Doing the opposite of everyone is valuable | Hacker News Reader

Doing the opposite of everyone is valuable

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Perhaps "finding opportunities to be unique" would be a better way to describe this concept. Doing the opposite of everyone else sounds like a profoundly bad idea when applied to many, many things.

This stirs up some of the sense of irony found in business-friendly phrases like "think outside the box."

I do like "finding opportunities to be unique", though I'd prefer something along the lines of "don't be just a follower".

While I agree that you have to use common sense (e.g. walking in front of buses isn't a good idea just because no one else is doing it), I think "doing the opposite of the crowd" is a useful way to look at it for people trying to find a way to be different or unique.

Good point. Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't feeling 100% certain of this little essay, and almost didn't add it to HN, but your feedback helps. Thanks again. -- Derek

It wasn't a revolutionary post — that's fine. The value was in the reminder: Try to shake loose of typical thinking. Even if I know that, maybe seeing it again knocks me into a good thought pattern this time. That's enough.

I used to think re-seeing was a waste. But it's powerful because it can change actions now. You don't have to be Tim O'Reilly every post, being Seth Godin is just fine. Both give value differently.

And there's value in seeing the same idea expressed differently. I like to see the metaphors others think in. It makes communication with them easier.

Trying to figure out what "opposite" is can be a challenge.

Everyone is building Web apps; what's the opposite? Phone apps? Brick-and-mortar services?

Many things don't have a proper opposite. Like when people say that "pepper" is the opposite of "salt". You know that's not true, but the actual opposites is ... complicated.

The definition of "everyone" is even more difficult than "opposite," I think. If the definition of "everyone" is "most people on the planet," then developing Web apps is as close to the opposite of subsisting in a developing country I can think of.

This post is a pretty useless generalization, notable only because the guy who wrote it is wildly successful. And somehow, we're supposed to learn something from it -- "Thanks."

The article is half-true. Doing something opposite everyone else is only valuable if you create demand for it, or if (very rarely) everyone realizes its worth.

Just as with everything else, it comes down to marketing. In popular areas, you market how you are different from competitors. In unpopular areas, you market how what you do is of value.

Here is one thing you can do that 95% of web startups aren't: "add a Pricing page "

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