Sue-Point-Oh!

So apparently the 80:20 rule is dead (20% of your customers provide 80% of your business of some version of that).  The new ruler is the 1:9:90 rule that is specifically applicable to the new web 2.0 sites.

1% of users are actual producers (like uploading pictures to YouTube/FlickR)

9% of users are highly involved participators (tagging, commenting, creating favorites)

90% are just your good old-fashioned voyeurs who just review the content but don’t add any of their own or participate in the tagging.

I think this rule has serious implications for businesses who decide they will start a new social network system or user-created content area for their customers.  If they expect a majority of their customers to hop onboard and start adding content they will be very disappointed.

So the real question here is what motivates those 10% who are heavy contributers?  How can we get more people on board?   Is it a lack of time?  Is it the technological hurdle of using the system?  Fear or being exposed?  Lack of confidence?

What are you thoughts?

First of all, I aplogise for using the cliche “2.0″ to follow a post about the latest technology.  Forgive me!  So I am traveling in Greece and Turkey right now (blog: susancline.wordpress.com) and I’m dying to talk to some of my nerds about the tech world of backpacking.  I did the western European thing back in 2001 and some or eastern Europe in 2003 and my oh my, some things have changed.  Here are some of the things I’ve noted from staying in hostels around Greece and meeting other backpackers:

• Tired: “We have internet at this hostel” Wired: “We have wireless.
  The new must have features for hostels and internet cafes is to offer wireless.  A lot of backpackers are traveling with their laptops these days.  That’s right, they are carting them around from hostel, to train, to hostel, to ferry, etc.  I wonder how they feel about the whole security thing but perhaps the cost of a laptop is somewhat negligible these days.
• “What myspace?  Tag me on facebook”.  Perhaps it’s just because I’ve been meeting a lot of university students but even the older generation is hip to Facebook and no one is talking MySpace.  A common line when someone is snapping a photo - “Please don’t tag me on Facebook”. 
• I don’t know how they all exist but there seem to be about 250 different websites that book hostels.  It’s a really great way to easily find a hostel, reserve and pay online.  A lot of these websites also employ the 2.0 aspect of having other users rate the hostels and suggest local activities.   My favorites are hostelworld.com, hostels.com and hostelz.com

So Twitter was all the rage at South by Southwest this year. I am not deep enough into the scene to know how to properly abbreviate “South by Southwest” or to have so many twitter messages that I need to constantly empty my inbox. I’m still not sold on why I would want to let all my friends know if I flossed or not this morning however I do recognize it’s utility when trying to navigate a Saturday night in the city trying to hit up various parties and social groups.

I think Dana did a good job in explaining how tech geeks and non-tech geeks adopt social software.

By the way, this is the first time I have ever used the Trackback function. Heard from Mr. EduBlog Brian Lamb that it fails 10% of the time anyways.

Facebook just came up with a new features that allows you to create a customized “badge” to be inserted into a website or blog. This is similar to the FlickR badge and allows people to quickly access your facebook profile.

Here is my badge:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/kristyproper

September 12, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,

Those of you who know me well know that I have always been someone who loves living life to its fullest and taking chances whenever the opportunity arises. I have recently begun one of the biggest challenges of my life, and I’m hoping that now some of you will be willing to take a chance with me. I have decided to run a marathon – yep, that’s 26.2 whole miles – and I have to admit, I’m pretty terrified! So why go for something that I never even dreamed capable of accomplishing? Hopefully after reading this letter you will not only understand, but join me in making this dream come true.

The driving reason behind my decision is due to someone very special to me who has given me courage and inspiration to take on this new challenge. She is my hero, my best friend, and my mother, Kathy Proper. As many of you know, in the year 2000 she was diagnosed with Acute Myelogeneous Leukemia and faced one of the biggest challenges of her life. Six years later, I am happy to report that she is now healthy and cancer free, providing endless hope and encouragement to the countless others who battle leukemia and other types of cancer every day. She has taught me more about life than anyone else I know, and her constant belief in me is what will be in my thoughts and my heart as I struggle to push myself across that finish line.

Another motivation comes from joining the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program which has provided me with a great network of supportive mentors and friends – as well as some much needed coaching on how to become a new and improved endurance athlete!!! As the largest endurance training program in the U.S., Team in Training offers its participants coaching and training expertise in exchange for raising money towards finding cures for leukemia and lymphoma.

So here I am, seizing my opportunity. My goals are two-fold; to cross the finish line of the Arizona Rock & Roll Marathon on January 14th, 2007 (even if I have to crawl to do it!), and to raise $3,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by December 12th, 2006. Your encouragement and positive reinforcement (i.e., “You ran how many miles today?!”) will go an incredibly long way in helping me complete this marathon. Your financial support will not only help save the lives of those afflicted with blood-related cancers, but make their lives more comfortable and manageable while they are fighting – and winning – against the disease.

If you are so inspired to take up this tremendous cause, please feel free to share this letter with anyone who might be inclined to help. Every contribution will have an impact, will be acknowledged personally by me, and will be appreciated by so very many. The easiest way to make a contribution is with your credit card on my own personal website, http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/kristyproper or you can send any donations, made out to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, directly to me at 3181 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94115. Any and all donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are appreciated and 100% tax deductible!
Thank you in advance for your support!

Sincerely,
Kristy Proper

P.S. If you also know someone who has been afflicted with a blood-related cancer, please let me know their name(s) so I can add them to my list of honorees for my race.

I just used Camtasia - Screen Recording and Presentation Software for the first time to create a demo video about using the BlackBerry 8700c speed dial feature. It only took a couple hours to record the screen, add some captions, record a voice narration and presto change - I had a professional flooking flash presentation! This blog entry is not an endorsement of Camtasia, it’s just a reflection on how quickly things change. Just a couple years ago I would have had to hire a professional Flash designer to make this kind of simulation. Now the software is almost as easy to use as PowerPoint. I think this upholds the theory in the “Future Worker 2015: Extreme Individualism” article that the future worker will creating all of his or her own multimedia as a way to publish and express their work.

Have you seen that commericial where the Mac and PC are personified - the Mac beign the hip young guy and PC being the uptight guy in the suit. What about this video advertising Firefox?

Mac vs. Pc Video

Firefox Video

I think it’s interesting that as a culture we have begun personifying hardware, websites, and applications. What is more outstanding is that we not only do this but the general Internet/Computer using public understand and embrace this. Is this a way for us to humanize the news tools that we spend so much time with? If “My Space” was a person, what would he be like? Do you think you would want to be friends with him?

This title was inspired by the topic of an instructional website I created called “The Art of Eating a Pomegranate.” Check out the site if you want to learn a quick and beautiful way to open up a pomegrante without spattering blood colored juice all over your pre-labor day white pants. This title is obscure and quirky but the content of the site is quality. I think that same set of themes will apply to this blog. I hope you enjoy and please take part in the blog experience and leave a comment!