Note · · 1 min read
Interest Is a Signal. It Is Not Yet Demand.
A small recorder demand test gave me a reason to keep asking questions, rather than a reason to call the idea proven.
A few people saying they would test something can make a product decision feel more certain than it is.
I posted a simple demand test for a Mac recorder idea. At the time, it had reached 233 impressions and received five engagements. Two people commented, including someone expressing tester intent. That mattered. The problem was recognisable enough for people to respond.
It still was not product validation.
Two comments justified two conversations. I needed to understand what those people recorded, how often the problem appeared, what they used already, where that workaround failed, and whether they would change their behaviour when a real tool was placed in front of them.
A little interest can make it tempting to move straight from feedback to features. But the next useful artefact was not a bigger feature list. It was a clearer record of what happened after the first expression of interest.
Do people make time to test? Do they return after the novelty wears off? Will they trust the tool with real work? Will they pay, or does the problem remain merely annoying?
Interest tells us where to look. Demand begins to appear when someone changes behaviour.