Finding the Value in Online Communities: “Where’s the Beef?”
January 12 2011 by Stephanie Ryska ~ 2 CommentsWith all of these social networks and online communities popping up everywhere, we need to start asking, “Where’s the beef?” What’s in it for people who will use them?
Okay, we might need to back up a bit. The catch phrase “where’s the beef?” comes from a 1984 Wendy’s TV commercial where three little old ladies are eating at a competitor’s fast food restaurant. One lady opens up her hamburger to find very little beef in the middle of a large bun. Two ladies say, “ It’s a big bun, a very big bun. It’s a big fluffy bun.” And the third lady says, “Where’s the Beef?” This was a popular slogan for the 1980’s, which created many spin offs. But regardless of how catchy the catch phrase is, Wendy’s was trying to demonstrate that their burger had more value -and more beef- than its competitors.
Here is the Beef!
Now, back to today, there has been a lot buzz recently about the new network, Quora, where you ask and answer questions and search through the site to find information that you’re looking for. People have been debating if Quora can stand the test of time. It can, because it has the beef.
1. The Internet is full of information. Quora helps collect, connect, and organize information in one spot.
2. There are some real influencers like Steve Case, former CEO of AOL, Ben Parr, Co-Editor of Mashable and Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. By asking and questions you are engaging with them in different way. Plus the quality of their answers elevated to a most esteemed status.
3. Another big selling point of Quora that it has recognition factor, people want to show what they know and people feel satisfied when they help someone else.
4. Its better then LinkedIn Answers and Yahoo Questions because of the integration with Facebook and Twitter. Quora users have been sharing their questions and answers with other networking sites, driving more people to Quora.
5. If Facebook is a like a dorm, Twitter is like a cocktail party, Wikipedia is like a library and Quora is like a study group. It’s semi-academic, the sharing of knowledge. This has value for users, the value of information and collaboration.
The Internet is overrun with gimmicks, buzz, the next “shinny new thing,” startups, gurus and websites. Some of them have “the beef,” and some don’t. If you’re thinking about creating a new community, it’s usually not enough just to “connect” people, as there are plenty of places already for people to connect. You need a solid value proposition or else people aren’t going to join and participate. No beef, no success.
What do you think some of the keys are for Quora and other new online communities to be successful?
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