Great point about markets moving at different rates.

I was listening to a conversation (Reporter’s Round-Table) where Don Dodge (former Microsoft guy) mentioned that he commented several years ago that Microsoft was (then) where IBM had been in the early 1980s.

In contrast, I look at the smartphone market – a year ago, Android was a “blip” in market share, and now has about 1/3 of the installed base in the US according to a couple research reports I found last week.

You also touched on the classic “should I hire a domain expert?” question – which is almost a third-rail in product management these days. Personally, I think you hire someone who you expect to be an expert for the foreseeable future – and that does not require that someone have the expertise beforehand, just that they can quickly gain and sustain it.

Thanks again,

Scott @sehlhorst on Twitter

I think the only other thing I’d add to the conversation is to note that not all markets move at the same rate.

-Meg

I’ll definitely write more about this, and hope to get insights about how to better leverage conversations with your customers (social media and otherwise) to gain market insights that lead to competitive advantage.

Thanks again – so nice, I have to thank you twice!
@sehlhorst on Twitter

The product management community would be grateful if you’d extend this article at the end of 2010 and share any information on the impact of social media and the market-driven competitive advantage.