Two thoughts: The best startups are masters of asymmetric warfare -- they don't fight on the battlefield the incumbent selects. And, users often understand their problems well but are horrible at suggesting features to solve these problems.
here are some posts about online communities that I find very good for one reason or another
(Not a full list, no particular order, mostly from the running list we keep at @capiche. screenshots in this thread are their quotes, not my notes)
Please add to this... See more