“There’s an inherent desire to add more features because we believe our customers are doing more things with our software.”

Red Herring discusses a growing desire for simplicity in software and consumer products — which got me thinking: why do we have a tendency to throw in every possible feature and the kitchen sink? Just because we can doesn’t mean it’s better.

My belief is that it costs so little to do more now. Low costs + big opportunity = “featuritis.” Yet most Internet users today, though, have one-track minds. Think about it.

We go to Google or Yahoo to search.
We go to del.icio.us to track links.
We go to flickr to post photos.
We go to facebook to look up people.
…etc.

Chances are, you don’t think of Google as being an expert in RSS feeds or Yahoo being the best at showing stock tickers. Yes, they both do that, but so do Bloglines and Marketwatch. And they do it better than Google or Yahoo.

The article continues:

He compared the user experience of operating an XM Radio player, a satellite radio device, and using an iPod. “How is it that the simple thing they call a radio has 75 knobs and something that plays music, video, and audio books can have only one knob?

“Simplicity equates to customer-centric thinking and that’s what makes most organizations good, if not great,” he added.

Wow…simplicity making organizations great, too? That’s a bold statement, like jalapenos left too long in the sun and thrown in salsa with Mexican peppers. If the product is simple and does one or two things amazingly well, then the organization can rally around that.