26 November 2005

Is better what you think it is?

If you think it's better, then it is.

That sounds pretty obvious, doesn't it? But wait a second; that's so subjective. Isn't "better" something you can measure? Can't you test for quality, survey people about their preferences, measure against benchmarks?

Sure you can. By all means, test quality, measure it as best you can. But don't labor under the illusion that being the best will lead you to victory.

But think about it this way:

Pepsi won the taste test, Coke won the war
Apple had the best operating system, Microsoft won the war
And take a guess... what's the best search engine?

Are you sure?

Do you know what the survey said?

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2 comments:

pat said...

The survey said Google is better! It makes no sense to combine two players' results and say it beats the third.

And wrt Coke/Pepsi, that's a classic example of where the survey doesn't match real life. Sure the more sugary drin k will win the one-time taste test but who wants to drink all that sugar on an ongoing basis?

Unknown said...

Fair enough Pat. So what is your contention Pat?

- The best product wins?
- Surveys are bunk?