Seth's Blog: The big drop off | Hacker News Reader

Seth's Blog: The big drop off

sethgodin.typepad.com

18 pointsjavery16 comments

Seth writes something and it get's up-voted because it's Seth. Pretty standard.

Every time Seth is the author of an article, someone complains. Pretty standard.

Witty, but untrue. Seth has some very good articles; I have several bookmarked. However, sometimes Seth just can't resist stating the obvious. He can get away with it because of his reputation.

I hear where you're coming from, and in all likelihood you're probably right - but I couldn't resist ;)

However, upvotes and insightful commentary are actions (in aggregate) that would encourage quality articles to rise above a so-so article driven (mostly) by celebrity

By that reasoning, my complaint was actually useful because in decreased the value of the aggregate. ;)

I liked this. I never thought about it this way. Short. To the point. Seems interesting and useful.

What he says is very true, but let me take it one step further. Great marketers spend their time developing products/services/stories that don't drop off, but they also spend their time encouraging their first circle to talk to their second circle.

Translation?

The way I read it: "Make good stuff" or "Content is king", or somesuch.

Don't spend your time trying to touch as many people as possible (first circle). Make great products that make those that you do touch want to go and touch others (second circle).

If you don't get word-of-mouth advertising, your product isn't worthy.

I think part of the cause of the big drop off may be the "release early philosophy". Sure, release early, but I think your early release needs to have a critical mass of utility to inspire the first circle to tell the second circle.

Well, the philosophy is release early and -often-

In geek: maximizing your viral coefficient matters more than increasing the size of your initial seed set.

Envision skipping a stone:

Your throw is the product launch. The quality of your stone, the angle of your throw, etc will affect how the water reacts. And each skip is the point of reaching a new audience.

If your product is great, it will skip a lot further than other stones...

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