Facebook succeeded because they got the network effect right, and Zuck chose the initial rounds of members at Harvard carefully (mostly girls, mostly rabid netw

Facebook succeeded because they got the network effect right, and Zuck chose the initial rounds of members at Harvard carefully (mostly girls, mostly rabid networkers/socialisers), and the ensuing rollout to other colleges/countries were staged carefully to maximise demand. iPhone - marketing, marketing, marketing, marketing, and the US had never really seen a smartphone before. Then, ecosystem and snowball. That said, I agree that UI is a fundamental part of any product - API, however, not so much - Joe Public doesn't care and neither does your CFO - and as posited, developers, no matter how much we'd like to think we are, are not influencers in the markets where PSPs are entrenched.