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The network effect is strong. If I post a comment to stop using Chrome (since there are better alternatives and Chrome is a near monopoly) we already see how re

by prox 6y ago

The network effect is strong. If I post a comment to stop using Chrome (since there are better alternatives and Chrome is a near monopoly) we already see how resistant to change we are. If you order something, people don’t search for alternatives. If your tied into an eco system, you don’t move away from it. Personally I actively try to support local businesses, use only non-monopolies out of principle.

sokoloff 6y ago
People do tend to use alternatives that they experience as better (which may not be the same as being better). You have to have a better experience and you have to get people to be aware, consider, and try the alternative experience. A lot of us switched to Chrome because it was a better experience at the time. A lot bought from Amazon for the same reason. I’ll happily buy from a non-Amazon who gives me an experience better than Amazon, consider a browser that’s better than Chrome, or a search engine which gives better results than Google. Those three still get the majority of my in-category traffic though, because the experience is generally very good, quite consistent, and often best-in-class. I think the hurdle to building a competitor to Facebook or Twitter is higher than the hurdle of selling me an electronic device instead of Amazon selling it to me. (BestBuy, NewEgg, MicroCenter [semi-local], and randos on EBay do it regularly. No one is casually going to beat Twitter and FB for social.)
- prox 6y ago
  The thing is, even when the experience gets worse, you might still be resistant to change. You already have your account setup, that feature X you liked they took isn’t that bad, the extra advertising doesn’t bother you too much, etc. Maybe feature X in Firefox is actually better than Chrome (just an imaginary example) but because it doesn’t exactly work like you are used too, it doesn’t appeal. Or your peers are all in the same in-group and Software X is what a Real Programmer should be using. That all together could mean an experience gets progressively worse yet you don’t switch.

by prox 6y ago

sokoloff 6y ago

People do tend to use alternatives that they experience as better (which may not be the same as being better). You have to have a better experience and you have to get people to be aware, consider, and try the alternative experience. A lot of us switched to Chrome because it was a better experience at the time. A lot bought from Amazon for the same reason. I’ll happily buy from a non-Amazon who gives me an experience better than Amazon, consider a browser that’s better than Chrome, or a search engine which gives better results than Google. Those three still get the majority of my in-category traffic though, because the experience is generally very good, quite consistent, and often best-in-class. I think the hurdle to building a competitor to Facebook or Twitter is higher than the hurdle of selling me an electronic device instead of Amazon selling it to me. (BestBuy, NewEgg, MicroCenter [semi-local], and randos on EBay do it regularly. No one is casually going to beat Twitter and FB for social.)

prox 6y ago
The thing is, even when the experience gets worse, you might still be resistant to change. You already have your account setup, that feature X you liked they took isn’t that bad, the extra advertising doesn’t bother you too much, etc. Maybe feature X in Firefox is actually better than Chrome (just an imaginary example) but because it doesn’t exactly work like you are used too, it doesn’t appeal. Or your peers are all in the same in-group and Software X is what a Real Programmer should be using. That all together could mean an experience gets progressively worse yet you don’t switch.