Pop Quiz: What would you do if you knew that 50% of your potential competition doesn't actually exist?
Maybe it's one of those unquestioned conventional wisdom things--an old wives' tale of capitalism, if you will--that bit about "Half of success is just showing up."
Or maybe it's that I'm still somewhat crabby that a contractor dude postponed my dinner with Dennis by half an hour by deciding that our shed roof wasn't worth his time. (I wouldn't call it wasted time, b/c it was spent with Dennis.)
Or maybe my trade as a web programmer raises the bar for the expectation of instant gratification.
Whatever.
We're used to the bell curve--it's baked into our judgement in so many ways, even if we've never been formally exposed to statistics. But in The Real World (TM), oftentimes only numbers greater than zero need apply. And not showing up equates to less than zero. (Yes, I understand that eBay and Craigslist vendors have differing amounts of skin in the game--each is filling a different niche--but I also humbly suggest that Craigslist would do well to (re)consider the benefits of "reputation" tier.)
Yes, I know that the business textbooks currently in vogue tell you to ignore your competition and relentlessly focus on your vision and just look at Steve Jobs and yadayadayada. (Me, I think that the problem, historically, has less to do about obsessing over the competition than recognizing it in the first place.) But if you can't help but obsess over any competition, doesn't it help you sleep better at night knowing that half of them don't actually exist?
