[nicksergeant]

Putting on my devil's advocate hat here. I think you're greatly discrediting the value of the network effect.

Just because you build something that you need does not mean that you will be successful. People do that all the time, and then wonder why they don't make it. In reality, it's incredibly difficult to get your product in front of people who need it, even if it solves their problems perfectly.

Not saying you don't deserve credit for the hard work you put into this - you absolutely do. Just keep in mind that having a great product that solves a real problem for people is not enough. You either need luck or a network effect (and then you still need a little luck).

[jason-grishkoff]

We're actually on the same page -- I'm totally crediting the network effect. Music bloggers have a tight-knit community, and even if I was a smaller music blog, I reckon I'd have had a pretty good chance of similar success.

[fiatjaf]

Network effect is not what you think it is. It is not something about people knowing each other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_effect