[REBOL] Killer App Formula
From: ryanc::iesco-dms::com at: 13-Aug-2001 15:00
Lets work this killer app thing down to a formula...
Napster
Peer music "sharing." Its "success" seems largely due to the direct purpose
of the app, in that it was not for sharing other files. Consisted of
Integrated music player, flaky peer file transfer, chat, and search. Many
attribute its success to its peer architecture, but that's only a small part.
Napster's real success was in its way it "convinced" its users to break the
law. Suddenly everyone was a fearless music pirate, plundering the seas of
the world wide web, ferociously ready to behead the plump recording industry.
Napster remains a testament of how powerful the right mixture of ideology and
personal gain can be.
Real player
Streaming video and music player.
Flash
Web page embedded animation and sound. Typically faster than real player.
Popular for company index pages and online funnies.
Instant Messaging
Interesting niche between email and chat. Allows somewhat real time
conversion over the net, much like passing notes. Interestingly most client
have many rarely used features.
Java
Promised cross platform programming. Missed its mark, but still highly
popular. Clever marketing along with tremendous free and paid advertising
helped.
Doom
Great 3d graphics for its time, mixed neat weaponry, ugly monsters, and lots
of shooting. Multiplayer.
Ebay
Auction site. Makes it easy for people to buy and sell things online at a
fair price.
Anti Virus
Battles that other killer application, the computer virus.
E-Mail
Many people buy computers just for this application. Seems to have brought
about a world resurgence in letter writing.
Chat
Real time typed communication, in "rooms" or private. Originally a hit for
sys-admins, then lonely people over the internet, it now is often used in
online games, customer service, and business meetings. Maybe the oldest
killer app.
Web Browser
The killer app that changed it all. Brought GUI to the web, ruining it
forever. Now any nimrod that could push a button could traverse the world on
a computer. Reminiscent of the invention of the automobile.
File Transfer
Well, sharing files was once a really big deal.
Graphical User Interface
Another killer app that changed everything. Enabled anybody that could push a
button to be able to use a computer instantly without having to read the
manual first.
Of course there are many more of these not listed. I can see allot of
commonality from the just those I did list. They all were relatively new in
their category when they became popular. Most made something easier and/or
faster. Nearly all were free, at least to some extent. Most involve some
sort of sharing of media. Nearly all have some communication aspect. Most
had pretty direct intentions.
We can categorize a bit...
The web browser, Flash, Real Player, and to a certain degree Java are display
technologies.
Email, chat, and IM are personal communication technologies.
File transfer, the web browser, and Napster are sharing technologies.
Doom is a shootem up game.
Ebay and Napster are trade centers.
Anti Virus software is a utility.
The GUI, Java, and the web browser are operating platforms.
It seems with the display technologies, faster is important, but being first
or the most popular is most important.
With personal communication technologies a need for diversity might explain
the niche of IM.
The viewing of ebay and napster as trade centers is thought provoking.
Hmmm... A rebol version of either of these would work nice.
--Ryan
