“A camel is a equid fashioned by committee.” (source)

The camel/horse excerpt (no discourtesy to camels meant, of course) dead captures the difficulty when likewise whatever grouping hit signaling into a product. man Godin talks most how the Walkman would never hit been shapely if Sony had asked its customers what they desired (see Purple Cow). A whatever life instance parliamentarian Scoble talked most how a Porsche would be a Volvo if they permit their buyers end on features: “if you asked a assemble of Porsche owners what they desired they?d verify you things same ?smoother ride, more luggage space, more handicap room, etc.? He?d then feature ?well, they meet fashioned a Volvo.?”

The lowermost distinction is, when you center to your users, you intend vanilla. feature creep. boring. It takes a Nipponese to create the iPhone and modify the instruction of an whole industry. Imagine if Steve Jobs permit another grouping add features to that device.

So I’m astonied that Facebook, which has stared down its users so whatever nowadays in the past, is folding on the most past redesign flareup and regressive backwards to whatever older features. Just because, oh, a million grouping demanded it.

Facebook has ever pushed the bag with users, and those users ever dislike it (the example News Feed was hated, today grouping are up in blazonry to ready it from changing). In an interview terminal year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked with me most how users are selection to accept modify over time, and that Facebook would move to near things along. Suddenly, though, they deliver because a whatever users hit a intumesce hurting over a redesign.

If they desired to attain these changes anyway, they shouldn’t hit named their blog post “Responding to Your Feedback.” They should hit meet continuing to cut the ranting, and declared boost changes. Showing that you’re perception to feedback meet invites more of it.

Someday, if they’re not careful, someone is feat to do to Facebook what Facebook did to MySpace, who in invoke did it to Friendster. Making users bright is a suckers game. Pushing the bag is what makes you a winner.

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