It’s generally believed that using your own products is a good thing. You’re eating your own dog food, so to speak.
Dave Shen, a former Yahoo! (YHOO) employee, suggests otherwise. He writes:
I would put forth that the blindness that happens with being comfortable and focusing on yourself and your own company is precisely the way you get blindsided by some fast moving kids out of college developing something that is so cool and compelling and you see them gaining traction only after you’ve fallen behind.
What’s the best way to combat this?
USE THE BEST PRODUCT OUT THERE FOR WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO. (Emphasis his)
That’s pretty sound advice. Using the best product for your needs, even if it’s not your own, is a great way to understand why it, and not yours, is the best product out there. And if you feel bad about not eating your own dog food, you can think of it as “competitive research.”
