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The internet will always develop new niches… make them yours…

October 20, 2007 By Dan Thornton

Ever wondered why networks tend to grow more quickly if they allow groups of self-form?

It’s because, no matter how well you know your subject and your customers, you’ll never predict their most interesting motivations for starting a group. And the ones that you might dismiss can end up being incredibly popular…

Take, for example, the Lolcat Bible… a wiki constructed to translate the Bible into the language of those lolcat pictures you’ve doubtless seen around the internet.

(Spotted thanks to a post on Dana Boyd’s blog)

Now would you have created a group for people interested in creating a Lolcat Bible? Would you have been able to quantify how many people would be interested in contributing, and how many people would then view it? Would you have even guessed Lolcatz would take off?

Me neither.

But by allowing anyone using your website to make their own choices, decisions and ideas, you’ll capitalise when one of their groups does take off. If you’re trying to explain it to the type of people who inists on quantifying everything by Return on Investment, you could try explaining that rather than spending time and money on second-guessing how to force people into categories, you’ll be hiring an unlimited number of people to do your research and development for you, and then reaping the benfits…

Still not convinced? Take a look at Wikipedia’s list of internet phenomena, and see how many you recognise. Then take the list round your peer group, and prepare to be shocked how many people who you’d have thought closely shared you interests will have radically different knowledge (Idea taken from The Long Tail…see reading list, right)…

One of the biggest joys of the internet is the fact you can find people, products and information on pretty much anything you might need, want, or be interested in. So why would you ever want to stop people experiencing that joy?

Don’t swap journalists for users quite yet…

October 5, 2007 By Dan Thornton

User generated content (UGC), citizen journalism, blogging. I’m a huge fan of all three when used correctly, but they all need to be handled with care by traditional media companies, whether it’s not serving them properly, or, in the case I’m going to hypothesise about, overestimating their effect.

Way back in June I quoted figures which put submissions to Youtube at 0.16% of users, while Flickr submissions were at 0.2%. Wikipedia was the involvement leader with 4.6%. Which should be one worry to the people I’ve spoken to who believe traditional journalists will be replaced by users in the near future.

Putting this to one side, along with discussions of trust, I think there is a further concern which anyone should consider before cutting journalists in favour of UGC.

And that’s going to be a growing rise in the need for payment for UGC. The oft cited example of OhMyNews already pays for submissions, and some bloggers are now being paid to produce work professionally. At the moment, these are exceptions rather than the rule for User Generated Content.

But there’s an established global market which already handsomely rewards creativity, and which will have an effect on any creative efforts produced. Users of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Rolepaying Games), or users of Xbox Live will already be familiar with the concept of creating virtual items, Forza Motorsport car liveries, or a wealth of other content, and being reward in game currency, or via online auction sites in real money. And then there’s Anshe Chung, the Second Life millionaire…

As increasing numbers of people are playing online games, and are familiar with the concept of virtual capitalism, then they won’t be satisfied with the fame of having their content published on a large website, and will increasing expect fair recompense for their efforts…

And to get the best UGC, to make it worthwhile, you’ll need to be making your site more financially rewarding…

And the worst part will be that your submissions will now come from people who aren’t tied by a contract or a notice period. Instead they’ll be free to submit to any site which appears overnight with a more attractive offer…

(None of this is meant to dissuade you from using UGC on your site… But as with anything, it’s one aspect of the future of online publishing, not the only answer…)

Users vs Editors: A case study

June 27, 2007 By Dan Thornton

Rather than actually conducting a case study, there’s a rather easier way to compare ‘pure’ User Generated Content with some that has been edited, and the effect on accuracy, trust, and audience figures.

Most people are familiar with the famous (or infamous) online, user created and edited Wikipedia.org.

But last October (2006) a new, almost identical in design, wiki started. Called Citizendium, it’s founded by Larry Sanger (Co-founder of Wikipedia), and it also accepts user submitted content.

Except with Citizendium, UGC is subject to moderation by experts who have to provide proof of accreditation and qualifications.

Bearing in mind Citizendium is nine months old, whereas Wikipedia has six years behind it, it’s unfair to start comparing traffic figures etc at this stage. But it’s certainly interesting to take a look at the Editors of an area you have an interest in, and see if you’re more reassured by their watchful presence. Let’s just hope noone is able to dupe the system

Plans for 2007

January 22, 2007 By Dan Thornton

I know that the time for New year resolutions has ended, so my attempts at planning may be a little late. Then again, who says you can only make plans on Jan 1?

So here are some of the things I’m aiming to get completed…

1. Finish the redesign and implementation of the new Disposable Media website.
2. Help inspire others by getting my copy in waaaay before deadline for DM issue 6.
3. Investigate web hosting, and moving my blog to a domain of it’s own.
4. Investigate commercial opportunities, to see if I can let the blog pay for itself.
5. Investigate the possibilities of getting free stuff…

Now I know that it’s terribly bad form to admit that I’d be happy to receive free things. And that it’s a path lined with the fallen blogs of those who failed to disclose the exact nature of their involvement with a project. But, it’s also nice to get new toys to play with and review for my elite group of readers.

And I’d be particularly interested in UK and European tech stuff. There’s already enough Americans embracing blogging and technology (God bless ’em!). It’s time us limeys got some free stuff!

Incidentally, a thought came to mind this morning. As more and more information sources become aggregated into the likes of Wikipedia, and video becomes aggregated by Youtube, Google and Flurl, are we losing part of the fun of searching 20 different websites before arriving at an opinion?

Lastly…with all the talk of web 2.0…how come no-one has mentioned the Internet Movie Database? it’s been around for years, offered lists, comments and comparisons, and does a good job… Does it not have enough rounded gradients? Maybe it should rename as IMDBer.com?

IT could lead the revolution…

January 18, 2007 By Dan Thornton

In many companies, the IT dept are seen as the geeky blokes who come and fix your PC when it breaks, and maybe, those who monitor your emails and snaffle all your best gossip and naughty links…

But isn’t there a possibility that someone, somewhere, could make the decision to allow them to lead the changes needed in companies that haven’t been web aware?

Consider this… almost all the great internet brand names come, somewhere along the line, from fairly technical, or at least web savvy people being involved. From Microsoft through to Myspace, Picasa or Wikipedia, there was, at some point, a geek in a fairly prominent position in the company to make the technical side happen, and convey the enthusiasm of a new peer-to-peer TV service like Joost, for example.

In most ‘traditional’ companies, tech words are part of business lingo speak, and to be derided. Meanwhile anyone who can actually log into a site is seen as a tech geek.

Part of this is down to the fact that for most people, their PC is a locked down typewriter. Your email is monitored, downloads are blocked, and sites are banned. And this stops anyone with a vague interest in learning more from actually being able to do anything, unless they can afford a PC of their own, and want to devote their spare time to it. Meanwhile the IT people are seen as a barrier to innovation, and spend their time apologising for the fact you can’t download a new patch to save time, effort, and money in your day job…

So why not actually look to change? Why not encourage any appropriate person in the company to download new software, register to new sites, and actually experience the point of having a net connection in the first place? Even if it’s simply using an IM client to chat, it means somewhere is getting more knowledge about the possibilities out there, and might end up selling advertising, or come up with an entirely new variation.?

The only reasons I can see are the fears that everyone would spend all day mucking around (unlikely…in my opinion the novelty soon wears off. And most people probably wouldn’t be fussed, limiting the interest to those most suited for experimentation and learning), and the threat of internet trojans, viruses, and other malware. But surely it’s better to have an IT dept that is completely up-to-date and taking on those threats and beating them, rather than trying to simply avoid encountering problems. After all, every new business idea comes from identifying and tackling challenges and risks, and that’s what stops every man and his dog from having an idea like Google, or Ebay. And then IT will even be seen as a force for good.

And as an example of this irony, I’m lucky enough to have greater access on my PC currently. Yet I need to get an IT engineer to let me run an anti-virus scan… Genius.

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