Yesterday insomniasexx posted Hubski's New User Experience: Primer Page which is essentially a page to show to new or future Hubski users. It got me thinking - A while back, I proposed having a "Blitzski." Blitzski was a day for all of us Hubski enthusiasts to invite people that we think would be a valuable addition to Hubski to the site. I don't know overall how successful it was, but I think we picked up a few quality users.
Think about how you discovered Hubski and perhaps replicate that for someone else.
The "Primer Page" offers a good reason to have another "Blitzski" and perhaps thenewgreen and mk can let us know if it actually brings in any traffic or new users?
I know that some people are hesitant to have new people on the site, but I think it's great seeing new users here. If Hubski is indeed like a bar, isn't it nice to have a few new faces walk through the door? This is a way for us to choose who those faces are.
What do you guys think?
- If Hubski is indeed like a bar, isn't it nice to have a few new faces walk through the door?
Ofcourse it is! But we do get new faces every now and then, because of people casually walking through that bar door. It is a good idea to remind people to suggest hubski to others, as a modest influx of users is always nice, but a site-wide 'blitz' doesn't sound like something the site needs.
I mean, do we really need it? I don't want hubski to grow for growth's sake: too many sites do that already and while new faces are always welcome, the need for much more of them doesn't seem apparent to me. Too often growth is equated with progression, while in hubski's case it might mean a loss of quality. On top of that, a personalized ad campaign (thats what this feels like to me) doesn't really fit with the philosophy behind hubski, as far as I can tell. A reminder to tell potentially interested people is enough I think.
- I mean, do we really need it? I don't want hubski to grow for growth's sake:
Meriadoc's suggestion that you invite people from areas of your life you find enriching outside of Hubski is good advice too:
- Linking in r/askreddit is not a grand idea, but perhaps you know some intelligent people on a small sub, or another forum that isn't commonly used, or hell, people in meatspace you might think would enjoy it here.
I think rooibos has some great advice here:
- Think of a person or the people you know who don't participate in hubski, and whom you think would enjoy hubski most and would make better than the-current-average-quality contributions to it, and give them a personal invite.
I know that lil has invited people to join Hubski in the past (Mr. Kennedy as I recall) and theadvancedapes has too... hell, I bet we all have. What I think blitzski is all about is having a concerted day, or perhaps week when we do this.
We've relied entirely on our community growing as a result of you guys inviting people. With the exception of a couple of write ups/interviews here and there, that's how we've come to where we are. Blitzski is essentially that but in a fun way that we can measure. I like the idea and I think the timing is good. How do you all propose we go about this?
Thank you for suggesting this steve
Edit: to be clear, 0 new users is better than 100 that don't get it.
Thanks for the shoutout tng. I had been following this discussion as it developed.
I've told numerous people about hubski. A few sign up to respond to my blogs via DvH but don't seem to linger.
This all leads me to wondering what it means to "get it." It could be that all kinds of people get it -- but not everybody has that particular yearning. What leads people to fall in love with their hubski friends and spend time encouraging them, commenting on their thoughts, finding and posting things that might be interesting to them, and eventually seeking them out in meet-ups -- even if it means staying sober enough to go back across the border and drive for four hours towards the dawn?
We definitely need new people because so many people seem to drop by, seem to truly get it (think littlebirdie), but then leave because their longings take them elsewhere.
For some reason, we who have stayed find something particular that suits our on-line time, our technology, our interests, our passions, or our need for distractions -- whether it's the #weeklymusicthread or #vaguequestionsbypablo or tng's podcasts.
I doubt that even mk can quantify what getting it and keeping it involves. At least not yet.
I can't quantify it either but whatever "it" is takes a while to find. I recall inviting all of my friends to Hubski when I first came on board and only a few actually signed up, scrimetime, bgood79, lucky_cabbage all of whom use Hubski in different ways and at different frequencies. A lot of people just didn't see a need for it in their lives or thought that whatever need they would derive from it was already being satisfied from Facebook or elsewhere. I could try and persuade them that Hubski was different but the truth is, unless you actually invest time here, you'll never figure out how or why it's different. Also, for some it may not be an enjoyable place. You can't satisfy everyone.
mk and I have talked about what sort of metaphors and analogies adequately encapsulate Hubski and he once remarked that you cannot read a page of a book and expect to get the entirety of what makes it special. Hubski is similar, at least to me. You can't visit the global feed and know that veen has been traveling abroad or that mike has shared poetry and math art or that humanodon is sharing his struggles with Obamacare and ecib is roasting coffee beans in an old popcorn popper while NotPhil is a genius when it comes to the culinary might of a microwave and kleinbl00 is posting in depth commentary on a number of topics and posts a novella ..... I could go on. These people, these topics and characters emerge and almost form a sort of side narrative that, if you let it, can enrich your life. It's a hell of a cool place to hang out.
But that is kind of hard to see when you look at a page on a screen. Like most things worth while, it takes time.
- to be clear, 0 new users is better than 100 that don't get it.
I shouldn't assume that there is only one way to get hubski.
Yes, it is certainly subjective and I know that many people see the site differently. As I mentioned I have close friends I invited to Hubski at the outset that all use the site differently. That said, there is a type of user that most all of us would agree doesn't "get it" and we saw some of that in the "circlejerker influx. We've analyzed that to death though :)
I'm glad you're here lil. Have a great day!!
These are excellent points. And I guess I should have been more articulate. I don't want to simply blast my Facebook feed - and frankly - most of my friends have heard about hubski - but there are so many more users now, that I thought it might be a good opportunity to spearhead something like this.
And I don't want it to necessarily grow for growth's sake - but I do like growth. I like new people and new opinions. So I guess I'm after sensible growth.
I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone here has a problem with new people; the matter is the quality of the new people and, to a lesser degree, where they come from. I just invited my best friend in the world to join us here (that would be jackdanielswife, making this her first shoutout. When she starts posting, y'all should follow her because she's brilliant) and she's going to have all her friends join in as well. I know those will be quality additions. Where I see problems may arise are in situations such as the last time we were linked on reddit: a flood of new users with new quality additions (few, but non-zero!).
So I say we should absolutely do something to bring in people, but we should be very aware of who we are bringing in. Linking in r/askreddit is not a grand idea, but perhaps you know some intelligent people on a small sub, or another forum that isn't commonly used, or hell, people in meatspace you might think would enjoy it here.
I look forward so jackdanielswife's posts!
- So I say we should absolutely do something to bring in people, but we should be very aware of who we are bringing in.
Yes!
- I know that some people are hesitant to have new people on the site
So, why not keep the recruitment effort more in line with the spirit of the site? Instead of putting just another low-effort, generalized-rather-than-personalized link to hubski on your facebook page or twitter feed, why not something that is slower/more thoughtful/more personalized?
Think of a person or the people you know who don't participate in hubski, and whom you think would enjoy hubski most and would make better than the-current-average-quality contributions to it, and give them a personal invite. Or if you post a public invitation, make it in the places of highest discussion or content quality you know of. You know what I'm talking about. That hidden gem subreddit with only a dozen subscribers that you keep secret from your own mother.
Or don't invite anyone, that's fine too. But in that case, you have to buy a round for everyone.
you and mk are spot on.
- One good user is better than any number of users that don't get it.
So perhaps "Blitzski" isn't the best name for it - but a nice little coordinated, thoughtful push could be fun. I think the original blitzski was about growth - but this time around - I dunno, I guess we lacked the primer page - and we acknowledged it at the time - so I thought this might be a good chance to try again. We may be better equipped now.
I have never understood the rationale behind "I don't like new people wandering in my beloved site"? I think it would be a good idea to do this. I, being new here, am actually enjoying this site and I think that there are loads of other people who would enjoy this site and contribute, if they only knew about it.
I like this idea. I remember when we did it last time and it worked out well. I doubt any one person's personal shoutout to hubski on fb or twitter or wherever is going to generate a shitstorm.