He grew to a Principal Eng (IC8) at Meta then c...
Can you explain latent demand? Latent demand, I think is the single most important principle in products, especially at Facebook successful products. Every single one has an element of latent demand. For example, marketplace, it came from this observation that if you looked at Facebook groups at the time, 40% of the posts were buying and selling stuff. Facebook groups were not designed for commerce, but that's what people were using it for. It's kind of cool. Like you design this product in a way that can be hacked. It can be abused by users a little bit. And then you look at the data, you see how they're abusing it, and then you build a product around it. I think Facebook dating was pretty similar. I think the observation was something like 60% of profile views were people of the opposite gender that were not friends with each other, kind of like creeping on each other. Like the principle in product is you can never get people to do something they do not yet do. You can find the intent that they have, and then you can steer it to let them better kind of capitalize on that intent.
Summary
Boris Cherny discusses the concept of latent demand in product development, highlighting how Facebook utilized user behavior to create successful features like Marketplace and Dating.
Key Points
- Latent demand is crucial for successful product development.
- Facebook marketplace emerged from user behavior in groups.
- 40% of posts in groups were related to buying and selling.
- Products can be designed to accommodate user 'hacks' or misuse.
- Facebook dating leveraged user interactions for its design.
- 60% of profile views were from non-friends of the opposite gender.
- Understanding user intent is key to product success.
Tags
Repurpose Ideas
- LinkedIn post: Insights on leveraging latent demand in product design.
- Tweet: Key principles of product development from Boris Cherny.
- Checklist: Steps to identify and utilize latent demand in your projects.
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