One aspect of Jobs Theory is when producers focus on one aspect but consumers prefer another.
Often this is in terms of measurable features: size, speed, cost and so on. But consumers think about their tradeoffs in a different language. Here’s an example from November 2023.
Bill Simmons: “To me audiobooks don’t seem that much different than podcasts. My wife likes audiobooks more than podcasts but it’s not like ‘I’m an audiobook person and not a podcast person.’”
Malcolm Gladwell: “There’s been a real blurring of that line – but these distinctions don’t matter to listeners who just want to hear something interesting. It’s only insiders who obsess over the differences between podcasts and audiobooks. It’s just interesting stuff to listen to.”
The Waiter's Pad 