Everyone needs more exercise, right? So if you have some product or service that gives people extra exercise and you do it in a fun way, you can’t go wrong. Right?

Wrong. The key word above is “everyone.” And I’m not just thinking of some small sliver of the population like pro athletes.

There was a discussion a few years back at Microsoft about computers in the developing world. One of the big problems is powering them. Someone suggested that you could hook up a laptop to a stationary bicycle and the user could generate the power by pedaling. The extra exercise is a great bonus since it helps prevent obesity, he said.

A smartass in the discussion (it wasn’t me) had a brilliant response to that. He said something to the effect of, “No. We have our rear ends in chairs twelve hours a day and we need to bike to burn off all the pizza and jelly donuts. Some schmuck in China who spends twelve hours in a coal mine won’t feel like hopping an exercise bike for an hour at the end of the day.”

The lesson from this smartass goes far beyond laptops in developing countries. Never forget your audience. Even something virtuous, like exercise for the fatso American, may be no virtue on the other side of the world.