> Because it solved problems (granted, all of the easiest and least important problems).
Unifying the benefits of email and IM in a single conversation isn't, for me, easy or unimportant.
I thought Wave was engineering led rather than user led, but with some polish and integration into existing apps (like GMail and Outlook) could have been a killer.
Because it required interesting technology and was challenging and fun to implement.
Because it solved problems (granted, all of the easiest and least important problems).
A lot of products are brought to market through the same flawed process. Look at the Segway for a perfect case in point.