How the gadget product grew

Just a few days ago birthday, girlfriend sent the "Bell with" knife, let me very happy! Play a little time knife, I deeply admire This knife, can't help Lenovo, knife this simple as cutting tool, developed to now, It is not easy to enter the realm of art. So who says that gadgets can't have big as?—— clldxyt

In addition to the above reasons, the most important thing is the recent occurrence of several events, let me have the motivation to write this article.

Baidu Home Page appeared the service of ink weather

Do not ask me why your Baidu home page does not have this effect, I will tell you need to log in to see. (Singing Hands)

About two days ago, Baidu's home page appeared on the top left such a weather hint, just at that time Beijing snow, the morning air pollution actually stay in the "low" level, let a person spirit of a shock. Carefully see the Baidu weather PM2.5 data from "ink Weather", and the link here also directly points to the homepage of the ink weather.

At the beginning of the month, the ink weather just announced several major applications, such as micro-letter, Weibo and so on, become a new user breakthrough 100 million of the mobile end products, reportedly active users also more than 20 million. With such a huge amount of user applications, it will try to start transforming into a service-oriented platform. Refer to the previous launch of the alarm clock, wallpaper, clothing and other functions, ink transformation is not just the beginning of things.

"Beauty Shoot" becomes an attempt to mito into the social field

Another user of billions of mobile-end apps has also released new products.

After the launch of the beauty camera in the previous stage, the United States Mito released a new product "Beauty shoot", into the mobile end of the social field, integrated beauty camera's self-portraits and "pop" voice function, on the last few days on the APP store China rankings top three.

Less observers believe that the United States will be the "PA" will form a strong competition, and, in truth, in my opinion, the United States film can be more consistent with female users of the natural and sharing desire, compared to the operating traces of the obvious "Pa", users seem to have more talk. At least for me, to the familiar beauty can also "wow" a bit, and to the cold jokes on the PA do not know what to do.

"Free in limited hours" and EA developed a large scale of cooperation

This is another example of a tool that, in an earlier article, "Water, to the thirsty," laments that they have a small community that has been invigorated by a small user demand. And a few months later today, "free of charge" and EA cooperation carried out a scale of activities, hundreds of people can get prizes.

According to the introduction, the use of small discussion area, "Free limited" incredibly with a number of large manufacturers have carried out different forms of cooperation activities. In addition to its own tool attributes, a simple and efficient precision marketing model looms.

The path to growth of gadgets

In a slightly broader sense, the current platform-level giants are starting almost from a small tool. Google is a search tool, Facebook is a social tool, QQ is a timely communication tool ... The example of a platform and eventual success is rare (Taobao seems to be one?)

So how does a gadget grow plowing?

In fact, the question itself already contains the answer to the question, which is plowing. Grew up in the micro-letters of Tencent's Giants, the gold map from the navigation service, the Twitter from the podcast, and the products that you've mentioned and didn't mention, they either have the power of the platform, or they have a platform advantage, or they meet the needs of the users, or they happen to hit a promotion point, There seems to be a very different course of development, but there is one thing in common--a good enough product to accumulate enough users.

Just as the ink weather, when the small tool accumulated to a certain number of users, mostly began to choose to transition to the platform, with its own flow advantage to attract more resources, and constantly optimize the integration of resources, in ultra-low marginal cost based on the promotion of marginal income.

Ready for the platform?

From the economic point of view, the advantages of the platform is very obvious, the increase in income effect in the Internet era has been reflected vividly, to the platform transformation is at least a good choice to produce economic benefits.

However, it seems that for users, it is not more enjoyable to enjoy more services. I don't believe I'm the only one who feels this way: when the login on the QQ, but inexplicably in the top of the screen there are two things do not need, with 360 kill a poison, the result accidentally tidied up a desktop; brush micro Bo Incredibly brush out a pile of ads ... To be honest, I understand that this is an economic necessity, but I still think it's necessary to take a picture and share it when looking at PM2.5.

After all, the internet cake is so big, users can provide total traffic will not be unlimited increase, after the competition to support the rest of the normal operation of the platform-level services will not be many, is the so-called "you sing my debut", the platform between the competition must be divided between the Life-and-death. Before turning to the platform, the first preparation to be done is to think about whether the field of your gadgets really has such a large market space, and if not, what advantages this gadget has in other areas.

Blind expansion is hard to get good results, a few days ago Shi's Suntech was an example. More difficult than imagination is to limit imagination.

Better choice?

Limit imagination, not be willing to mediocrity.

In the Internet age, the capacity of a good product can fully support the operational needs of a normal size team. It's good to do a little thing well, and sometimes a good thing bigger, not necessarily more than do a few good things strong.

Zynga has announced its own way to Facebook, relying on one good game after another, not adding a pea-like function to the farm and not defending the zombies ' return home to play Texas poker. and the dynamic interconnection of the flight butler, high-speed train butler, hotel housekeeper, also not packaged together to provide users with the hands.

In the final analysis, the more small tools to do more or more refined, is a problem of thinking. You can choose to go into the platform like a micro-letter, create friction with the app Store, or choose to charge users directly for a game like Zynga's continuous production. The choice is there, no good or bad, do good enough is the most important.

The trend of development can not be stopped, the interests ahead as the devil's temptation to attract all the people. Have we ever resisted the temptation to live in the devil?