Push vs Pull Software Products
"The book (Purple Cow) argues that advertising as a way of growing a business is dead, and that a product has to be able stand out own like a 'purple cow' and sell itself through word of mouth.
This has been my philosophy as well in my software development. Products that are remarkable and 'pull' in customers are superior to 'push' products, that require convincing and advertising to sustain sales. Remarkable products spur people and the press to talk about the products, resulting in free advertising; this creates a positive feedback loop, where greater awareness leads to greater discussion, which, in turn, results in ever more awareness until saturation occurs.
There’s a tendency for companies to build 'me too' products, because there is an established market for the product and someone else has already thought about the interface design for that category. There probably is some truth to this as some marketers warn entrepreneurs to beware of markets with no competitors, because there may be no demand; the counterargument is that there is always a first product in any given category. The problem with 'me too' products is increased competition."
From .NET Undocumented: Purple Cows.
