DISQUS

Tracy Coyle · 3 years ago

I launched a site about 3 weeks ago. I have 10 members(!)so far. It allows people to view 8-12 blog feeds at one time. I wanted it easy for non-tech, non-geek types to get into blog reading, and it is. It is more difficult to actually create new screens, but I expected better qualified people to be more interested in those features. I found sites that do parts of what I am doing better and was dismayed at the facts that those sites do not appear to be getting much traction, nor interest.

What hope do I have to break into general use, when even the ubber-geeks will not give me a look? My site is too simplistic for the first-adopters, but without them, I don't get enough interest and buzz to get started.

Of course, there are hundreds just like me, with sites (and businesses) that will fall by the wayside of 'interesting'. I have a site that has averaged 200 visitors a MONTH for 6 years that has an ROI of $112. Last year the visitor count jumped to 2,000 a month...the ROI didn't change.

I put up a site for a political purpose over the weekend and one supporter said that I should not indicate how many members we have unless it is thousands because no one will take us seriously until then.

Serve people. Solve a problem. Get attention. I'd be happy with 536 members right now!

Startups.in · 3 years ago

All valid points.
But we shouldn't be missing the multiplier factor, i.e., the number of other people these initial count of beta users would inturn tell about something they've just tried..ofcourse, only when they they think it is worth it.
So, instead of trying to play a band about the number of users trying your new product/service, instead concentrate on improving and making it useful.

Regards,
Startups.in

Martin · 3 years ago

I think part of his point is how insular and west coast-centric web 2.0 has been. For example, my favorite AJAX/web 2.0 site is Netvibes. They don't typically show up because they're based in France. Other than that they are a perfect 2.0 play: two guys develop a AJAX personal portal that is completely user-configurable and accessible anywhere. Pure SaaS.
At BlueTie we are calling thousands of businesses daily to sell our collaboration suite and I can tell you that after calling 50,000 businesses we have not had one business bring up Zimbra, Joyent, or any of our other web 2.0 'competitors'. Not one. So I tend to agree with his observations about how big the awareness universe is for 99% of these companies.

Natalie Ferguson · 3 years ago

I completely understand this phenomonon - our blog is devoted to expanding the users of most web 2.0 tools from that small audience to the average business owner.
Skype, for example, may not be a name on everyones lips, but it's an exercise in Word of Mouth marketing. My business partner got his parents hooked on skype about a year ago and since then they have recruited many, many friends and strangers - all non-techie types. The growth is expondential from there...

Sean Garrett · 3 years ago

99.99% of a the world: "What's a meme?"

Brian Solis · 3 years ago

I'm in Silicon Valley, and I wear floaties to work every day so I don't drown in the tech bath water.

Truly this Web 2.0 phenomenon has spiraled into several camps. There's the dotcom 2.0 and then there's Web 2.0 as the idea of evolving beyond static to interactive design; implementing all of the available new tools and philosophies to more effectively engage visitors/customers and communicate with them.

Truthfully the Techcrunch crowd is the lunatic fringe, but they can help any start-up gain momentum for interacting in the realworld. If you're marketing a site/solution, remember who your ultimate audience is and reach out to them through "their" channels of influence.

shoelover · 3 years ago

Hell, we would be pleased as punch with 53651 customers, but then again, we actually sell something (as opposed to giving it away)