According to Dictionary.com, the definition of different is:

1.	not alike in character or quality; differing; dissimilar: The two are different.

2.	not identical; separate or distinct: three different answers.

3.	various; several: Different people told me the same story.

4.	not ordinary; unusual.

And the definition of better is:

1.	of superior quality or excellence: a better coat; a better speech.

2.	morally superior; more virtuous: They are no better than thieves.

3.	of superior suitability, advisability, desirability, acceptableness, etc.; preferable: a better time for action.

4.	larger; greater: the better part of a lifetime.

Now, it may be just me, but it seems as if these two words have distinctly different meanings, but sometimes people use them interchangeably when they should not.Often times when a startup is gearing up to launch their product, they tend to position themselves as different from their competition in X,Y,and Z ways. This is good, and necessary, after all if you were just launching something that was exactly the same as your competition, what would be the point, right? It is your hope that not only is your product different, but it is your intent that it will be better, that is what will separate you from the rest of the pack, and increase your probability of survival and success. The thing is though, that better is exclusively tied to time and user reception, so you cannot state that you are better until after you have been out in the market and can measure your success (or failure god forbid that though).

The main reason one can now say that not only was Google different than Yahoo when they launched, but is also much better is that time has proven that they are indeed much better, users love them and they have grown into one of the most dominant players in technology. But, when they launched, they could only simply say that they were different than Yahoo, not better (although they most likely knew in their heart of hearts they were, but had to wait and see). So in the case of Google, different did mean better, but again time proved that out. There have been plenty of examples of where different does not mean better, look at New Coke versus the original (or Pepsi, since that is why they launched it in the first place, to go head to head with them, since they felt their “old” Coke was not doing it). New Coke vanished off the scene almost as quickly as it arrived, proving different did not mean better. Another example is the Yugo car of the 80’s. Different, um definitely, better, yeah not so much. When was the last time you saw one of those cars putting around the highway?

So when you are discussing your business with someone and they ask how are you different from your competitors and how are you going to be better, just remember that the different part is completely in our control, the better is in the hands of father time and your users. If you are going to cite Google or any other successful company as reference to how someone came up with something slightly different in crowded market, be prepared to hear that they were different and better, but remember that time always proves the later (after all, Google could have turned out to be a Webvan, yikes!), so keep plowing ahead and become better!