By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    construction analytics
    5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
    5 Min Read
    benefits of data analytics for financial industry
    Fascinating Changes Data Analytics Brings to Finance
    7 Min Read
    analyzing big data for its quality and value
    Use this Strategic Approach to Maximize Your Data’s Value
    6 Min Read
    data-driven seo for product pages
    6 Tips for Using Data Analytics for Product Page SEO
    11 Min Read
    big data analytics in business
    5 Ways to Utilize Data Analytics to Grow Your Business
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The challenge of creating a new category
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
cloud-centric companies using network relocation
Cloud-Centric Companies Discover Benefits & Pitfalls of Network Relocation
Cloud Computing
construction analytics
5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
Analytics
database compliance guide
Four Strategies For Effective Database Compliance
Data Management
Digital Security From Weaponized AI
Fortifying Enterprise Digital Security Against Hackers Weaponizing AI
Security
DevOps on cloud
Optimizing Cost with DevOps on the Cloud
Cloud Computing Development Exclusive IT
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > The challenge of creating a new category
Uncategorized

The challenge of creating a new category

ChrisDixon
Last updated: 2009/10/20 at 5:14 PM
ChrisDixon
5 Min Read
SHARE
- Advertisement -

One of the hardest things to do as a startup is to create a new category. Bloggers and press have a natural tendency to “pigeonhole” – to group startups into cleanly delineated categories, and then do side-by-side comparisons, comment on the “horserace” between them, and so forth.

At my last startup, SiteAdvisor, we were at first consistently pigeonholed as an anti-phishing toolbar, even though what we did was help search engine users avoid spyware, spam, and scams, which (for various technical reasons) had almost no functional overlap with anti-phishing toolbars. My co-founder at Hunch, Caterina Fake, had a similar experience at Flickr. Early on, people compared Flickr to existing photo sharing websites – Shutterfly, Ofoto, SnapFish – and found Flickr lacking in features around buying prints, sending greeting cards, etc.

- Advertisement -

Pigeonholing is one reason startups should actually welcome direct competitors. It was only once a direct competitor to SiteAdvisor appeared that people started treating “web safety” as its own category (Walt Mossberg was the first one to legitimate the category with this article).

At my current startup, Hunch, being pigeonholed as a so-called Answers …

More Read

Blogs I Read: Chris Dixon (cdixon.org)

Catching Up With Hunch



One of the hardest things to do as a startup is to create a new category. Bloggers and press have a natural tendency to “pigeonhole” – to group startups into cleanly delineated categories, and then do side-by-side comparisons, comment on the “horserace” between them, and so forth.

At my last startup, SiteAdvisor, we were at first consistently pigeonholed as an anti-phishing toolbar, even though what we did was help search engine users avoid spyware, spam, and scams, which (for various technical reasons) had almost no functional overlap with anti-phishing toolbars. My co-founder at Hunch, Caterina Fake, had a similar experience at Flickr. Early on, people compared Flickr to existing photo sharing websites – Shutterfly, Ofoto, SnapFish – and found Flickr lacking in features around buying prints, sending greeting cards, etc.

Pigeonholing is one reason startups should actually welcome direct competitors. It was only once a direct competitor to SiteAdvisor appeared that people started treating “web safety” as its own category (Walt Mossberg was the first one to legitimate the category with this article).

- Advertisement -

At my current startup, Hunch, being pigeonholed as a so-called Answers site is one of our main marketing challenges. Hunch is a user-generated website similar to Wikipedia except, instead of creating encyclopedia entries, contributors create decision trees that help other users make choices and decisions. For example, about 50 computer enthusiasts came together to create this decision tree about computer laptops that helps users with less expertise find the right laptop. Hunch gets smarter over time as more people contribute to it. So far, about 10,000 users have made 115,000 contributions to the site. Last month, our third month after launch, over 600,000 unique visitors used those contributions to make decisions.

Many of the initial reviews of Hunch accurately reflected that Hunch is trying to create a new category of website. Nevertheless, the tendency to pigeonhole Hunch as an Answers site remains. Answers sites allow users to ask a question and get back direct answers from other people. There are many Answer sites including Yahoo Answers, Mahalo Answers, Vark, Answerbag, and ChaCha. These are all excellent and useful services – but have as much to do with Hunch as Ofoto had to do with Flickr.

There is no easy solution to avoid being pigeonholed. All you can do is consistently, straightforwardly describe what you do, and then keep beating that drum over and over until the message gets through.

Link to original post

TAGGED: hunch
ChrisDixon October 20, 2009
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
- Advertisement -

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

cloud-centric companies using network relocation
Cloud-Centric Companies Discover Benefits & Pitfalls of Network Relocation
Cloud Computing
construction analytics
5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
Analytics
database compliance guide
Four Strategies For Effective Database Compliance
Data Management
Digital Security From Weaponized AI
Fortifying Enterprise Digital Security Against Hackers Weaponizing AI
Security

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

Blogs I Read: Chris Dixon (cdixon.org)

3 Min Read

Catching Up With Hunch

5 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?