Talking Communities with the Blogdex Guy

On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of making a new real-world friend: Cameron Marlow, creator of Blogdex. We ate some buffalo wings and then went to the 1 year birthday party of GoGorilla (the more-than-postcards marketing arm of GoCard).

The party was really great - reminiscent of good Internet industry parties from way back. There were lots of women, tons of food, overflowing open bar and even cool giveaways. It was held at Pressure, the swanky nightclub on the roof of Bowlmor Lanes on University and 12th st.

I don't know many MIT PhD students. Cameron is an awesome, intriguing and knowledgeable guy. There aren't many people I can have deep conversations with on topics like social networks and the psychology of online communities.

Some topics we tackled while unsuccessfully building up the courage to approach attractive ladies:

-The size of truly engaging online communities. Everyone wants to get millions of people but is that traffic and activity really all it is cracked up to be? Right now on GAZM we get around 1-3 new postings a day (with big swings in that average). If we get just 10 more active, loyal, prolific contributors then the site's front-end will have to be redesigned. Right now it is modeled on blogs - a new post by anyone goes to the top of the page. If there are lots of prolific posters then the site will start to resemble an AOL chat room - where no one has a chance to read anything before it gets scrolled off the page.

-The difference between time-sensitive and time-less topics in online communities. GAZM's problems are further increased because unlike some blogs and most online communities like Metafilter and Fark, the bulk of GAZM content is time-less. People post photography, poetry, philosophy, etc. A post made 2 months ago deserves to be on the top of the homepage just as much as the most recent post.

How do we answer those difficulties without turning to the standard, boring and uninspired answer of breaking up the content into hierarchies and become like a Yahoo homepage?

-Another issue faced by communities is the natural aversion people have to opening themselves up to criticism (especially when they are doing more than just passing on a funny link). On one hand you don't take to time to contribute if you don't feel anyone will listen. On the other hand you are intimidated if there are millions of people in the audience and your post will be shown at the top of the page. Cameron has a great theory about the exponential growth of Metafilter and what may be perceived as its failure. I won't try to explain it here but maybe he will on his own blog.

Is the ideal online community one where you feel that you aren't alone yet aren't overwhelmed by an impression of huge membership? How does the site convey this feeling?

-The issue starts to move towards psychology and small things a site can do to achieve success. How does a site make you feel that you aren't the only one there? And even setting aside the issue of quantity, we like to think of some sites as online communities but aside from constant, overflowing content, how do you tangibly feel community? Part of the answer is emotional. Blogs are awesome because we feel like we know each other, even if personal details aren't revealed. Opinions are just as much a signal of who someone is than how old he/she.

-Along with the emergence of blogs we have witnessed the emergence (or re-emergence) of real-world meetings. Maybe they aren't happening simultaneously but rather blogs are influencing the re-emergence of offline friendships. Ryze, Meetup, South by Southwest and BlogCon are just a few examples. A more powerful example is the fact that Cameron and I met in person, after having only read each other's blogs, and neither one of us tried to sexually abuse the other. That may sound like a joke, but it is not. Until recently, the first thought you'd have about meeting in person is sexual abuse. Now it is common for bloggers to meet and become real friends.

There is much more to say on this topic and I hope to post more later. Thoughts?

So You Want Your Own State?

These days getting your own country, yes, your very own country, is like a telethon. Just kill a whole lotta children while they dance, eat falafels and wait on the street for school busses and you too, yes, you too can have your very own state, as provided by the US Presidency.

Finally Some Truth

"It is hard to find balance in this story. This is horrific." It is a positive sign to finally see a CNN anchor utter those words. Not everything is equal. Not everything can be rationalized away. The campaign of terror has no justification. There is no balance to this story. I understand the difficulty media has in making such a statement since they always search for the other side and give the other side its chance to talk back. Come to think about it, I haven't seen people like Saeb Erakat and other Palestinian "officials" on CNN in a while.

Context My Ass

I am not sure what context exists to justify the oft-spouted "that was taken out of context" excuse after reading this harrowing commentary from The Daily Standard which recounts a series of translations of Islamist broadcasts in the Arab world. Truly insane, including a news interview with a brainwashed 3 year old toddler.

Israel Film Festival

Last Friday I went to the press conference which opened the 18th annual Israel Film Festival. They are screening Israeli films until the 27th of June, in the Clearview Cinemas (59th st between 2nd and 3rd ave).

There weren't many people at the press conference so it quickly turned to a discussion of geopolitics and cross-cultural film theory and marketing. Most of the money for Israeli filmmakers comes from the government. It totals a mere 2% of the main TV channel's budget. Last year this was 79 million shekels, this year it is 59 million and next year it will be much less (because of bad economic times). There has not yet flourished a mature and rich environment for private and corporate film financing. They also lack some marketing and presentation skills which are so necessary to sell films. A great film is often not enough.

The mostly young filmmakers are more or less politically agnostic. They are tired and fed up with the old regime. Their films stay away from outright politics but themes and attitudes are evident throughout. Foreign audiences are often disappointed or, at the very least surprised by films that aren't about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This makes it hard to break into foreign markets. Can you imagine going to see an Israeli-made comedy? What about a love story that isn't Romeo and Juliet recast as Muhammad and Sarah-Leah?

I don't have any suggestions right now. It is always interesting to hear about issues from a different perspective.

Journeyman Jacob

After spending a week thinking about what to do with my summer, I think I finally have the answer.

Scandinavia, Russia and France - here I come!

I will using my hard-earned Delta SkyMiles to get a business class trip to Stockholm. In the end of July I will spend 3-4 days in each of the following cities: Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg (Russia) and then 16 hours in Paris (France) on my way back to NY (USA). This excursion will be the longest I have ever been out of America - 18 days. I will be doing this all alone and I'm looking forward to the experience of tavelling alone. For those math geniuses out there - I am leaving about a week for total spontaneous insanity. Only the first 10-12 days and the last day will be "planned." The rest are up in the air. But don't worry, you will all be kept up to date via this blog.

Now the real planning begins. Where should I stay in each city? What should I see? I'd like the trip to be a "working vacation" so I plan on setting up meetings with various people, companies, organizations and school departments. If you live in any of the cities I will be visiting and want to get together, let me know. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

This summer will be fun. Very fun!