Comments on: Playing it safe isn’t safe. http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/ Bob Walsh Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:41:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Ed Diril http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25635 Ed Diril Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:54:23 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25635 Hmmm, smells Seth Godin. :) I have to slightly disagree with you. "Safe" is actually "being everything to everyone". I don't think this necessarily has to do with solving old problems. The reality is that the days of "mainstream", "factory produced", "one size fits all" products are gone, thanks to the advances in communication technologies and the low or no-cost tools. No more mass production. This of course includes marketing too. Mass production was the ways of the industrial age, and it served its purpose. Now we are in the information age, or perhaps something else altogether. So if you don't want to be safe, pick a customer base that you can really truly understand and serve, at the expense of all others. Then, if you are lucky, if these people like what you do, find you remarkable and talk about you to their friends, then all others may hear of you as well... And read Seth Godin! ;) Hmmm, smells Seth Godin. :)

I have to slightly disagree with you. “Safe” is actually “being everything to everyone”. I don’t think this necessarily has to do with solving old problems.

The reality is that the days of “mainstream”, “factory produced”, “one size fits all” products are gone, thanks to the advances in communication technologies and the low or no-cost tools. No more mass production. This of course includes marketing too. Mass production was the ways of the industrial age, and it served its purpose. Now we are in the information age, or perhaps something else altogether.

So if you don’t want to be safe, pick a customer base that you can really truly understand and serve, at the expense of all others. Then, if you are lucky, if these people like what you do, find you remarkable and talk about you to their friends, then all others may hear of you as well…

And read Seth Godin! ;)

]]> By: Brennan Underwood http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25590 Brennan Underwood Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25590 Man, is that ever true. I'm reading this right now from my own RSS reader that I wrote after I left my corp job. I'm still glad I wrote it and I learned a lot and got a bunch of nice code to reuse but I'm also glad I eventually put it on the backburner and started working on something a little more inspiring. Man, is that ever true. I’m reading this right now from my own RSS reader that I wrote after I left my corp job. I’m still glad I wrote it and I learned a lot and got a bunch of nice code to reuse but I’m also glad I eventually put it on the backburner and started working on something a little more inspiring.

]]> By: Bob Walsh http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25586 Bob Walsh Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:00:13 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25586 Ged - new ways of solving old problems definitely works! It's doing the safe, conventional thing that will get you in trouble :). Ged – new ways of solving old problems definitely works! It’s doing the safe, conventional thing that will get you in trouble :) .

]]> By: Starr http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25585 Starr Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:52:58 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25585 I'm glad you're back to blogging, Bob! This was another great post. I’m glad you’re back to blogging, Bob! This was another great post.

]]> By: Ged Byrne http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25582 Ged Byrne Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:34:19 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25582 Great article. There is also the way of solving old problems in new ways. Making it simpler, for example. 37 Signals are the masters of this approach: http://www.37signals.com/getreal/ Great article.

There is also the way of solving old problems in new ways.

Making it simpler, for example. 37 Signals are the masters of this approach: http://www.37signals.com/getreal/

]]> By: reno http://47hats.com/2007/10/playing-it-safe-isnt-safe/comment-page-1/#comment-25578 reno Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:20:22 +0000 http://www.47hats.com/?p=458#comment-25578 Great post! So true and something to remember when brainstorming. Great post! So true and something to remember when brainstorming.

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