Date: December 29, 2010 5:07:38 AM GMT+08:00
Subject: HOW TO: Attract Early Adopters to Your Social Startup
Source: Mashable!
Author: Shane Snow
Shane Snow is a Mashable contributor, cofounder of the new Contently.com, and infographic artist at Credit Loan, Wix, and Mint. One of the main challenges for social networks stems from a question ancient philosophers have debated for centuries: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In social media, the dilemma often takes the form of, “We need users for our network to be useful, but users won’t join the network unless it’s useful.” A social network’s utility is derived from the people belonging to it.
The second great challenge in social networking is spreading to new users at a fast and sustainable pace, i.e. viral growth. Virality is the pot of gold every startup yearns for. It can’t be obtained without first solving the chicken-and-egg puzzle.
This month, a social startup called Hashable (no relation!) released an iPhone app after a few months in private beta. Hashable helps users make introductions and track their connections and relationships through “people checkins,” using Twitter hashtags and e-mail. Without publicity, Hashable’s private user base grew by itself to more than 5,000 members before the app officially launched. How does a new site like Hashable get past the chicken dilemma, when others can’t? Hashable CEO Michael Yavonditte says he “looked at all the successful networks” when designing his product. “There are things to learn from all successful companies in adjacent spaces,” he says. Here’s a quick look at the science behind some of the most well-known social networks, and how they cracked the philosophical egg.
