The next category of business idea I want to throw around is that of social ranking and bookmarking. I think it follows well with my previous post because it is also an extension of the social networking category.
In the past I have been a little critical of sites like Digg. Better put, I have been critical of the presumption that there exists a mob that can behave as a filter in a civilized, democratic manner that reflects good taste so much so that I would count on it to recommend good news stories. My beliefs haven't changed. I still don't think there is a system or body of people that can do that and satisfy the masses. However, the problem is very interesting to me and one that I wouldn't mind tinkering with.
The idea that people will visit a particular website, contribute content freely, and then go so far as to categorize it and rank it is pretty good when you think about it. This takes a lot of the stress of the owner to produce content. The primary caveat being that a large community forms and quality content and ranking becomes the norm. As far as business ideas go, this isn't too bad. But, we need to dig in a little deeper and explore.
In the past I have been a little critical of sites like Digg. Better put, I have been critical of the presumption that there exists a mob that can behave as a filter in a civilized, democratic manner that reflects good taste so much so that I would count on it to recommend good news stories. My beliefs haven't changed. I still don't think there is a system or body of people that can do that and satisfy the masses. However, the problem is very interesting to me and one that I wouldn't mind tinkering with.
The idea that people will visit a particular website, contribute content freely, and then go so far as to categorize it and rank it is pretty good when you think about it. This takes a lot of the stress of the owner to produce content. The primary caveat being that a large community forms and quality content and ranking becomes the norm. As far as business ideas go, this isn't too bad. But, we need to dig in a little deeper and explore.
Attracting users
I envision the process of attracting users would be very much the same as that of attracting users for a social network. Utilizing word of mouth and self-promotion in various forms would go far given the right amount of investment in time and energy. It's been my observation that many social bookmarking sites employ the use of widgets and links so that people can instantly add content by clicking on them. Wordpress has their very own plug-in ( Sociable ) for achieving this. Some people may know these as post badges.
However, there's a downside to using these on your own site. RT at Untwisted Vortex wrote a little post on why he's not using these anymore. I encourage you to read his post, but to summarize he's decided that they lengthen the load time of the page, perhaps suggest to the reader that the author is a little more interested in self-promotion, and give off a "spammy" vibe. Personally, I agree with him. If someone finds something on my blog that is worth "Digging" or submitting to another bookmarking site - so be it. However, as an owner of a social bookmarking site, I would encourage the use as a form of advertising.
Keeping users
Here again, much of the same rules apply here as they would with a social networking site. Keep the users happy and provide engaging content. Unlike Slashdot, which employs the use of editors who decide what content makes it to the front page, Digg and Reddit were founded on the premise that the users or contributors decide what content makes it to the front page. As I posted before in this article, the Digg and Reddit way of doing things can sometimes fly back in your face like a huge loogie launched against the wind. Much of the the way things happen to turn out is largely based on the community that is fostered and allowed to grow.
As someone who routinely visits Digg, Reddit and Slashdot, I can vouch for the fact that there is a big difference between the three not only in demographics, but also the general attitude and mindset of people who comprise the population at each site. Certain submissions can be buried and never seen. This doesn't necessarily happen because they are not worthy of being seen or read, instead they are buried because the population sees fit to do so. The demographics can sometimes skew the results of a submission much like the way a liberal newspaper may bury a conservative news story or vice-versa. In order to be competitive with other sites in this category, users would not be forced to pay for a subscription. The primary source of revenue would be advertising via whatever ad network was chosen. However, it's important to balance this with whatever threshold the users are willing to tolerate.
Breadth
In order to grow I believe that this type of business would have to be able to cater to virtually any type of content. In other words, only content that would be considered "adult" or of a pornographic nature would be disallowed. Otherwise, any content - news, blog posts, video, images, etc . . . would be allowed to be bookmarked. While some sites like Slashdot only really cater to the technical crowd, Digg also allows for any type of content. This would be the best way to appeal to the largest number of people.
What it would take to build it
Potentially this site has the greatest risk of succumbing to the will of a large number of users. The web server and database server will suffer a consistent pounding. Additionally, this may happen 24 hours a day or will be exposed to periods ( for example at the beginning of the day ) of intense traffic. For this reason it is likely that special attention to server architecture should be handled up front. I don't hesitate to suggest that a dedicated and clustered server environment be used from the outset. That would also imply quite a large cost at the beginning. It's likely that I could be wrong to suggest this is needed from the get-go given that there is no guarantee that the site would even attract more than 1000 people. However, if the site went down under the load you could potentially lose visitors who aren't willing to give you a second chance.
The last word
Building a business of this nature has genuine appeal. I'm intrigued by the thought of tinkering with an algorithm that allows a body of people to sort, categorize, and rank content in an atmosphere of randomness and chaos that ends up being of some value. So, you could say that simply that idea alone pulls me in this general direction. Another aspect of this idea that draws me is the fact that, as with this blog, I would not be the person charged with building content. The content is produced or found by others who decide to share it with others. The ease with which it is found after submission would be reliant upon a number of factors defined by an algorithm. Regardless, it still moves closer to a passive business model that requires little in the form of time consuming content building.
While I'm sure there would be more than enough work to do like monitoring for abuse, it would be a change from what I normally do. While there are a few entrenched contenders, it is likely that a new challenger could emerge and survive. It is possible that not every person who has visited ( or visits ) one of the social news sites is completely satisfied with the community and is looking for another option.
Because of the social nature, it is important to build a community atmosphere in which all the users can feel a sense of belongingness. The more happy customers that visit the site, the more money that the idea would make. Technical requirements, especially hardware and server architecture, could be quite high. While there is no guarantee that visitor traffic will be exceptionally high, the site could experience peak periods that may challenge system integrity. For this reason a minimum of dedicated server is suggested with the likelihood that a clustered environment will be necessary in the near future. Lastly, a few questions to stimulate some conversation:
I envision the process of attracting users would be very much the same as that of attracting users for a social network. Utilizing word of mouth and self-promotion in various forms would go far given the right amount of investment in time and energy. It's been my observation that many social bookmarking sites employ the use of widgets and links so that people can instantly add content by clicking on them. Wordpress has their very own plug-in ( Sociable ) for achieving this. Some people may know these as post badges.
However, there's a downside to using these on your own site. RT at Untwisted Vortex wrote a little post on why he's not using these anymore. I encourage you to read his post, but to summarize he's decided that they lengthen the load time of the page, perhaps suggest to the reader that the author is a little more interested in self-promotion, and give off a "spammy" vibe. Personally, I agree with him. If someone finds something on my blog that is worth "Digging" or submitting to another bookmarking site - so be it. However, as an owner of a social bookmarking site, I would encourage the use as a form of advertising.
Keeping users
Here again, much of the same rules apply here as they would with a social networking site. Keep the users happy and provide engaging content. Unlike Slashdot, which employs the use of editors who decide what content makes it to the front page, Digg and Reddit were founded on the premise that the users or contributors decide what content makes it to the front page. As I posted before in this article, the Digg and Reddit way of doing things can sometimes fly back in your face like a huge loogie launched against the wind. Much of the the way things happen to turn out is largely based on the community that is fostered and allowed to grow.
As someone who routinely visits Digg, Reddit and Slashdot, I can vouch for the fact that there is a big difference between the three not only in demographics, but also the general attitude and mindset of people who comprise the population at each site. Certain submissions can be buried and never seen. This doesn't necessarily happen because they are not worthy of being seen or read, instead they are buried because the population sees fit to do so. The demographics can sometimes skew the results of a submission much like the way a liberal newspaper may bury a conservative news story or vice-versa. In order to be competitive with other sites in this category, users would not be forced to pay for a subscription. The primary source of revenue would be advertising via whatever ad network was chosen. However, it's important to balance this with whatever threshold the users are willing to tolerate.
Breadth
In order to grow I believe that this type of business would have to be able to cater to virtually any type of content. In other words, only content that would be considered "adult" or of a pornographic nature would be disallowed. Otherwise, any content - news, blog posts, video, images, etc . . . would be allowed to be bookmarked. While some sites like Slashdot only really cater to the technical crowd, Digg also allows for any type of content. This would be the best way to appeal to the largest number of people.
What it would take to build it
Potentially this site has the greatest risk of succumbing to the will of a large number of users. The web server and database server will suffer a consistent pounding. Additionally, this may happen 24 hours a day or will be exposed to periods ( for example at the beginning of the day ) of intense traffic. For this reason it is likely that special attention to server architecture should be handled up front. I don't hesitate to suggest that a dedicated and clustered server environment be used from the outset. That would also imply quite a large cost at the beginning. It's likely that I could be wrong to suggest this is needed from the get-go given that there is no guarantee that the site would even attract more than 1000 people. However, if the site went down under the load you could potentially lose visitors who aren't willing to give you a second chance.
The last word
Building a business of this nature has genuine appeal. I'm intrigued by the thought of tinkering with an algorithm that allows a body of people to sort, categorize, and rank content in an atmosphere of randomness and chaos that ends up being of some value. So, you could say that simply that idea alone pulls me in this general direction. Another aspect of this idea that draws me is the fact that, as with this blog, I would not be the person charged with building content. The content is produced or found by others who decide to share it with others. The ease with which it is found after submission would be reliant upon a number of factors defined by an algorithm. Regardless, it still moves closer to a passive business model that requires little in the form of time consuming content building.
While I'm sure there would be more than enough work to do like monitoring for abuse, it would be a change from what I normally do. While there are a few entrenched contenders, it is likely that a new challenger could emerge and survive. It is possible that not every person who has visited ( or visits ) one of the social news sites is completely satisfied with the community and is looking for another option.
Because of the social nature, it is important to build a community atmosphere in which all the users can feel a sense of belongingness. The more happy customers that visit the site, the more money that the idea would make. Technical requirements, especially hardware and server architecture, could be quite high. While there is no guarantee that visitor traffic will be exceptionally high, the site could experience peak periods that may challenge system integrity. For this reason a minimum of dedicated server is suggested with the likelihood that a clustered environment will be necessary in the near future. Lastly, a few questions to stimulate some conversation:
- Do you use any news/bookmarking services that have a social spin?
- If so, what do you like about them or dislike?
- What makes them great in your opinion?
- What do you think can be done to make them better?
