Never stop improving and growing, no matter what.

Back in 2007, Apple brought out the iPhone. Compared to its competitors, it was a step forward in terms of its excellent touch screen and interaction design. In other areas, it was lacking. No 3g connectivity, no GPS, no front camera. Did it stick to what it was good at and impose a moratorium on the rest? No.

”But one company did. They were called “Research In Motion“, and produced a phone called a “BlackBerry”. They decided to concentrate on their current set of users, who they decided didn’t want change.

But that set of users decreased as expectations changed. BlackBerry had a head start in the mobile race, but they stopped. By the time they realised they were behind, their attempts to catch up came too little, too late. Meanwhile, the iPhone gradually assimilated the advantages of its competitors. Not all of them, just the features that mattered, ones that had a proven track record.

It’s important for me to hear criticism sometimes, because that’s what makes me a better player, and that means someone’s questioning me who really cares about me, and I think that’s really important in the business world as well. – Roger Federer

The web is feature-rich, and it’s great. Media queries, touch events, flexbox, service worker, push messaging, web audio, canvas… these are all features you may use to improve user experience. But you don’t have to use any of them. You are welcome to draw a line in the sand and refuse to learn new web features from this day forth. But if a competitor does use them, and uses them to create a better user experience than the one you offer, you lose. Winners never stop improving and growing, no matter what.. Just like Roger Federer.