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I would define "need" as per Reiss 16 Motives: - Acceptance/Self-confidence - the need to be appreciated - Curiosity, the need to gain knowledge - Eating, th

by marban 5y ago

I would define "need" as per Reiss 16 Motives: - Acceptance/Self-confidence - the need to be appreciated - Curiosity, the need to gain knowledge - Eating, the need for food - Family/Love, the need to take care of one’s offspring - Honor, the need to be faithful to the customary values of an individual’s ethnic group, family or clan - Idealism, the need for social justice - Independence/Freedom, the need to be distinct and self-reliant - Order, the need for prepared, established, and conventional environments - Physical activity/Vitality, the need for work out of the body - Power/Efficacy, the need for control of will - Romance, the need for mating or sex - Saving/Ownership, the need to accumulate something - Social contact/Fun, the need for relationship with others - Social status/Self-Importance, the need for social significance - Tranquility/Safe, the need to be secure and protected - Vengeance, the need to strike back against another person

stingraycharles 5y ago
But that only defines human needs, and not whether a specific app is a need and/or whether it’s just a nice to have. I could make the best new social network, which addresses a need, but hardly anyone really needs another social network. So how do I distinguish between a need or a nice to have within this context?
- marban 5y ago
  The process of getting from nice to have to need is called marketing.
  - stingraycharles 5y ago
    I think that’s an oversimplification, that downplays the necessity of having an idea that’s not just a nice to have.
- ijidak 5y ago
  You actually answered the question in your statement above. It has to be an unmet need. The key word being "un-met" You said: > "hardly anyone really needs another social network" You're absolutely correct. The first phase of social networks had a lot of early adoption for many different social networks circa 2003, because at that time the need was unmet. Then the world settled on a winner, Facebook. Now that's no longer an unmet need. But in reality, there are limits to being able to predict a winner. If that existed, starting a winning business would be easy. We only have heuristics, no crystal ball. Also, spotting a need is not the same as satisfying it. It's why Steve Jobs could arrive late to the party and build a winner that leapfrogged the competition over and over again.

by marban 5y ago

stingraycharles 5y ago

But that only defines human needs, and not whether a specific app is a need and/or whether it’s just a nice to have. I could make the best new social network, which addresses a need, but hardly anyone really needs another social network. So how do I distinguish between a need or a nice to have within this context?

marban 5y ago
The process of getting from nice to have to need is called marketing.
- stingraycharles 5y ago
  I think that’s an oversimplification, that downplays the necessity of having an idea that’s not just a nice to have.
ijidak 5y ago
You actually answered the question in your statement above. It has to be an unmet need. The key word being "un-met" You said: > "hardly anyone really needs another social network" You're absolutely correct. The first phase of social networks had a lot of early adoption for many different social networks circa 2003, because at that time the need was unmet. Then the world settled on a winner, Facebook. Now that's no longer an unmet need. But in reality, there are limits to being able to predict a winner. If that existed, starting a winning business would be easy. We only have heuristics, no crystal ball. Also, spotting a need is not the same as satisfying it. It's why Steve Jobs could arrive late to the party and build a winner that leapfrogged the competition over and over again.