ecubed

We all know that Google is blocked in China, but I think it is known to a lesser extent that fonts.googleapis.com is also blocked. As a result, any site relying on Google to serve fonts will appear to load much slower than it should.

StackOverflow is a prime example of a site that should not need a VPN to access from China, but in its current state requires one due to the reliance on Google to serve fonts.

So if you're looking to include the Chinese or China's expatriate population in your potential customer base, please consider the implications of reliance on Google services.

I've got an idea for an app in the recipe/grocery list/meal planning space that I've been prototyping as a side project. Right now I see two main competitors as ven.io and eMeals in the space, but I think there's still a lot of room for the market to grow with the right execution, but I don't have any factual data to back up that hunch.

What metrics do you guys look at to decide whether or not existing competition is validation of the problem or whether the market is saturated with competition and to pursue another idea?