Is it possible for my product to become a must-have, like Stack Overflow?

My friend, you've hit the nail on the head with this question. This is the dream of every product person. Making your product an indispensable "must-have" like Stack Overflow (hereinafter referred to as SO) is not impossible, but the road is truly long, and you need to think through several core issues thoroughly.

Let's not talk about abstract theories; let's talk in plain language.

First, you have to ask yourself a tough question: Does your product solve a "vitamin" problem, or a "painkiller" problem?

• Vitamins: They're good for your health, but if you don't take them today or tomorrow, nothing major seems to happen. Many social and entertainment products fall into this category; they are "nice to have, but not essential."
• Painkillers: A toothache isn't a disease, but when it strikes, it's agonizing. You need to take medicine now, otherwise you can't do anything. SO is a typical "painkiller." When a programmer's code gets stuck, a project needs to be delivered, or a bug can't be solved, that's "severe pain." They need to find a solution immediately, right now.

SO became a must-have precisely because it's an efficient "painkiller." You can now examine your product: In what scenarios do users experience "pain" so severe that they must use your product? Is this "pain" frequent? If your product merely "adds icing to the cake" for users' lives, then it's far from being "indispensable."

Second, can you enable users to "get in, get out" and still come back next time?

This might sound counter-intuitive; don't people usually focus on user engagement time now? But think about your experience using SO:

1. Encounter a problem, Google it.
2. Click on the top-ranked SO link.
3. Glance at the highest-voted answer, copy, paste.
4. Problem solved, close the page.

The entire process might take only tens of seconds. SO's core value lies in efficiency. It doesn't care how long you stay; it cares whether you can solve your problem as quickly as possible. It's precisely this extreme efficiency that has built a strong mental association in your mind: "SO = problem solved." Next time you encounter a problem, you might even directly include "stackoverflow" in your Google search.

So, can your product also provide this "hit-the-mark" core value? Can users get their desired results in the shortest time, with the lowest cost? If users have to spend ages figuring out your product every time, or feel bogged down, they will quickly look for alternatives.

The third, and most difficult, point is: Can you establish a "positive feedback loop" community ecosystem?

SO is not just a simple tool; it's a community, a vast knowledge base. Its brilliance lies in this cycle:

• People with problems come to ask questions → attracting knowledgeable experts to answer (for reputation, to help others, to solidify their knowledge) → generating high-quality Q&A content → this content is indexed by search engines, attracting more people with problems → the community grows, more questions arise, attracting even more experts...

Once this cycle gets going, it creates a massive "network effect," and it's very difficult for others to replicate. Just like WeChat, it's not because its features are so amazing, but because your friends, family, and colleagues are all on it, so you can't not use it.

You need to consider your product:

• Why should users interact with each other? Does your product benefit everyone else when one more person uses it?
• Who are your "expert" users? How do you incentivize them to continuously contribute value? SO uses gamified virtual incentives like reputation and badges. This system is very popular in the programming community. What resonates with your user base? Is it money, fame, or pure sense of accomplishment?
• How does content/value accumulate and appreciate? Every Q&A on SO adds bricks to this massive knowledge base. The longer it exists, the more valuable this repository becomes, and the deeper its moat. In your product, does user-generated value diminish over time? Or does it become more potent as it accumulates?

Finally, let's be realistic. SO's success had its historical context. At that time, high-quality programming knowledge was relatively scattered. Now the environment has changed; there are video tutorials, official documentation, and various AI tools. To become the next SO, you might need to find a new, vertically-focused niche where information is not yet transparent enough, and people still feel strong "pain points."

To summarize, to become "indispensable," you need to meet several conditions:

1. Precise entry point: Solve a high-frequency, rigid "painkiller" need.
2. Explosive core experience: Enable users to obtain core value with extreme efficiency.
3. High long-term barrier: Establish a self-reinforcing community ecosystem or network effect.

The journey is long and arduous, but if the direction is right, you won't fear the distance. Don't always think about becoming SO; first, think about how to become the "first choice" for a specific problem in the minds of your small group of core users. Once you thoroughly nail one point, then slowly expand, only then can you hope to replicate SO's brilliance.