What 5 years at Reddit taught us about building for a highly opinionated user base.

What 5 years at Reddit taught us about building for a highly opinionated user base.

Building a product for a highly opinionated user base can be a daunting task. Just as you can’t ask parents not to love their kids, you can’t ask passionate users not to love your product. The key is to embrace their passion and use it to your advantage. This is what we learned during our 5 years at Reddit.

It's important to note that just because someone is loud doesn't mean you should act on their complaints. Passionate users can sometimes be a vocal minority and may not represent the attitudes of the majority of your user base. Identifying whom you should pay attention to is crucial.

One common trend we noticed is that customers typically won't go out of their way to tell you if a feature is useful or helps them do a task. They treat useful features like table stakes: they expect them, so they don't think those features are worthy of comment. This makes it difficult to gauge whether negative feedback represents the majority opinion.

When assessing user feedback, it's important to consider two key factors: whether the feedback represents a significant portion (10% or more) of your user base and whether the users giving feedback have the influence to sway the opinions of others. By focusing on these factors, you can filter out the noise and prioritize actionable feedback.

One of the most valuable lessons we learned at Reddit is that the public square is not the place to have a nuanced product discussion. Public back-and-forths often lead to more confusion and misalignment, as the incentive in a public subreddit comment thread is to win the conversation rather than find a solution. Creating a safe space for users to express their opinions and ideas is crucial for productive discussions.

Asking for feedback is essential, but it's equally important to act on it. If you ask someone for their time and feedback and then don't act on it, you're actually eroding trust. The golden rule of feedback is simple: ask for feedback only if you'll consider it. If you can't implement a suggestion, be transparent about your decision and explain the reasoning behind it.

Now let's delve into another insightful article titled "ほとんど理解されていない「良い戦略、悪い戦略」 – suadd blog", which translates to "The Misunderstood "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy" - suadd blog".

The article emphasizes that a bad strategy often stems from having too many goals but lacking actionable plans or not having any plans at all. Therefore, it's crucial to identify the most promising opportunities for your company. Conduct thorough research on the changes happening in your industry, as this can provide hints for breakthroughs. Share and discuss all the findings with your management team.

One common pitfall is when leaders hesitate to make choices and end up adopting vague or non-committal strategies. Such strategies are a sign of a lack of strong will or political influence to make difficult decisions. In companies that set numerous goals, it's safe to assume that no choices are being made.

A good guiding principle is not just about goals or visions but about solidifying the approach to tackle difficult situations and eliminating other options. A good strategy should not only answer the question of "what to do" but also address "why" and "how" to do it.

A good strategy helps uncover hidden strengths or develop new sources of advantage to overcome challenges. In fact, finding these advantages is the essence of strategy. Just like a lever can multiply force, a strategic advantage can amplify the impact of resources and actions. Concentrating resources on the most effective areas is what makes a good strategy.

Similarly, when innovations are introduced one after another in products or processes, it becomes challenging to keep up. However, if those innovations are backed by unique knowledge, the challenge becomes even greater. The advantage of software lies in its ability to have shorter development cycles, rapid prototyping, and quick error detection and correction. This allows for faster and more cost-effective execution.

Strategy becomes crucial when facing waves of change. It's during these times that strategy makes a difference. We often witness large companies losing their top positions or upsets occurring in various industries. Good strategy is essentially a hypothesis that says, "If we do this, it should work." It is based on knowledge and wisdom rather than theoretical backing. No one knows your business better than you do.

Combining the insights from both articles, we can extract three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Pay attention to the right feedback:
   Identify the users who represent a significant portion of your user base and have the influence to shape opinions. Filter out the noise and prioritize actionable feedback.

2. Create a safe space for discussion:
   Facilitate productive discussions by providing a safe environment for users to express their opinions and ideas. Move nuanced product discussions away from public forums to avoid confusion and misalignment.

3. Act on feedback:
   When seeking feedback, be prepared to act on it. If you ask for feedback and don't consider it, you risk eroding trust. Implement suggestions whenever possible, and if not, be transparent about your decision and explain the reasoning behind it.

By incorporating these three pieces of advice into your product development process, you can effectively build for a highly opinionated user base while harnessing their passion productively.