Recently, I read an interesting thought about how the future of all software is bloatware. While I do agree with this, I feel the extreme holds true as well that in the future (or even now) we will be saturated with smaller niche products otherwise known as – Product Splintering.

Product Splintering is a marketing term to describe when a company purposefully splits or “splinters” a product into multiple products. You need not look any farther than your toothpaste isle to see an example of this in action. A Mega-Does-Everything Toothpaste does not exist; instead we have whiteners, fresheners, kid friendly, and clean mint. They have essentially made one core product and spun 10-20 unique niche products from it.

Why would a company do this instead of creating one really great product? There are a number of reasons…

Niche “Me” Fullfillment

First and foremost with product splintering is the marketers ability to prey on the consumers want to feel “special”. This is exactly why modern coffee shops tolerate people ordering triple-shot-grande-non-fat-dry-cappuccino (yep, that’s my order).

When you go niche, people feel they are getting a specialized just-for-them product. The connection between the consumers current problem and a prominent solution increases the ability for a sale.

For example, although Toothpaste X may whiten teeth better than Super Whitening Toothpaste Y, Toothpaste Y has the higher ability to sell to consumers looking for that specific attribute. The consumer will implicitly connect more with the product willing to solve their current problem (i.e. yellow teeth). Rinse and repeat with numerous dental problems, and you have an army of products willing to solve any specific problem.

Software in the future may also become smaller and more specialized solving only the one or two biggest problems.

Market Saturation

Is it better to have one product on the shelf or ten? You guessed it, having more products on the shelf all branded in the same fashion takes up more physical real estate on the shelf. In turn, it takes up more of your attention and raises the probability for you to buy their product.

This actually happens on the internet all the time. Think about it – is it better to own one video game store or twenty video game stores? Bigger footprint in the search engines, bigger footprint in PPC, and a higher probability for resales even if the consumer changes stores.

The New Factor

People love “new” stuff, and this is why small business will always have a chance. Is toothpaste new? Nope. Cars, nope. Underwear, nope. Yet there are plenty of “new” products coming out in those niches, some of which on nothing more than rebranded original products.

When we splinter products and apply different names to them, it gives us a better opportunity to remarket the old as “new”

So where does all this hip, new marketing information take us? Well, it does point exactly to the model that some Micro ISV’s are taking to publish their software solutions. 37 Signals probably being at the forefront of this niche, single solution products – but there are many many others. How about all those XHTML splicing services such as PSD Gator? One problem, one service option.

Is bloatware still a problem in future software? Of course, without question. Is product splintering an equal player in this ever growing web world. Yes…yep…you know it…you betcha…it’s a go…you get the point…. 😉

This post is in response to Blog Action Day. This year’s topic is one that is important to everyone – poverty.

Back in the first years of my computer infancy, one website struck a core nerve with me – The Hunger Site. It was the first time I saw a website completely dedicated to the greater good of humanity. It is rare that we as software developers get the chance to utilize our talents for the sole purpose of making the world a better place, but there is always opportunities if we keep our eyes open.

While passing through Sioux Falls, SD this weekend on a family vacation, the family and I decided to take a road break at a local mall. While bopping around we discovered a store unlike any other called Catharsis. Catharsis is a small, local art studio with some of the best local talent I think I have ever seen.

Since I am a chatty guy, I started chatting with one of the owners and he began to tell me a story that the entire store actually operates like a non-profit organization and that all proceeds go to local charities such as animal shelters, half-way houses, and the local Luther League. I was absolutely humbled by these guys and their generosity (as must have the mall, because they practically donated the space even through the xmas season).

Long story short, they said they were new to the internet and needed a website – I decided this was one of those opportunities to help. I donated a small amount of money, time, and personal resources and help them to create Experience Catharsis. It is literally only hours old and still slightly under construction, but it is a start of something I feel could be larger than local to Sioux Falls.

Many small hands move mountains, but small hands with the power of the internet can change the world. I hope you search and find at least one opportunity in your career to donate your time and skills as the rewards you inadvertently may find might be greater than anything you could ever imagine.

– Max

Where does the time go? It appears I haven’t done a monthly squeezed links all summer (since June), so here are some of the links that my friends and I are discussing right now:

• Anemic Domain Model – An interesting article by Martin Fowler calling the Anemic Domain Model an anti-pattern. Finding this article was timely for our team because we adopted this model (worked great in smaller projects) but due to many reasons we are starting to pull out of it. A definite read if you are a DDD fan.
• Agile & Waterfall are two sides of the exact same Coin – Great post by Jordan, and ironically also a well timed one. His Sun Tzu quotes on the bottom perfectly represents a few small hiccups we are having in our project in being too agile (thus too tactical with no strategy).
• Resign Patterns : Ailments of Unsuitable Project-Disoriented Software – LOL, Awesome! 98% of humor comes from the brutal truth.
• Top 100 Blogs for Development Managers – #39 Baby! Although I never thought of my blog as a developer management blog…
• Jeremy’s First Law of Continuous Integration – Amen.