incoherence.net

I just read this article in the current issue of Wired about how Craigslist is run by a seemingly nonchalant founder/customer support rep., and how a completely engineering-driven company tries to only listen to its users when coming up features and enhancements. Hence the circa 2000 look, cluttered interface, and minimalist functionality; they still grow because they started huge and take over online classifieds for cities one by one.

As someone who spent months in aggregate designing his own blog, works at a Silicon Valley startup, and specializes in front-end web development work – it’s a pretty sober reminder of the power of the network and steady momentum. CL doesn’t follow any of the rules of a what makes a “successful product” or even entrepreneurship, but somehow dominates its market. It’s a lesson in user behavior.

Fifty-five months.

By my reckoning, that’s how long we’ve been playing Defense of the Ancients, a popular mod off of the also-popular Warcraft III. Through the better part of a decade, we’ve engaged in a series of sometimes-epic, usually-fun battles built on top an aged engine ⁽¹⁾. Matter of fact, I had to go back to a previous version of the site to find my blog post about the game; it was that long ago.

I’ve probably obtained more value out of this one game than pretty much any other form of entertainment or vacation. It comes out to about 20 cents an hour – assuming an hour a week of gaming for 5 years – on a $40 purchase price. Certainly more economical than, say, a movie ($5/hour or so) or slamming down drinks at a club ($20+/hour, depending on alcohol consumption limits).