[tswartz]

A brief, but interesting post on how viral products are simple and can be easily described in one sentence.

>The format of both descriptions is the same: “You do X and Y happens.” X is the input and Y is the output. This input-output pair matches our intuition about how software works. Simplifying the product as a straightforward input and desirable output creates the sense that it’s an ingenious idea.

I think it's important to have a simple product and using a feature to explain it makes sense. However, this brought to mind the sales and marketing idea that it's better to sell benefits, not features. I'm not sure where I sit on which approach is better, I suppose they each have their purpose. I definitely find myself pitching my side projects based on the feature, not the benefit :)

[scribu]

I think you can use both:

Start with the lead feature, so that the potential customer has a simple idea to kick around in their head.

Then, describe the benefits, giving them a fuller story for why they should use the product.