(This is a snapshot of my old weblog. New posts and selected republished essays can be found at raganwald.com.)
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The classic question: end-to-end or point solution?
This has got to be the most basic design question, ever. It's so universal, it applies to everything. Specialist or generalist? Full-service department store or specialty boutique? Integrated application or specialist tool?
I wouldn't count on it. If that was the case, why don't AOL and Microsoft own the Internet? It's not for a lack of trying or paucity of resources. Google seems to be trying to do it by becoming Yahoo. Strange that they aren't dancing with the date they brought to the ball... their success began with laser-like specialist focus.
All in all, I suggest making the very best software you can. That almost always means making a narrower tool that is more focused.
That doesn't mean making a web service that can't do anything until someone mashes it up with another tool. You'll notice that point solutions are still solutions. You still have to solve one problem and solve it well.
This has got to be the most basic design question, ever. It's so universal, it applies to everything. Specialist or generalist? Full-service department store or specialty boutique? Integrated application or specialist tool?
Fred does a good job of contrasting the approaches in the web services and web application business. Are point solutions strictly for early adopters and end-to-end solutions (like Yahoo! and AOL) for the mainstream?The fact is that these "point solutions" have a vitality that comes from their authenticity, their simplicity, and their sizable and active user bases.
I heard a user of one of these services talk a couple weeks ago about the "emotional connection" he had to one of these services.
I know what he is talking about. I feel that way about Flickr, Typepad, Google, My Yahoo!, delicious, and many other web services I use on a daily basis.
I have rolled my own web experience and it is unique to me. It is mine.
Fred Wilson, "Point Solutions vs End to End Solutions"
I wouldn't count on it. If that was the case, why don't AOL and Microsoft own the Internet? It's not for a lack of trying or paucity of resources. Google seems to be trying to do it by becoming Yahoo. Strange that they aren't dancing with the date they brought to the ball... their success began with laser-like specialist focus.
All in all, I suggest making the very best software you can. That almost always means making a narrower tool that is more focused.
That doesn't mean making a web service that can't do anything until someone mashes it up with another tool. You'll notice that point solutions are still solutions. You still have to solve one problem and solve it well.
