The latest Guy Kawasaki (bonus points to anyone that can tell me a successful online venture backed by Guy) venture launched and it is called Truemors. In a nutshell anyone can post any type of information they want and it gets posted on the frontpage where people can award it points. Look at that again.
Anyone can post.
Any type of information.
And it gets posted on the frontpage.
Maybe in the Web 2.0 world there is this level of trust we give users where we believe they will do no harm and actually use our great ideas the way we intended them to. In no way can a system like this work without some sort of moderation or a strong community already in place. This is no different than providing a huge wall for people to paste their posters on top of one another without waiting in line. Why would anyone think an idea implemented this way would work?
This is the user bubble of Web 2.0 that needs to burst. This is where innovators need to step back and realize that as great as the users are to sites, you can’t trust them with the site right away. You can’t expect them to create a miracle for you simply because you give them some tools. In one way or another users are going to do what benefits them the most and it is just too easy to get benefit from posting your link on the homepage and leave it at that.
People began to think Slashdot was behind the curve because they added a level of moderation that Web 2.0 sites just don’t do now. There are actual editors monitoring the stories that get posted and yet the site is still going strong. Sure there aren’t as many new stories posted as you can find other places, but there certainly isn’t the level of trash being posted either. A system where anything goes is not really a system at all.
What is worse is that people are saying that the site has potential, which can only mean that any site you visit has potential. Instead of the old axiom:
- Create useful site with regulations and control.
- ???
- Profit
We have gone to:
- ???
- ???
- Sell to someone, maybe, hopefully.
When creating a site think of it like this. Users are greedy. They want to visit the site and get something out of it for them otherwise there is no reason to visit. They won’t do it to help you out, they want to do it to help themselves out. If you keep that in mind and figure out a way to make something quality then you are on the right path. If you fulfill their selfish ways then you have a chance of success, otherwise don’t even bother and in that sense, yes Web 2.0 is all about the user.
Originally posted on May 16, 2007 @ 4:26 am