[oAlbe]

Sorry if I go OT, but I wouldn't know where else to ask this since the question comes from the article you linked.

So, by the logic of making your complements a commodity, what is FogCreek trying to make a commodity of with Glitch? Are they trying to make "building apps" (and thus "getting into programming") a commodity so they get more users to StackOverflow?

Also, does anyone have any good material to suggest on this topic? I'd like to learn more about it and learn how to be able to recognize the things for what they are: complements or products.

[oblio]

Well, as I think Joel says in the article, you want some sort of Econ 101 textbook. Regarding FogCreek, you need to be aware of the whole picture: when Joel's talking about strategy, especially at that level, he's talking about big companies. Fog Creek doesn't have the kind of pull necessary to really care about complements or substitutes. Their strategy is probably: "fill whichever niche we deem free" :)

[oAlbe]

Oh yeah, I was thinking of something more specific, but I'll look into that too.

Well but then there's a big missed opportunity there, isn't it? I mean, it sounds like a principle like that would apply to most scenarios, unless you are too small to even think of making an impact on your complements markets with your financial power. In that case, sure.