
Although this is true, I think it is missing the point. What was the problem text messages was trying to solve? Responding to a phone call on a train during rush hour. Saying "I'm almost there", or "Ill be 5 minutes late" without getting dragged into a conversation in a crowded public space.
messel 16y ago
As an entrepreneur on the look for the most fertile soil, evolving an existing solution has the highest potential pay off. Plus the thought of frankensteining multiple existing technologies together brings a smile to my face every time. There's an infinite variety of cool stuff we can build, but what will have the biggest payoff for my time now, what can I and my team members execute best on right this moment.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

zmonkeyz 16y ago

Yep it's that simple. I was in the "I don't get it" camp and then I read the example of Indian farmers at the market. They would use it to send messages to groups about seed prices and such at different markets using Twitter via SMS.