"Make it something you'd actually use" is of great value to a budding (aimless, excited) programmer, but staying too long in this mindset leads to a glut of products and services serving the same purpose for the same market. The highly-upvoted "Hello Ladies" video with patio11[1] really drove home the point that products for people who aren't programmers have tremendous value. This post is good advice to get started, but once new programmers begin to feel comfortable with their abilities, it would behoove them to empathize with people who aren't like them and try to make something others would appreciate.

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2371965 -- this comment does not reflect the opinions of patio11

Yes, exactly. He also did a talk about targeting the female market. This might be a big help for you. Here's the thread, talk, and blog post: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2371965