QuantWorks

Article shows Slashdot is dying using extremely cool graphs!

John Berry of Agile Partners has written a very interesting article  called "Is Slashdot dying?".  In it, he shows that the comments per post on Slashdot have decreased about 20-30% in 2005.  The article is also very cool because it has some "Web 2.0ish" charts and graphs.

... and it looks like some others loved his graphics.  Here is his explanation:

They were initially created in Excel (for OS X), then moved into Photoshop for a little cleanup. The XY-scatter is almost as-is from Excel, but I did redraw the line graph.

Slashdot vs. Digg vs. Newspapers

An article by Publish.com about Slashdot ("Will Short Scope Hinder Slashdot Redesign?") caused an uproar among Slashdot users since it said digg was designed much nicer.  I agree - Slashdot is an eyesore and while digg is not only pleasant on the eyes, but offers a compelling collaborative user experience which puts the community in control of determining what is most "newsworthy" - or shall I say "digg-worthy".  Of course, there's no love lost between Slashdot and digg users.  Digg users like me consider Slashdotter as people who are still stuck on Web1.0.  For more on the Slashot-Digg controversy, see "Slashdot, Digg.com, and the True Meaning of Design".

As food for thought, it's interesting that most Web2.0 sites like digg and another favorite del.icio.us are designed extremely simply.  The user experience is wonderful and there aren't too many things that get in the way.  But compare one of these sites to a typical newspaper website like the Orlando Sentinel, and you'll notice that many (but not all) newspaper sites offer a horrendous user experience.  I mean, could they try harder to hide important news!

But that doesn't matter much as RSS and CGM (consumer-generated media) are forcing newspapers to start blogging.  Most newspaper bloggers aren't really anything new as they are just "putting lipstick on a pig".  However, some newspapers like the St. Peterburg Times deserve a lot of credit for doing blogging the right way.

The trend toward consumer-generated news is not fad since it's based on the desire for authenticity on the net.  Said again, people trust what "real people" say more than the media.  In fact, with HDTV's we are learning that TV celebrities aren't as glamorous as our old fuzzy screens led us to believe.

Make it simple.  Put the user in control.  Be real. 

In adjusting to these roles, the media may discover that they may need to decentralize their brands, effectively splitting up their site into smaller sites so that they can be more simple.

Combining or consolidating RSS feeds into one feed

Anyone looking for a way to combine or consolidate RSS feeds into one feed should check out FEEDcombine.  They offer a very easy to use interface that takes multiple RSS feeds and creates one combined feed for you.  I spent hours searching for a service like this and am glad I found FEEDcombine.  As far as I know, they are the only such service - and the site does a great job.  Highly recommended!

Google poised to benefit from Web 2.0

On my other blog SquirrelNet, I conjectured that Google could someday issue their own web browser.  However, given Web 2.0 is gaining momentum, I don't think they will need to.  Not only does Tim O'Reilly claim that Google is a key example of Web 2.0, but Google could be a key beneficiary of the upcoming social browser Flock.  Flock will likely generate most of their revenue via Google Adsense which is a win for both Google and Flock.

Tim O'Reilly: What is Web 2.0?

Tim O'Reilly just published a great paper defining Web 2.0.  I'll discuss this more at a later date, but the basic idea is the Web 2.0 is open, collaborative and social.

Get ready for Flock and Ning

Web 2.0 efforts will get a boost soon with the upcoming launch of both Flock and Ning.

Flock will be a so-called social browser based on Firefox.  Here is Wired's take on Flock:

Flock advertises itself as a "social browser," meaning that the application plays nicely with popular web services like Flickr, Technorati and del.icio.us. Flock also features widely compliant WYSIWYG, drag-and-drop blogging tools. The browser even promises to detect and authenticate all those user accounts automatically. It's a clear attempt to be the browser of choice for the Web 2.0 user.

Next, Ning is on the way too, backed by one of the founders of Netscape.  Ning is a free online "playground" where users can create their own Web 2.0 applications otherwise known as social applications or "social apps".

Expect flock to garner most of the buzz, since millions would likely download the browser immediately upon release - with millions proclaiming the death of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.  Ning might be interesting, but I haven't tried it yet.  However, it does seem that critical mass will play a role in the success of social applications.  In short, as more social apps are created, the average user base will decline on average due to simple mathematics.  Plus, del.icio.us and digg already exist.