Monday, May 22, 2006
Feld Thoughts:
"Web 2.0: The First 25,000 Users Are Irrelevant
For the past few months, whenever I talk to someone about a Web 2.0 application and hear that they already have "10,000 users", I've been telling that them the first 25,000 users are irrelevant.
Josh Kopelman has a perfect post up today called 53,651. This is the number of RSS subscribers to Michael Arrington�s great TechCruch blog, and is exactly at the core of the "first 25,000 user" issue. Since there are 53,651 RSS subscribers of TechCrunch (at least as of 5/12/06) , if something gets reviewed there, it,s likely to get 5,000 to 10,000 users in the next 24 hours "just to try it out." As so many traffic graphs of these "TechCrunched" products show, there is a huge spike in use for a day or two, and then it goes right back down to where things were before they were TechCrunched. For example:...
..."
Of interest:
"Comments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fraser on May 12, 2006 08:35 AM
The first 25,000 users aren't only irrelevant - they're potentially poisonous.
If the developers listen to the feedback of these early adopters (the initial audience) they'll take the product/service down a path that increases the geek factor rather than down-geeking the offering.
It's a difficult place to be. Many of these developers are fully involved with the blogosphere, web 2.0, ... and therefore are tapped into feedback loops that distort the reality of what needs to be completed in order to bring the product/service to the mainstream.
It's a difficult thing to listen to feedback from your initial users, the first 25,000, and do the opposite of what they recommend. You alienate your "support base" etc etc. Tough situation..."
"Web 2.0: The First 25,000 Users Are Irrelevant
For the past few months, whenever I talk to someone about a Web 2.0 application and hear that they already have "10,000 users", I've been telling that them the first 25,000 users are irrelevant.
Josh Kopelman has a perfect post up today called 53,651. This is the number of RSS subscribers to Michael Arrington�s great TechCruch blog, and is exactly at the core of the "first 25,000 user" issue. Since there are 53,651 RSS subscribers of TechCrunch (at least as of 5/12/06) , if something gets reviewed there, it,s likely to get 5,000 to 10,000 users in the next 24 hours "just to try it out." As so many traffic graphs of these "TechCrunched" products show, there is a huge spike in use for a day or two, and then it goes right back down to where things were before they were TechCrunched. For example:...
..."
Of interest:
"Comments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fraser on May 12, 2006 08:35 AM
The first 25,000 users aren't only irrelevant - they're potentially poisonous.
If the developers listen to the feedback of these early adopters (the initial audience) they'll take the product/service down a path that increases the geek factor rather than down-geeking the offering.
It's a difficult place to be. Many of these developers are fully involved with the blogosphere, web 2.0, ... and therefore are tapped into feedback loops that distort the reality of what needs to be completed in order to bring the product/service to the mainstream.
It's a difficult thing to listen to feedback from your initial users, the first 25,000, and do the opposite of what they recommend. You alienate your "support base" etc etc. Tough situation..."
Comments:
Post a Comment
